Are you ready to level up your Linux game and wield the power of automation like a true DevOps ninja? Enter Ansible Console, the interactive command-line interface that puts the force of Ansible at your fingertips!
In this introduction post, I’ll take you on tour of Ansible Console, teaching you how to run ad-hoc tasks against your inventory with ease.
What is Ansible Console
Ansible Console is an interactive console for executing ad-hoc tasks against hosts defined in your Ansible inventory. It offers built-in command completion and a user-friendly interface, making it a versatile tool for system administrators and automation engineers.
Getting Started
To begin using Ansible Console, launch it by invoking ansible-console with the default inventory, or by specifying a custom inventory file.
Using the default inventory:
$ ansible-console
Specifying an inventory file:
$ ansible-console -i [inventory]
Once launched, the console prompt will display essential information about the current context, including group names, the number of hosts, and forks.
ansible@all (6)[f:10]$
| | |- forks
| |- number of hosts
|- group
Keep an eye on the prompt color – if it turns red, it’s a subtle reminder that the become flag is set to true. Safety first, folks!
Inventory Management
Managing your inventory has never been easier. With Ansible Console, you can list hosts, groups, and even test connections with a flick of your wrist (or a tap of your keyboard).
Need to list all your hosts? No problem, just use the list sub-command:
ansible@all (6)[f:10]$ list
nut-pi
ubuntu-pi4
ubuntu-backup
ubuntu-lenovomini
freenas
pfsense
Want to flex your group management skills? Try this:
ansible@all (6)[f:10]$ list groups
all
centos
freebsd
linux
pfsense
raspberrypi
raspbian
rhel
truenas
ubuntu
ungrouped
And if you’re feeling a bit adventurous, why not test the connection to your hosts using the trusty ping or the ls command?
ls
ansible@all (6)[f:10]$ ls
freenas | CHANGED | rc=0 >>
pfsense | FAILED! => {
"changed": false,
"module_stderr": "Shared connection to 192.168.1.1 closed.\r\n",
"module_stdout": "/bin/sh: /usr/local/bin/python: not found\r\n",
"msg": "The module failed to execute correctly, you probably need to set the interpreter.\nSee stdout/stderr for the exact error",
"rc": 127
}
ubuntu-lenovomini | CHANGED | rc=0 >>
ubuntu-backup | CHANGED | rc=0 >>
ubuntu-pi4 | CHANGED | rc=0 >>
nut-pi | CHANGED | rc=0 >>
ping
ansible@all (6)[f:10]$ ping
freenas | SUCCESS => {
"changed": false,
"ping": "pong"
}
pfsense | FAILED! => {
"changed": false,
"module_stderr": "Shared connection to 192.168.1.1 closed.\r\n",
"module_stdout": "/bin/sh: /usr/local/bin/python: not found\r\n",
"msg": "The module failed to execute correctly, you probably need to set the interpreter.\nSee stdout/stderr for the exact error",
"rc": 127
}
ubuntu-lenovomini | SUCCESS => {
"changed": false,
"ping": "pong"
}
ubuntu-backup | SUCCESS => {
"changed": false,
"ping": "pong"
}
ubuntu-pi4 | SUCCESS => {
"changed": false,
"ping": "pong"
}
nut-pi | SUCCESS => {
"changed": false,
"ping": "pong"
}
Selecting Host or Group
You can select a host or a group with the ‘cd’ command (note how the prompt changes).
Host
ansible@all (6)[f:10]$ cd pfsense
ansible@pfsense (1)[f:10]$
Group
ansible@all (6)[f:10]$ cd ubuntu
ansible@ubuntu (3)[f:10]$
You can also use host patterns eg.: app*.dc*:!app01*
Configuration Customization
Ansible Console puts the power in your hands with customizable configuration options. Whether you need to specify the remote user, adjust the number of forks, toggle the become flag (and many more), Ansible Console has got you covered.
ansible@all (0)[f:5]$ remote_user [username]
ansible@all (0)[f:5]$ forks 7
ansible@all (0)[f:5]$ become [true|false]
ansible@all (0)[f:5]$ check [true|false]
ansible@all (0)[f:5]$ diff [true|false]
Modules
Ah, modules – the bread and butter of Ansible automation. With Ansible Console, you can unleash the full potential of Ansible modules right from your command line.
