playbook-creator

Playbook Creator Skill

Create Ansible playbooks following Red Hat Communities of Practice (CoP) standards with proper Type-Function pattern implementation.

Core Principles

Type-Function Pattern Architecture

The Type-Function pattern is the cornerstone of Red Hat CoP automation design:

• Type: A classification of managed hosts (e.g., web_server, database, load_balancer)

  • Each host has exactly ONE type
  • Type defined by the host's primary purpose in the infrastructure
  • Types are implemented as playbooks that orchestrate function roles

• Function: A reusable capability implemented as a role (e.g., apache_install, postgresql_config, firewall_setup)

  • Functions are composed into types
  • Functions can be shared across multiple types
  • Functions are atomic, focused capabilities

• Component: Maintainability units within functions (task files or component roles)

  • Keep functions manageable by breaking into components
  • Use task includes for organization within roles

• Landscape: Complete application or service deployment

  • Orchestrates multiple type playbooks
  • Represents full infrastructure topology
  • Managed via Ansible Automation Controller workflows

Playbook Simplicity Principle

Keep playbooks simple - they should be primarily lists of roles with minimal embedded logic.

Use roles OR tasks, never both in the same play. Choose one:

# Good - uses roles section
- name: Configure web servers
  hosts: web_server
  become: true
  roles:
    - role: namespace.collection.apache_install
    
# Good - uses tasks section (for ad-hoc tasks)
- name: Quick maintenance task
  hosts: all
  tasks:
    - name: Restart service
      ansible.builtin.service:
        name: httpd
        state: restarted

# Bad - mixes roles and tasks
- name: Configure web servers
  hosts: web_server
  become: true
  roles:
    - role: namespace.collection.apache_install
  tasks:  # Don't do this!
    - name: Additional task
      ansible.builtin.command: some_command