Structuring Ansible Projects
Guide to starting and organizing Ansible projects, from basic inventory setups to advanced collections and execution environments.
Category: Guideline
Securely Accessing Ansible Vault in Development
Guideline for securely accessing Ansible Vault during development without storing passwords in plain files, using GNOME Keyring or environment variables.
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What is Docker-in-docker ( DinD )?
Docker-in-Docker (DinD) is a common technique used in GitLab CI/CD pipelines on Kubernetes to run Docker commands within Docker containers.
Distinguish Between Ansible Engineering and Operations
Ansible engineering and operations should be treated as distinct disciplines to promote high-quality, maintainable automation. This separation ensures that engineering focuses on building scalable, reusable code, while operations handles deployment, monitoring, and day-to-day execution.
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Prefixing Variables and Separating Words in Ansible
Prefix public role variables with the role name, internal role variables with __role_name_, inventory-only variables with a project prefix, and separate words with underscores in Ansible variable names.
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Simulate Dynamic Inventory in Development
Guideline for using an inventory plugin in Ansible development environments as a concrete example to illustrate future full automation for organizations new to Ansible.
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Group-based Environments
Use a group-based approach to organize your Ansible inventory and variables for different environments.
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Using item and loop_var in Ansible Loops
Use item as the default loop variable. Reserve loop_control.loop_var for cases where item would collide across loop boundaries, such as nested loops and include_tasks.
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Story Points and Velocity in Ansible Projects with Scrum
In Scrum-based Ansible projects, story points and velocity should be estimated and measured accurately, with a strong emphasis on the business value derived from automation content. Story points aren’t about time but about relative effort, complexity, and risk.
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Managing Secrets with Ansible Vault in AAP / AWX
Guidance on managing secrets using Ansible Vault in Ansible projects, with a focus on Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) and AWX.
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Dot Notation vs Bracket Notation in Ansible and Jinja
Prefer dot notation for fixed keys. Use bracket notation only when dot notation cannot express the access safely or correctly.
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Automating RHEL Registration and Subscription
Automate Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) registration and subscription in C2 Platform development environments using Vagrant for seamless access to Red Hat resources.
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Semantic Sprints ( SemSprint )
Adopt consistent and meaningful naming for sprints, inspired by Semantic Versioning (SemVer) principles. This “SemSprint” approach makes sprint names descriptive, improving communication and traceability.
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Ansible Service Account Guidelines
Guidelines for creating Ansible service accounts with a phased permissions strategy, leveraging IaC and GitOps for risk mitigation, and applying logical analysis for PoLP in automation environments.
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Avoid Hardcoding Download URLs and Paths in Tasks
Define download URLs and paths in variables instead of hardcoding them in tasks.
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Definition of Done ( DoD )
Establish effective Definition of Done (DoD) criteria specifically for Ansible projects to ensure that deliverables are complete, tested, and ready for production. DoD acts as a checklist to prevent “done” from meaning “mostly done.”
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Using Labels in Ansible Loops
Use loop_control.label to keep Ansible loop output short and readable when a loop iterates over dictionaries or other large values.
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Vagrant Sync Folders
Learn how to effortlessly synchronize a folder from your host machine to the guest machine.
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Local Stuff
Ansible configuration that should be local and ignored by Git.
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Slashes vs Backslashes When Targeting MS Windows Hosts
When targeting MS Windows hosts, use slashes for all paths. Convert to backslashes only if necessary.
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Using Tags in Ansible Roles
Use a consistent tagging structure in Ansible roles to make playbook runs more targeted and maintainable.
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Dictionary Merging in Ansible Inventories
Use dictionary merging deliberately and predictably in Ansible inventories to keep overrides maintainable.
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Keep Variable and Identifier Names Short and Consistent
Prefer short, consistent names that reduce noise without making variables or identifiers unclear.
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Import Unless: Prefer Static Reuse in Ansible
Prefer import_tasks, import_role, or the play-level roles section for reusable Ansible content. Use include_tasks or include_role only when you need dynamic runtime behavior.
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Branching and Merging Strategy
Guidelines for implementing branching and merging policies in GitOps pipelines for Ansible inventory projects to promote changes across environments.
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Clone script
Automate setup of the development environment with multiple Git repositories.
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Using GitLab Runner as Ansible Control Node
Guideline for using GitLab Runner as an Ansible control node when Ansible Automation Platform (AAP) is unavailable.
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Ansible Guideline: Using Internal Roles
This guideline is tailored for teams that are relatively new to Ansible and wish to gain experience by using internal roles.
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Handling PIP Externally Managed Environment Error
Guidelines for resolving the PIP “externally-managed-environment” error on Ubuntu 24.04 when installing Python packages for Ansible automation.