Use the help sub-command to get a list of available modules:
ansible@ubuntu (3)[f:10]$ help
Documented commands (type help <topic>):
========================================
[... truncated ...]
wti.remote.cpm_syslog_server_info
wti.remote.cpm_temp_info
wti.remote.cpm_time_config
wti.remote.cpm_time_info
wti.remote.cpm_user
Undocumented commands:
======================
ping
Explore the vast array of available modules or dive deep into specific modules for detailed information and usage examples. Simply provide the module name as an argument to help. And don’t forget that Ansible Console has built-in tab completion, so make sure to use and abuse it:
ansible@ubuntu (3)[f:10]$ help copy
Copy files to remote locations
Parameters:
src Local path to a file to copy to the remote server.
content When used instead of O(src), sets the contents of a file directly to the specified value.
dest Remote absolute path where the file should be copied to.
backup Create a backup file including the timestamp information so you can get the original file back if you somehow clobbered it incorrectly.
force Influence whether the remote file must always be replaced.
mode The permissions of the destination file or directory.
directory_mode Set the access permissions of newly created directories to the given mode. Permissions on existing directories do not change.
remote_src Influence whether O(src) needs to be transferred or already is present remotely.
follow This flag indicates that filesystem links in the destination, if they exist, should be followed.
local_follow This flag indicates that filesystem links in the source tree, if they exist, should be followed.
checksum SHA1 checksum of the file being transferred.
decrypt This option controls the autodecryption of source files using vault.
owner Name of the user that should own the filesystem object, as would be fed to I(chown).
group Name of the group that should own the filesystem object, as would be fed to I(chown).
seuser The user part of the SELinux filesystem object context.
serole The role part of the SELinux filesystem object context.
setype The type part of the SELinux filesystem object context.
selevel The level part of the SELinux filesystem object context.
unsafe_writes Influence when to use atomic operation to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target filesystem object.
attributes The attributes the resulting filesystem object should have.
validate The validation command to run before copying the updated file into the final destination.
Module Usage Examples
Installing a Package
ansible@ubuntu (3)[f:10]$ ansible.builtin.package name=git
Installing a PIP Package
ansible@ubuntu (3)[f:10]$ ansible.builtin.pip name=youtube-dl
Modules vs Commands
Anything that you type and it’s not a module will be run as a command. For example:
ansible@ubuntu (3)[f:10]$ cat /etc/hostname
ubuntu-lenovomini | CHANGED | rc=0 >>
ubuntu-lenovomini
ubuntu-pi4 | CHANGED | rc=0 >>
ubuntu-pi4
ubuntu-backup | CHANGED | rc=0 >>
ubuntu-backup
However, if a module exists, ansible-console will invoke that module, or give you an error.
Example with hostname, which is a built-in module:
ansible@ubuntu (3)[f:10]$ help hostname
Manage hostname
Parameters:
name Name of the host.
use Which strategy to use to update the hostname.
The module expects a parameter, so it fails:
ansible@ubuntu (3)[f:10]$ hostname
ubuntu-lenovomini | FAILED! => {
"changed": false,
"msg": "missing required arguments: name"
}
ubuntu-pi4 | FAILED! => {
"changed": false,
"msg": "missing required arguments: name"
}
ubuntu-backup | FAILED! => {
"changed": false,
"msg": "missing required arguments: name"
}
Another example, but now with yum:
ansible@ubuntu (3)[f:10]$ yum check-update -q
[ERROR]: Unable to build command: this task 'yum' has extra params, which is only allowed in the following modules: ansible.legacy.group_by, shell, ansible.legacy.set_fact, ansible.builtin.include_tasks, command, ansible.legacy.script, ansible.legacy.include,
ansible.builtin.group_by, ansible.legacy.shell, set_fact, ansible.builtin.shell, win_command, ansible.legacy.command, ansible.legacy.win_shell, ansible.builtin.set_fact, ansible.builtin.add_host, ansible.legacy.import_role, include_role, ansible.builtin.win_shell, include,
ansible.legacy.win_command, ansible.legacy.include_tasks, include_tasks, ansible.legacy.add_host, ansible.builtin.include_role, group_by, ansible.builtin.meta, ansible.builtin.raw, import_role, ansible.legacy.raw, ansible.builtin.command, ansible.legacy.include_vars, script,
win_shell, ansible.builtin.script, ansible.legacy.import_tasks, add_host, meta, ansible.builtin.import_tasks, ansible.windows.win_shell, ansible.builtin.include, ansible.windows.win_command, ansible.builtin.include_vars, raw, ansible.builtin.import_role, include_vars, import_tasks,
ansible.builtin.win_command, ansible.legacy.meta, ansible.legacy.include_role
But sometimes you may need to run a command that exists as a module instead of the module itself. This can easily be done with the !:
ansible@ubuntu-pi4 (1)[f:10]$ !apt list --upgradable
ubuntu-pi4 | CHANGED | rc=0 >>
Listing...
