Ansible Playbook Creator

Ansible playbook creator for configuration management and server automation.

When to Use

Use this skill when:

•Automating server configuration
•Managing application deployments
•Setting up multi-server environments
•Implementing configuration management
•Automating system administration tasks
•Rolling out updates across infrastructure
•Managing configurations at scale

Key Concepts

Ansible Architecture

•Control Node: Where Ansible runs
•Managed Nodes: Servers being configured
•Inventory: List of managed nodes
•Playbooks: Automation scripts
•Modules: Reusable units of work

Core Principles

•Idempotency: Safe to run multiple times
•Agentless: Uses SSH, no agents needed
•Push-based: Control node pushes configurations
•Declarative: Define desired state

Basic Playbook Structure

yaml

# site.yml
---
- name: Configure web servers
  hosts: webservers
  become: yes

  vars:
    app_user: webapp
    app_port: 8080

  tasks:
    - name: Install dependencies
      apt:
        name:
          - nginx
          - python3-pip
        state: present
        update_cache: yes

    - name: Create application user
      user:
        name: "{{ app_user }}"
        shell: /bin/bash
        home: "/home/{{ app_user }}"

    - name: Deploy application
      copy:
        src: /app/dist/
        dest: /var/www/html/
        owner: "{{ app_user }}"
        mode: '0644'

    - name: Start nginx service
      service:
        name: nginx
        state: started
        enabled: yes

  handlers:
    - name: Reload nginx
      service:
        name: nginx
        state: reloaded

Inventory Management

INI Format

ini

# inventory.ini
[webservers]
web1.example.com ansible_user=ubuntu
web2.example.com ansible_user=ubuntu

[databases]
db1.example.com ansible_user=ubuntu
db2.example.com ansible_user=ubuntu

[all:vars]
ansible_python_interpreter=/usr/bin/python3

YAML Format

yaml

# inventory.yml
all:
  vars:
    ansible_python_interpreter: /usr/bin/python3

  hosts:
    web1.example.com:
      ansible_user: ubuntu
    web2.example.com:
      ansible_user: ubuntu

  children:
    webservers:
      hosts:
        web1.example.com:
        web2.example.com:

    databases:
      hosts:
        db1.example.com:
        db2.example.com:

Dynamic Inventory

yaml

# aws.yml
plugin: aws_ec2
regions:
  - us-east-1
keyed_groups:
  - key: tags.Environment
    prefix: env_
  - key: tags.Role
    prefix: role_
filters:
  instance-state-name: running

Common Tasks

Package Management

yaml

- name: Install packages
  apt:
    name: "{{ item }}"
    state: present
  loop:
    - nginx
    - git
    - python3-pip

- name: Remove packages
  apt:
    name: "{{ item }}"
    state: absent
  loop:
    - apache2
    - old-package

User Management

yaml

- name: Create user with SSH key
  user:
    name: deploy
    shell: /bin/bash
    groups: sudo
    append: yes
    ssh_key_file: ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

- name: Ensure user has authorized_keys
  authorized_key:
    user: deploy
    key: "{{ lookup('file', '~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub') }}"

File Operations

yaml

- name: Copy configuration file
  copy:
    src: config/nginx.conf
    dest: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
    owner: root
    group: root
    mode: '0644'
    backup: yes
  notify: Reload nginx

- name: Create directory with permissions
  file:
    path: /var/log/app
    state: directory
    owner: app
    group: app
    mode: '0755'

- name: Template configuration
  template:
    src: templates/app.conf.j2
    dest: /etc/app/app.conf
    owner: root
    mode: '0644'

Service Management

yaml

- name: Ensure service is running
  service:
    name: nginx
    state: started
    enabled: yes

- name: Restart service
  service:
    name: nginx
    state: restarted

- name: Stop service
  service:
    name: apache2
    state: stopped
    enabled: no

Database Setup

yaml

- name: Install PostgreSQL
  apt:
    name: postgresql
    state: present

- name: Start PostgreSQL
  service:
    name: postgresql
    state: started
    enabled: yes

- name: Create database
  postgresql_db:
    name: appdb
    owner: appuser

- name: Create database user
  postgresql_user:
    db: appdb
    name: appuser
    password: "{{ db_password }}"
    priv: "ALL"

