Ansible

Distinguishing Ansible Playbooks and Role Files

Playbooks

• Structure: Starts with a list of plays, each containing:
  • hosts: Specifies target machines
  • tasks: Lists tasks to execute
  • roles: Includes roles to apply
• Purpose: Orchestrates tasks or roles across specific hosts
• Example:

  - name: Deploy web servers
    hosts: webservers
    roles:
      - webserver_setup

Role Files (Task Files)

• Structure: Starts directly with a list of tasks, without hosts or roles at the top level
• Purpose: Defines reusable tasks for playbooks to use
• Example:

  - name: Copy configuration file
    copy:
      src: config.conf
      dest: /etc/app/config.conf

Additional Clue: File location can help:

• Playbooks are often standalone files (e.g., site.yml)
• Role files are within role directories (e.g., roles/myrole/tasks/main.yml)