ansible-lint

name	ansible-lint
description	Reference for linting Ansible playbooks, roles, and collections with ansible-lint. Agents should prefer tox -e lint when available, but this skill provides the canonical reference for ansible-lint options, profiles, rule suppression, and configuration when direct invocation is needed or when understanding lint output.
argument-hint	[options]
user-invocable	true
metadata	{"author":"Ansible DevTools Team","version":"1.0.0"}

ansible-lint — Ansible Playbook & Role Linter

Usage

/ansible-lint                  # Show full option reference
/ansible-lint profiles         # Profile progression reference
/ansible-lint suppress         # How to suppress rules
/ansible-lint config           # Configuration file reference

ansible-lint checks playbooks, roles, and collections against best-practice rules. In DevTools repos, prefer tox -e lint which runs ansible-lint as part of the full quality gate. Use this skill to understand lint output, choose profiles, or configure suppression.

Hard Rules

1. In DevTools repos, prefer tox -e lint over running ansible-lint directly. See the /tox skill.
2. Always run from the project root. ansible-lint uses the working directory to locate configuration, roles, and dependencies.
3. Review --fix output before committing. Never auto-fix and commit blindly.
4. Never use blanket # noqa without a rule ID. Always use # noqa: rule-id[subrule].
5. Do not lower the profile to silence violations — fix the violations or use targeted suppression.

Profile Reference

Profiles are progressive — each level includes all rules from lower levels.

Profile	Strictness	Typical use
min	Lowest	Critical syntax/parse errors only — legacy code migration
basic	Low	min + basic best practices — getting started
moderate	Medium	basic + style and naming — active development
safety	High	moderate + security patterns — production-bound code
shared	Higher	safety + community standards — shared/published content
production	Highest	All rules — production deployments

Key Options

Option	Purpose	Example
--profile <name>	Set strictness level	ansible-lint --profile production
--fix [WRITE_LIST]	Auto-fix violations	ansible-lint --fix
-f <format>	Output format (brief, full, json, sarif, pep8)	ansible-lint -f json
-t <tags>	Include only matching rule tags	ansible-lint -t yaml
-x <rules>	Skip specific rules	ansible-lint -x yaml[truthy]
-w <rules>	Treat as warnings (non-blocking)	ansible-lint -w name[casing]
--enable-list	Activate optional rules	ansible-lint --enable-list no-log-password
-s / --strict	Warnings become errors	ansible-lint --strict
--offline	Skip galaxy dep install and schema refresh	ansible-lint --offline
--generate-ignore	Create/update .ansible-lint-ignore	ansible-lint --generate-ignore
-c <file>	Use specific config file	ansible-lint -c .config/ansible-lint.yml
--project-dir <dir>	Set project root directory	ansible-lint --project-dir ./roles/myrole
--exclude <path>	Skip directories or files (repeatable)	ansible-lint --exclude tests/

Suppression Methods

Inline suppression

Add # noqa: rule-id to the end of the offending line. Multiple rules can be space-separated:

- name: Example task  # noqa: command-instead-of-module no-changed-when
  command: echo hello

Ignore file

Create .ansible-lint-ignore (or .config/ansible-lint-ignore.txt) with one entry per line:

playbooks/legacy.yml yaml[truthy]
roles/old_role/tasks/main.yml name[casing]

Config file skip/warn lists

skip_list:
  - yaml[truthy]
warn_list:
  - name[casing]

Configuration Files

File	Purpose
.ansible-lint	Primary config (YAML)
.ansible-lint.yml / .ansible-lint.yaml	Alternative names
.config/ansible-lint.yml	XDG-style location
.ansible-lint-ignore	Per-file rule suppression

Example configuration:

profile: moderate
skip_list:
  - yaml[truthy]
warn_list:
  - name[casing]
exclude_paths:
  - .cache/
  - .tox/
offline: false

Common Agent Workflows

"I need to understand a lint failure"

Read the rule ID from the output (e.g., yaml[truthy]). Check the project profile in .ansible-lint or .ansible-lint.yml. Decide whether to fix the violation or add targeted suppression.

"I want to lint only specific files"

ansible-lint playbooks/site.yml roles/myrole/

"I need to auto-fix violations"

ansible-lint --fix
git diff                     # review every change before committing

"I need to suppress a rule for one file"

echo 'playbooks/legacy.yml yaml[truthy]' >> .ansible-lint-ignore

"I want to check what profile the project uses"

Look for the profile: key in .ansible-lint, .ansible-lint.yml, or .config/ansible-lint.yml at the project root.

Installation

pip3 install ansible-dev-tools   # recommended: includes all devtools
pip3 install ansible-lint        # standalone

Configuration

ansible-lint configuration lives in .ansible-lint, .ansible-lint.yml, or .config/ansible-lint.yml at the project root. The cache directory defaults to {project_dir}/.cache/ and should be added to .gitignore. Environment variables like ANSIBLE_LINT_CUSTOM_RULESDIR and ANSIBLE_LINT_IGNORE_FILE can override defaults.