Ansible-galaxy init - Shell-Bash

Ansible-galaxy is a command-line tool that allows developers to create, share, and manage collections of Ansible roles and modules. When combined with the init command, it becomes a powerful tool that allows you to quickly create the framework for new Ansible roles.

In this tutorial, we will explore how to use the ansible-galaxy init command to set up a new Ansible role using the Shell-Bash programming language.

Prerequisites

To follow along with this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of shell scripting, as well as Ansible and its associated terminology. Additionally, you will need to have Ansible and ansible-galaxy installed on your machine.

Creating a new Ansible Role with ansible-galaxy

To create a new role with ansible-galaxy, use the following command:

ansible-galaxy init role_name --init-path /path/to/directory

Here, we replace role_name with the name of the role we want to create. We also specify the directory in which we want to create the role with --init-path option.

For example, if we want to create a role called "my_shell_role" in the "/opt/ansible/roles" directory, we'd use:

ansible-galaxy init my_shell_role --init-path /opt/ansible/roles

This command creates the basic file structure for our role within the specified directory. The structure includes directories for tasks, handlers, templates, vars, defaults, files, and meta.

Customizing Your Role

Once your role is created, you can customize it as needed. The role's main.yml file in the tasks directory is the starting point for configuring your role. In this file, you would place the list of tasks that will be executed when the role is run on a target machine.

Additionally, you can edit files found in other directories of the role structure, such as handlers, templates, and vars, to provide more specific functionality for your role.

Conclusion

The ansible-galaxy init command is an essential tool for any Ansible developer. It allows you to quickly create the basic framework for new roles and customize them to your needs. With a little bit of shell scripting knowledge, you can create roles that are custom-fit to your specific use cases.