community.general/rst/playbooks.rst

Playbooks
=========

Playbooks are a completely different way to use ansible and are
particularly awesome.   They are the basis for a really simple 
configuration management and multi-machine deployment system, 
unlike any that already exist, and
one that is very well suited to deploying complex applications.

Playbooks can declare configurations, but they can also orchestrate steps of
any manual ordered process, even as different steps must bounce back and forth
between sets of machines in particular orders.  They can launch tasks 
synchronously or asynchronously.

While you might run the main /usr/bin/ansible program for ad-hoc
tasks, playbooks are more likely to be kept in source control and used
to push out your configuration or assure the configurations of your
remote systems are in spec.

Let's dive in and see how they work.  As you go, you may wish to open 
the `github examples directory <https://github.com/ansible/ansible/tree/master/examples/playbooks>`_ in
another tab, so you can apply the theory to what things look like in practice.

Playbook Example
````````````````

Playbooks are expressed in YAML format and have a minimum of syntax.
Each playbook is composed of one or more 'plays' in a list.  

By composing a playbook of multiple 'plays', it is possible to
orchestrate multi-machine deployments, running certain steps on all
machines in the webservers group, then certain steps on the database
server group, then more commands back on the webservers group, etc. 

For starters, here's a playbook that contains just one play.::

    ---
    - hosts: webservers
      vars:
        http_port: 80
        max_clients: 200
      user: root
      tasks:
      - name: ensure apache is at the latest version
        action: yum pkg=httpd state=latest
      - name: write the apache config file
        action: template src=/srv/httpd.j2 dest=/etc/httpd.conf
        notify:
        - restart apache
      - name: ensure apache is running
        action: service name=httpd state=started
      handlers:
        - name: restart apache
          action: service name=apache state=restarted

Below, we'll break down what the various features of the playbook language are.

Basics
``````

Hosts and Users
+++++++++++++++

For each play in a playbook, you get to choose which machines in your infrastructure
to target and what remote user to complete the steps (called tasks) as.

The `hosts` line is a list of one or more groups or host patterns,
separated by colons, as described in the :ref:`patterns`
documentation.  The `user` is just the name of the user account::

    ---
    - hosts: webservers
      user: root


Support for running things from sudo is pending.


Vars section
++++++++++++

The `vars` section contains a list of variables and values that can be used in the plays, like this::

    ---
    - hosts: webservers
      users: root
      vars:
         http_port: 80
         van_halen_port: 5150
         other: 'magic'       

These variables can be used later in the playbook, or on the managed system (in templates), just like this::

    {{ varname }}

Within playbooks themselves, but not within templates on the remote machines, it's also legal
to use nicer shorthand like this::

    $varname

Further, if there are discovered variables about the system (say, if
facter or ohai were installed) these variables bubble up back into the
playbook, and can be used on each system just like explicitly set
variables.  

Facter variables are prefixed with ``facter_`` and Ohai
variables are prefixed with ``ohai_``.  So for instance, if I wanted
to write the hostname into the /etc/motd file, I could say::

   - name: write the motd
     action: template src=/srv/templates/motd.j2 dest=/etc/motd

And in /srv/templates/motd.j2::

   You are logged into {{ facter_hostname }}

But we're getting ahead of ourselves.  Let's talk about tasks.

Tasks list
++++++++++

Each play contains a list of tasks.  Tasks are executed in order, one
at a time, against all machines matched by the host pattern,
before moving on to the next task.

Hosts with failed tasks are taken out of the rotation for the entire
playbook.  If things fail, simply correct the playbook file and rerun.

The goal of each task is to execute a module, with very specific arguments.
Variables, as mentioned above, can be used in arguments to modules.

Modules other than `command` are 'idempotent', meaning if you run them
again, they will make the changes they are told to make to bring the
system to the desired state.  This makes it very safe to rerun
the same playbook multiple times.  They won't change things
unless they have to change things.  

Command will actually rerun the same command again, 
which is totally ok if the command is something like 
'chmod' or 'setsebool', etc.

Every task must have a name, which is included in the output from
running the playbook.   This is output for humans, so it is
nice to have reasonably good descriptions of each task step.

Here is what a basic task looks like, as with most modules,
the service module takes key=value arguments::

   tasks:
     - name: make sure apache is running
       action: service name=httpd state=running

The command module is the one module that just takes a list
of arguments, and doesn't use the key=value form.  This makes
it work just like you would expect. Simple::

   tasks:
     - name: disable selinux 
       action: command /sbin/setenforce 0

Variables can be used in action lines.   Suppose you defined
a variable called 'vhost' in the 'vars' section, you could do this::

   tasks:
     - name: make a directory
       action: template src=somefile.j2 dest=/etc/httpd/conf.d/$vhost

Those same variables are usable in templates, which we'll get to later.


