| name | files_create |
| description | Maintains the ansible/roles/files_create Ansible role that creates directories, empty files, and symlinks with specified ownership/mode via ansible.builtin.file, as part of the Linux SOE. Use when checking or fixing the existence/permissions of specific paths. |
files_create
Maintains ansible/roles/files_create/. See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for the shared
conventions (role layout, audit vs. remediate via --check --diff, safety
rules, branch + PR contribution workflow).
ansible/roles/files_create/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/files_create/defaults/main.yml:
This is a low-level, list-driven building block used both directly (a host
sets files_create in group_vars/host_vars) and indirectly (e.g. certificates
includes files_remove internally for its exclusive-mode cleanup). Default
is always an empty list — no-op until something sets it.
- Each entry's
state (directory/file/link) determines which of three
registered result variables it contributes to: create_directories,
create_files, create_links.
This role is sourced from the myllynen/rhel-ansible-roles import
(see git log -- ansible/roles/files_create) 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
This role is not in ansible/configure_rhel.yml's roles: list at all
(not even commented out) — it's currently wired in only by the two NFS
composite playbooks, each setting files_create itself rather than relying
on this role's (empty) defaults. Pick whichever matches the host:
- NFS client —
ansible/nfs_client_setup.yml creates the mount point
directory (nfs_mount_dir, default /mnt/remote).
- NFS server —
ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml creates the export
directory (nfs_export_dir, default /export).
Audit (read-only, safe to run any time):
ansible-playbook ansible/nfs_client_setup.yml --tags files_create --check --diff
ansible-playbook ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml --tags files_create --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 matching playbook without --check:
ansible-playbook ansible/nfs_client_setup.yml --tags files_create
ansible-playbook ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml --tags files_create
If a host needs files_create for something outside these two scenarios,
either add it (uncommented, with its own vars:) to
ansible/configure_rhel.yml, or write a small dedicated playbook via the
branch + PR workflow below.
Propose a change to the role itself: never edit and commit directly. On a
branch named soe/files_create/<short-desc>, edit ansible/roles/files_create/, validate
locally (--syntax-check, ansible-lint roles/files_create/, and
--check --diff against a real/test host if available), then push and open a
PR titled [files_create] <what changed> with the --check --diff output in the
body. Then stop — a human reviews and merges; see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md's
"Contribution workflow".
Wiring into the SOE
This role has a row in .claude/skills/soe/SKILL.md's domain table but is
not part of the general baseline (ansible/configure_rhel.yml) — it
only runs as part of ansible/nfs_client_setup.yml or
ansible/nfs_server_setup.yml. This repo no longer uses ansible/site.yml;
see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.
