Ansible Playbooks:

Introduction to Ansible Playbooks

Ansible Playbooks are configuration management scripts written in YAML (Yet Another Markup Language). They are used to automate the deployment, configuration, and management of systems.

Key Features of Ansible Playbooks

• Written in YAML format for human readability.
• Define tasks, variables, handlers, templates, and roles for automated operations.
• Each playbook contains one or more plays, and each play is executed on a defined set of target machines.
• Playbooks use modules, which are predefined tasks to be executed on remote systems.

Understanding YAML for Ansible

What is YAML?

YAML (Yet Another Markup Language) is a human-readable data serialization format widely used in configuration files, including Ansible Playbooks.

Basic YAML Syntax

1. List Representation

   In YAML, lists are represented using - (hyphen).

   Example:

   --- # A list of fruits
   Fruits:
     - Mango
     - Strawberry
     - Banana
     - Grapes
     - Apple
   

2. Dictionary Representation

   Key-value pairs (dictionaries) are written in the following format:

   --- # Customer details
   customer:
     name: Rajput
     job: Trainer
     skills: Ansible
     experience: 8 Years
   

Important YAML Rules

• All YAML files must begin with -- and end with ... (optional).
• Use spaces, not tabs for indentation.