Running Operations On Change
````````````````````````````

As we've mentioned, nearly all modules are written to be 'idempotent' and can relay  when
they have affected a change on the remote system.   Playbooks recognize this and
have a basic event system that can be used to respond to change.

These 'notify' actions are triggered at the end of each 'play' in a playbook, and
trigger only once each.  For instance, multiple resources may indicate
that apache needs to be restarted, but apache will only be bounced once.

Here's an example of restarting two services when the contents of a file
change, but only if the file changes::

   - name: template configuration file
     action: template src=template.j2 dest=/etc/foo.conf
     notify:
        - restart memcached
        - restart apache

The things listed in the 'notify' section of a task are called
handlers.  

Handlers are lists of tasks, not really any different from regular
tasks, that are referenced by name.  Handlers are what notifiers
notify.  If nothing notifies a handler, it will not run.  Regardless
of how many things notify a handler, it will run only once, after all
of the tasks complete in a particular play.  

Here's an example handlers section::

    handlers:
        - name: restart memcached
          action: service name=memcached state=restarted
        - name: restart apache
          action: service name=apache state=restarted

Handlers are best used to restart services and trigger reboots.  You probably
won't need them for much else.

.. note::
   Notify handlers are always run in the order written.


Power Tricks
````````````

Now that you have the basics down, let's learn some more advanced
things you can do with playbooks.


External Variables And Sensitive Data
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It's a great idea to keep your playbooks under source control, but
you may wish to make the playbook source public while keeping certain
important variables private.  You can do this by using an external
variables file, or files, just like this::

    ---
    - hosts: all
      user: root
      vars:
        favcolor: blue
      vars_files:
        - /vars/external_vars.yml
      tasks:
      - name: this is just a placeholder
        action: command /bin/echo foo

This removes the risk of sharing sensitive data with others when
sharing your playbook source with them.

The contents of each variables file is a simple YAML dictionary, like this::

    ---
    # in the above example, this would be vars/external_vars.yml
    somevar: somevalue
    password: magic


Conditional Execution
+++++++++++++++++++++

Sometimes you will want to skip a particular step on a particular host.  This could be something
as simple as not installing a certain package if the operating system is a particular version,
or it could be something like performing some cleanup steps if a filesystem is getting full.

This is easy to do in Ansible, with the `only_if` clause.  This clause can be applied to any task,
and allows usage of variables from anywhere in ansible, either denoted with `$dollar_sign_syntax` or
`{{ braces_syntax }}` and then evaluates them with a Python expression.   Don't panic -- it's actually
pretty simple.::

    vars:
      - favcolor: 'red'
    tasks:
      - name: "shutdown if my favorite color is blue"
        action: command /sbin/shutdown -t now
        only_if: "'$favcolor' == 'blue'"
      
Variables from tools like `facter` and `ohai` can also be used here, if installed.   As a reminder,
these variables are prefixed, so it's `$facter_operatingsystem`, not `$operatingsystem`.  The only_if
expression is actually a tiny small bit of Python, so be sure to quote variables and make something
that evaluates to `True` or `False`.

.. note::
     Handlers don't support only_if because they don't need to.  If a handler is not notified,
     it will not run.  

Conditional Imports
+++++++++++++++++++

Sometimes you will want to do certain things differently in a playbook based on certain criteria.
Having one playbook that works on multiple platforms and OS versions is a good example.

As an example, the name of the Apache package may be different between CentOS and Debian, 
but it is easily handled with a minimum of syntax in an Ansible Playbook::

    ---
    - hosts: all
      user: root
      vars_files:
        - "vars/common.yml"
        - [ "vars/$facter_operatingsystem.yml", "vars/os_defaults.yml" ] 
      tasks:
      - name: make sure apache is running
        action: service name=$apache state=running


As a reminder, the various YAML files contain just keys and values::

    ---
    # for vars/CentOS.yml
    apache: httpd
    somethingelse: 42

How does this work?  If the operating system was 'CentOS', the first file Ansible would try to import
would be 'vars/CentOS.yml', followed up by '/vars/os_defaults.yml' if that file
did not exist.   If no files in the list were found, an error would be raised.
On Debian, it would instead first look towards 'vars/Debian.yml' instead of 'vars/CentOS.yml', before
falling back on 'vars/os_defaults.yml'. Pretty simple.

To use this conditional import feature, you'll need facter or ohai installed prior to running the playbook, but
you can of course push this out with Ansible if you like::

    # for facter
    ansible -m yum -a "pkg=facter ensure=installed"
    ansible -m yum -a "pkg=ruby-json ensure=installed"

    # for ohai
    ansible -m yum -a "pkg=ohai ensure=installed"

Ansible's approach to configuration -- seperating variables from tasks, keeps your playbooks
from turning into arbitrary code with ugly nested ifs, conditionals, and so on - and results
in more streamlined & auditable configuration rules -- especially because there are a 
minimum of decision points to track.


Include Files And Reuse
+++++++++++++++++++++++

Suppose you want to reuse lists of tasks between plays or playbooks.  You can use
include files to do this.

