Ansible Quick‑Start Checklist¶

This page provides a concise onboarding guide. It complements the Ansible Overview & Usage and Directory Structure & Conventions by serving as a one‑page reference for essential commands.

Checking Out the Code from GitHub¶

Before working with Ansible, clone the repository and keep it up to date:

# Clone the repository (first time)
git clone https://github.com/t3knoid/ansible.git
cd ansible

# Update to the latest version (subsequent use)
git pull

Notes:

• Always run git pull before executing playbooks to ensure you are working with the latest codebase.
• For contributions, create a feature branch before making changes:

  git checkout -b feature/my-change
  

Environment Setup¶

1. Connect to a control node (e.g., via SSH).
2. Activate Python environment:

   source /opt/python_3.12/bin/activate
   

3. Navigate to the Ansible repository:

   cd ~/ansible
   

4. Update to the latest codebase:

   git pull
   

Deploy or Update Ansible¶

Run the following command to deploy or update Ansible:

INV=inventory/ansible/inventory.ini
ansible-playbook -k -i $INV playbooks/ansible/deploy_ansible.yml

Common Playbooks¶

Privileged Execution¶

• Use the local ansible account during VM provisioning.
• After provisioning, any user in the ansible domain group can elevate privileges to run Ansible commands.

Alternative Execution via Semaphore UI¶

💡 As an alternative to running playbooks from the console, you can use Semaphore UI for a simplified web interface. It provides a dashboard for managing inventories, credentials, and playbook runs.

Quick Reference Diagram¶

Workflow:
Clone Repo → SSH → Activate Python → Pull Repo → Run Playbook → (Optional) Manage via Semaphore UI