files-remove

name	files_remove
description	Maintains the ansible/roles/files_remove Ansible role that removes files/directories by exact path or shell glob, as part of the Linux SOE. Use when checking or fixing which files/directories should be absent — including internally by other roles such as certificates for exclusive-mode cleanup.

files_remove

Maintains ansible/roles/files_remove/. 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_remove/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_remove/defaults/main.yml:

This is a low-level, list-driven building block used both directly (a host sets files_remove 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.

• Supports globbing on the last path element; directories are removed recursively. files_remove_recursive (default false) additionally does a recursive find for the given patterns — the role's own comment warns this makes a pattern like /etc/*.old also match /etc/x/y.old. files_remove_exclude protects specific paths from a glob/recursive match. Result registered as remove_files.

This role is sourced from the myllynen/rhel-ansible-roles import (see git log -- ansible/roles/files_remove) 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 referenced by any playbook in ansible/ right now — not configure_rhel.yml (not even commented out), not load_balancer_setup.yml/nfs_client_setup.yml/nfs_server_setup.yml/ update_rhel.yml. There is currently no ansible-playbook command that will invoke files_remove in this repo. Before running it, either:

1. Add it to an existing playbook — most often ansible/configure_rhel.yml's roles: list (uncomment-style, with a vars: entry for files_remove set to what's actually needed), if what's wanted is a permanent, repeatable part of the host baseline; or
2. Write a small ad hoc playbook for the one-off task, same shape as ansible/load_balancer_setup.yml/ansible/nfs_client_setup.yml (a vars: block plus a roles: [files_remove] list), if it's a one-time or host-class-specific job that doesn't belong in the general baseline.

Either way, propose it via the branch + PR workflow below rather than running an untracked local playbook against a real host. Once wired in, audit/remediate the same way as any other role — --tags files_remove against whichever playbook now contains it, --check --diff first:

ansible-playbook ansible/<playbook>.yml --tags files_remove --check --diff   # audit
ansible-playbook ansible/<playbook>.yml --tags files_remove                  # remediate

Propose a change to the role itself: never edit and commit directly. On a branch named soe/files_remove/<short-desc>, edit ansible/roles/files_remove/, validate locally (--syntax-check, ansible-lint roles/files_remove/, and --check --diff against a real/test host if available), then push and open a PR titled [files_remove] <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

• The role's own defaults file carries an explicit warning: a typo or unexpected glob expansion here can remove unintended files/directories across every managed host with no confirmation prompt. Always review the literal expanded pattern (not just the pattern string) in the --check --diff output before remediating, and be especially careful with files_remove_recursive: true.

Wiring into the SOE

This role has a row in .claude/skills/soe/SKILL.md's domain table, but (see "What to do" above) is not currently included in any playbook in this repo — neither the general baseline (ansible/configure_rhel.yml) nor any of the composite playbooks. This repo no longer uses ansible/site.yml; see docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.