base-files/focal-updates 11ubuntu5.8 arm64 [upgradable from: 11ubuntu5.7]
gnome-shell-common/focal-updates 3.36.9-0ubuntu0.20.04.3 all [upgradable from: 3.36.9-0ubuntu0.20.04.2]
gnome-shell/focal-updates 3.36.9-0ubuntu0.20.04.3 arm64 [upgradable from: 3.36.9-0ubuntu0.20.04.2]
libnss-systemd/focal-updates 245.4-4ubuntu3.23 arm64 [upgradable from: 245.4-4ubuntu3.22]
libpam-systemd/focal-updates 245.4-4ubuntu3.23 arm64 [upgradable from: 245.4-4ubuntu3.22]
libsystemd0/focal-updates 245.4-4ubuntu3.23 arm64 [upgradable from: 245.4-4ubuntu3.22]
libudev1/focal-updates 245.4-4ubuntu3.23 arm64 [upgradable from: 245.4-4ubuntu3.22]
motd-news-config/focal-updates 11ubuntu5.8 all [upgradable from: 11ubuntu5.7]
systemd-sysv/focal-updates 245.4-4ubuntu3.23 arm64 [upgradable from: 245.4-4ubuntu3.22]
systemd-timesyncd/focal-updates 245.4-4ubuntu3.23 arm64 [upgradable from: 245.4-4ubuntu3.22]
systemd/focal-updates 245.4-4ubuntu3.23 arm64 [upgradable from: 245.4-4ubuntu3.22]
tailscale/unknown 1.58.2 arm64 [upgradable from: 1.56.1]
tzdata/focal-updates 2023d-0ubuntu0.20.04 all [upgradable from: 2023c-0ubuntu0.20.04.2]
udev/focal-updates 245.4-4ubuntu3.23 arm64 [upgradable from: 245.4-4ubuntu3.22]
WARNING: apt does not have a stable CLI interface. Use with caution in scripts.
Variables
Collection variables are not available by default because ansible-console, unlike ansible-playbook, doesn’t gather facts before running:
ansible@ubuntu-pi4 (1)[f:10]$ debug msg="{{ ansible_facts.architecture }}"
ubuntu-pi4 | FAILED! => {
"msg": "The task includes an option with an undefined variable. The error was: 'dict object' has no attribute 'architecture'. 'dict object' has no attribute 'architecture'. 'dict object' has no attribute 'architecture'. 'dict object' has no attribute 'architecture'"
}
But fear not, you can manually invoke the setup module and either filter the values, or print them with the debug module:
ansible@ubuntu-pi4 (1)[f:10]$ setup filter="*architecture"
ubuntu-pi4 | SUCCESS => {
"ansible_facts": {
"ansible_architecture": "aarch64"
},
"changed": false
}
ansible@ubuntu-pi4 (1)[f:10]$ debug msg="{{ ansible_facts.architecture }}"
ubuntu-pi4 | SUCCESS => {
"msg": "aarch64"
}
Conclusion
With its intuitive interface and powerful functionality, Ansible Console offers a convenient way to execute ad-hoc tasks and manage your Ansible inventory interactively. By mastering Ansible Console, you can streamline your automation workflows and improve operational efficiency in your environment.
