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Ansible Commands

This page is a practical command reference for day-to-day Ansible work.

Install and Remove

apt install ansible
yum install ansible
pip3 install ansible

rm -rf $HOME/.ansible
rm -rf $HOME/.ansible.cfg

Configuration

Common config locations:

  • ~/.ansible.cfg
  • /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg

Inspect the effective configuration:

ansible-config view
ansible-config dump

Inventory and Ad Hoc Commands

ansible all -i inventory.ini -m ping
ansible web -i inventory.ini -a hostname
ansible all -i host.example.com, --user=ubuntu -m ping

Inline inventory with a private key:

ansible all -i host.example.com, --user=ubuntu \
  -e ansible_ssh_private_key_file=my_ssh_key.pem \
  -m ping

Playbooks

ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini site.yml
ansible-playbook site.yml --limit worker
ansible-playbook site.yml --start-at-task="Install nginx"
ansible-playbook site.yml --extra-vars="env=prod"

Variables

Use extra vars for runtime input:

ansible-playbook site.yml --extra-vars="remote_folder=/opt/app"
ansible-playbook site.yml --extra-vars=@vars/prod.yml

Access environment values inside templates:

{{ lookup('env', 'DB_VARIANT_USERNAME') }}

Roles and Includes

- hosts: all
  tasks:
    - include_role:
        name: labeler

Example Task Patterns

- hosts: all
  tasks:
    - name: Create directory
      ansible.builtin.file:
        path: ~/spark-submit/trafficsigns
        state: directory
        mode: "0775"

    - name: Copy files
      ansible.builtin.copy:
        src: /home/projects/ubs/current-task/nodes/ansible/files/
        dest: ~/spark-submit/trafficsigns
        mode: "0775"

Practical Notes

  • Use gather_facts: no when the target host does not have Python available.
  • Prefer idempotent modules over shell commands.
  • Keep secrets out of plain playbooks and move them to vault or encrypted vars.