Development and testing

In order to deliver an Ansible project it’s necessary to test the code and configuration. The tags provide the administrators with a tool to test single tasks’ files and single tasks. For example, to test single tasks at single remote host test_01, create a playbook

shell> cat lp.yml
- hosts: test_01
  become: true
  roles:
    - vbotka.linux_postinstall

Customize configuration in host_vars/test_01/lp-*.yml and check the syntax

shell> ansible-playbook lp.yml --syntax-check

Then dry-run the selected task and see what will be changed. Replace <tag> with valid tag or with a comma-separated list of tags

shell> ansible-playbook lp.yml -t <tag> --check --diff

When all seems to be ready run the command. Run the command twice and make sure the playbook and the configuration is idempotent

shell> ansible-playbook lp.yml -t <tag>