etc-hosts

name	etc_hosts
description	Maintains the ansible/roles/etc_hosts Ansible role that fully manages /etc/hosts content (header, self-entry, static entries) and rebuilds initramfs on change, as part of the Linux SOE. Use when checking or fixing /etc/hosts entries.

etc_hosts

Maintains ansible/roles/etc_hosts/. See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for the shared conventions (role layout, audit vs. remediate via --check --diff, safety rules, branch + PR contribution workflow).

ansible/roles/etc_hosts/README.md documents this role's full configuration surface (every defaults/main.yml variable, with its original inline comments, rendered as a single reference). Read it before proposing or explaining how to configure this role — it reflects the role's actual current defaults even if a variable summary elsewhere in this file has drifted out of sync with the role.

What the role actually does

Encoded in ansible/roles/etc_hosts/defaults/main.yml:

• Rewrites the entire file: etc_hosts_header (default: standard Fedora/upstream loopback block) + an optional self-entry (etc_hosts_self_add, default true, built from Ansible network facts) + etc_hosts_entries (default empty). Anything not produced by these three inputs is dropped — this is an exclusive rewrite, not an append.
• etc_hosts_self_domain overrides ansible_facts.domain for the self-entry; the role fails if etc_hosts_self_add is true and no domain is available from either source.
• etc_hosts_omit_entries (none/ipv4/ipv6) filters entries by address family across header, self-entry, and static entries alike.
• Runs dracut -f --regenerate-all whenever the file changes (some initramfs configurations embed /etc/hosts).

This role is sourced from the myllynen/rhel-ansible-roles import (see git log -- ansible/roles/etc_hosts) rather than hand-authored for this repo. Unlike the original reference domains (e.g. timesync, usbguard_setup), it applies state declaratively via standard Ansible modules and does not add its own assert-based drift checks on top — an audit here is exactly what --check --diff reports from the underlying modules, nothing more.

What to do

Audit (read-only, safe to run any time):

ansible-playbook ansible/configure_rhel.yml --tags etc_hosts --check --diff

Summarize the diff output and any failed tasks in plain language.

Remediate (modifies the system — only after the user explicitly asks): first summarize what will change from the --check --diff output, then run the same command without --check:

ansible-playbook ansible/configure_rhel.yml --tags etc_hosts

Propose a change to the role itself: never edit and commit directly. On a branch named soe/etc_hosts/<short-desc>, edit ansible/roles/etc_hosts/, validate locally (--syntax-check, ansible-lint roles/etc_hosts/, and --check --diff against a real/test host if available), then push and open a PR titled [etc_hosts] <what changed> with the --check --diff output in the body. Then stop — a human reviews and merges; see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md's "Contribution workflow".

Notes

• Because this is a full rewrite, any entry added outside this role's variables (manually, or by another tool) will be silently removed on the next run — check etc_hosts_entries covers everything the host actually needs before remediating.
• The dracut -f --regenerate-all on every content change is not free — factor that into how often this role runs on a given host.

Wiring into the SOE

This role is in configure_rhel_domains's default value in ansible/configure_rhel.yml (see .claude/skills/configure_rhel/SKILL.md) and has a row in .claude/skills/soe/SKILL.md's domain table, so it runs as part of both ansible-playbook ansible/configure_rhel.yml --tags etc_hosts ... and a full, untagged ansible-playbook ansible/configure_rhel.yml run. This repo no longer uses ansible/site.yml as the baseline entrypoint — see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.