Advanced Features

Handlers

yaml

handlers:
  - name: Reload nginx
    service:
      name: nginx
      state: reloaded

  - name: Restart application
    systemd:
      name: app
      state: restarted

tasks:
  - name: Update configuration
    template:
      src: app.conf.j2
      dest: /etc/app/app.conf
    notify: Restart application

Conditionals

yaml

- name: Install package (Debian)
  apt:
    name: nginx
    state: present
  when: ansible_os_family == "Debian"

- name: Install package (RedHat)
  yum:
    name: nginx
    state: present
  when: ansible_os_family == "RedHat"

- name: Run task if variable is defined
  debug:
    msg: "Variable is set"
  when: my_var is defined

Loops

yaml

- name: Create multiple users
  user:
    name: "{{ item.name }}"
    groups: "{{ item.groups }}"
  loop:
    - { name: alice, groups: developers }
    - { name: bob, groups: developers }
    - { name: charlie, groups: admins }

- name: Install packages from list
  apt:
    name: "{{ item }}"
    state: present
  loop:
    - nginx
    - python3-pip
    - git

Variables

yaml

# vars.yml
app_name: myapp
app_version: "1.0.0"
app_port: 8080

env_vars:
  NODE_ENV: production
  PORT: "{{ app_port }}"
  DATABASE_URL: postgresql://localhost/app

# Use in playbook
- name: Set environment variables
  copy:
    dest: /etc/environment
    content: |
      {% for key, value in env_vars.items() %}
      {{ key }}={{ value }}
      {% endfor %}

Roles

yaml

# roles/nginx/tasks/main.yml
---
- name: Install nginx
  apt:
    name: nginx
    state: present

- name: Configure nginx
  template:
    src: nginx.conf.j2
    dest: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
  notify: Reload nginx

- name: Start nginx
  service:
    name: nginx
    state: started
    enabled: yes

# roles/nginx/handlers/main.yml
---
- name: Reload nginx
  service:
    name: nginx
    state: reloaded

# Use role in playbook
- name: Configure web server
  hosts: webservers
  roles:
    - nginx

Jinja2 Templates

jinja2

# templates/nginx.conf.j2
server {
    listen {{ app_port }};
    server_name {{ server_name }};

    location / {
        root {{ app_root }};
        index index.html;
    }

    {% if enable_ssl %}
    listen 443 ssl;
    ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/certs/{{ ssl_cert }};
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/private/{{ ssl_key }};
    {% endif %}
}

Patterns and Practices

Multi-Stage Deployment

yaml

- name: Deploy to staging
  hosts: staging
  roles:
    - app-deploy
  tags: staging

- name: Deploy to production
  hosts: production
  roles:
    - app-deploy
  tags: production

Rolling Updates

yaml

- name: Rolling update
  hosts: webservers
  serial: 1
  become: yes

  tasks:
    - name: Stop service
      service:
        name: app
        state: stopped

    - name: Deploy new version
      copy:
        src: app/
        dest: /opt/app/
      notify: Start service

Vault for Secrets

bash

# Encrypt variable file
ansible-vault encrypt secrets.yml

# Edit encrypted file
ansible-vault edit secrets.yml

# Use with playbook
ansible-playbook site.yml --ask-vault-pass

Error Handling

yaml

- name: Task with error handling
  block:
    - name: Potentially failing task
      command: /bin/false
  rescue:
    - name: Handle error
      debug:
        msg: "Task failed, but playbook continues"
  always:
    - name: Always run
      debug:
        msg: "This runs regardless of success or failure"

Best Practices

Playbook Design

•Use roles for organization
•Separate variables from playbooks
•Use handlers for service restarts
•Add descriptive names for tasks
•Use tags for selective execution

Idempotency

•Always check before changing
•Use appropriate modules
•Test playbooks on staging first
•Use --check mode (dry run)

Security

•Use SSH keys for authentication
•Encrypt sensitive variables with ansible-vault
•Use least-privilege access
•Rotate credentials regularly
•Review and audit playbooks

File Patterns

Look for:

•**/*.yml
•**/*.yaml
•**/roles/**/*
•**/inventory/**/*
•**/group_vars/**/*
•**/host_vars/**/*
•**/playbooks/**/*

Keywords

Ansible, configuration management, automation, playbook, inventory, role, deployment, server automation, idempotency, SSH, Jinja2, template, handler, variable, vault