roleconversionlite.md

Playbook to Role Conversion

GOAL:

• Convert the playbook below into a role
• Call your newly created role from a second playbook.

1. First, create your new role's directory structure.

   student@bchd:~/.ansible/roles$ mkdir -p ~/.ansible/roles && ansible-galaxy init ~/.ansible/roles/challenge

2. Move into your new role.

   student@bchd:~/.ansible/roles$ cd ~/.ansible/roles/challenge

3. If you haven't yet, install the tree application, it can really help!

   student@bchd:~/.ansible/roles$ sudo apt install tree -y

4. Use the tree application to get a better visual of the role you created.

   student@bchd:~/galaxy/roles/challenge$ tree ~/.ansible/roles/challenge

5. The goal is to take the playbook below and convert it into a role structure. Here are some hints on what to do:

   • You will need to edit vars/main.yml and tasks/main.yml. Cut and paste!
   • For this basic role you won't need any other directories besides var and tasks.
   • Remember that play keywords like hosts, connection, gather_facts, and the name of the play DO NOT belong in roles!
   • If you'd like to see what the inside of a role looks like, check out the Minecraft server setup role we looked at the other day!

   ---
   - name: Friday Warmup
     hosts: localhost
     connection: local
     gather_facts: no
     
     vars:
       file_content: "It's Friday!!! Happy Ansiblin'!"
       file_path: "/tmp/friday_dir/"
       file_name: "friday_file.txt"
       
     tasks:
       - name: Ensure /tmp/friday_dir/ exists
         ansible.builtin.file:
           path: "{{ file_path }}"
           state: directory
   
       - name: Create a file in /tmp/friday_dir with content from a variable
         ansible.builtin.copy:
           dest: "{{ file_path }}{{ file_name }}"
           content: "{{ file_content }}"
   
       - name: Display the content of the file
         ansible.builtin.command:
           cmd: "cat {{ file_path }}{{ file_name }}"
         register: cat_output
   
       - name: Show file content
         ansible.builtin.debug:
           msg: "The file content is: '{{ cat_output.stdout }}'"

6. When you feel you've successfully created the role, try and run it from a playbook! Click the dropdown if you need an example of how this is done.

Playbook calling a Role

---
- name: executing a role
  hosts: localhost
  connection: local
  gather_facts: no

  roles:
    - challenge