An include file simply contains a flat list of tasks, like so::

    ---
    # possibly saved as tasks/foo.yml
    - name: placeholder foo
      action: command /bin/foo
    - name: placeholder bar
      action: command /bin/bar

Include directives look like this::

   - tasks:
      - include: tasks/foo.yml

Variables passed in can be used in the include files too.  Assume a variable named 'user'. Using
`jinja2` syntax, anywhere in the included file, you can say::

   {{ user }}

I can also pass variables into includes directly.  We might call this a 'parameterized include'.

For instance, if deploying multiple wordpress instances, I could
contain all of my wordpress tasks in a single wordpress.yml file, and use it like so::

   - tasks:
     - include: wordpress.yml user=timmy 
     - include: wordpress.yml user=alice
     - include: wordpress.yml user=bob

In addition to the explicitly passed in parameters, all variables from
the vars section are also available for use here as well.  Variables that bubble
up from tools like facter and ohai are not usable here though -- but they ARE available for use
inside 'action' lines and in templates.

.. note::
   Include statements are only usable from the top level
   playbook file.  This means includes can not include other
   includes.

Includes can also be used in the 'handlers' section, for instance, if you
want to define how to restart apache, you only have to do that once for all
of your playbooks.  You might make a notifiers.yaml that looked like::

   ----
   # this might be in a file like handlers/handlers.yml
   - name: restart apache
     action: service name=apache state=restarted

And in your main playbook file, just include it like so, at the bottom
of a play::

   handlers:
     - include: handlers/handlers.yml

You can mix in includes along with your regular non-included tasks and handlers.

Note that you can not conditionally path the location to an include file, like you can
with 'vars_files'.  If you find yourself needing to do this, consider how you can
restructure your playbook to be more class/role oriented.  


Using Includes To Assign Classes of Systems
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Include files are really powerful when used to reuse logic between playbooks.  You
could imagine a playbook describing your entire infrastructure like
this, in a list of just a few plays::

    ---
    - hosts: atlanta-webservers
      vars:
        datacenter: atlanta
      tasks:
      - include: tasks/base.yml
      - include: tasks/webservers.yml database=db.atlanta.com
      handlers:
        - include: handlers/common.yml
    - hosts: atlanta-dbservers
      vars:
        datacenter: atlanta
      tasks:
      - include: tasks/base.yml
      - include: tasks/dbservers.yml
      handlers:
        - include: handlers/common.yml

There is one (or more) play defined for each group of systems, and
each play maps each group to several includes.  These includes represent
'class definitions', telling the systems what they are supposed to do or be.
In the above example, all hosts get the base configuration first and further
customize it depending on what class or nature of machines they are.

.. note::
   Playbooks do not always have to be declarative; you can do something
   similar to model a push process for a multi-tier web application.  This is
   actually one of the things playbooks were invented to do.


Asynchronous Actions and Polling
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

By default tasks in playbooks block, meaning the connections stay open
until the task is done on each node.  If executing playbooks with
a small parallelism value (aka `--forks`), you may wish that long
running operations can go faster.  The easiest way to do this is
to kick them off all at once and then poll until they are done.  

You will also want to use asynchronous mode on very long running 
operations that might be subject to timeout.

To launch a task asynchronously, specify it's maximum runtime
and how frequently you would like to poll for status.  The default
poll value is 10 seconds if you do not specify a value for `poll`::

    ---
    - hosts: all
      user: root
      tasks:
      - name: simulate long running op (15 sec), wait for up to 45, poll every 5
        action: command /bin/sleep 15
        async: 45
        poll: 5

.. note::
   There is no default for the async time limit.  If you leave off the
   'async' keyword, the task runs synchronously, which is Ansible's
   default.

Alternatively, if you do not need to wait on the task to complete, you may
"fire and forget" by specifying a poll value of 0::

    ---
    - hosts: all
      user: root
      tasks:
      - name: simulate long running op, allow to run for 45, fire and forget
        action: command /bin/sleep 15
        async: 45
        poll: 0

.. note::
   You shouldn't "fire and forget" with operations that require 
   exclusive locks, such as yum transactions, if you expect to run other
   commands later in the playbook against those same resources.  

.. note::
   Using a higher value for `--forks` will result in kicking off asynchronous
   tasks even faster.  This also increases the efficiency of polling.

Executing A Playbook
````````````````````

Now that you've learned playbook syntax, how do you run a playbook?  It's simple.
Let's run a playbook using a parallelism level of 10::

    ansible-playbook playbook.yml -f 10

.. seealso::

   :doc:`YAMLSyntax`
       Learn about YAML syntax
   :doc:`modules`
       Learn about available modules
   :doc:`moduledev`
       Learn how to extend Ansible by writing your own modules
   :doc:`patterns`
       Learn about how to select hosts
   `Github examples directory <https://github.com/ansible/ansible/tree/master/examples/playbooks>`_
       Complete playbook files from the github project source
   `Mailing List <http://groups.google.com/group/ansible-project>`_
       Questions? Help? Ideas?  Stop by the list on Google Groups