Collaborative Playbook Development | Version Control

Introduction

Collaborative playbook development in Ansible is essential for teams that manage infrastructure as code. This tutorial will guide you through setting up a version-controlled environment for developing Ansible playbooks collaboratively. By the end, you will have a robust workflow for contributing to playbooks, reviewing changes, and deploying updates efficiently.

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have the following:

Basic knowledge of Ansible and YAML
Git installed on your local machine
An account on a Git repository hosting service (e.g., GitHub, GitLab)

Setting Up Version Control

First, initialize a Git repository for your Ansible playbook project. Navigate to your project directory and run:

git init

Create a .gitignore file to exclude unnecessary files from being tracked:

echo '*.retry' > .gitignore

Stage and commit the initial setup:

git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

Hosting the Repository Remotely

Host your repository on a service like GitHub or GitLab. Create a new repository on your chosen platform and follow the instructions to push your local repository to the remote:

git remote add origin <remote_repository_URL>
git push -u origin master

Branching Strategy

Use a branching strategy to manage collaborative development. A common approach is the Git Flow workflow, which involves feature branches, a develop branch, and a master branch.

Creating Feature Branches

When starting a new feature or task, create a new branch:

git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name

Developing Playbooks

Develop your playbooks on the feature branch. Create or modify playbook files as needed. For example, create a new playbook file:

touch playbook.yml

Edit the playbook file to include your desired tasks:

- name: Install and start Apache
  hosts: webservers
  become: yes
  tasks:
    - name: Install Apache
      apt:
        name: apache2
        state: present
    - name: Start Apache
      service:
        name: apache2
        state: started

Committing and Pushing Changes

Once your changes are complete, stage and commit them:

git add .
git commit -m "Add playbook to install and start Apache"

Push your feature branch to the remote repository:

git push origin feature/your-feature-name

Collaborative Review

Create a merge request (MR) or pull request (PR) on your repository hosting service for team members to review your changes. Address any feedback or requested changes before merging.

Creating a Pull Request

Navigate to your repository on the hosting service and create a new pull request. Ensure you select the correct branches for comparison and provide a descriptive title and summary of your changes.

Merging Changes

Once the pull request is approved, merge it into the develop branch. This step may vary slightly depending on your branching strategy. Generally, you will:

git checkout develop
git merge feature/your-feature-name
git push origin develop

After merging, delete the feature branch both locally and remotely to keep the repository clean:

git branch -d feature/your-feature-name
git push origin --delete feature/your-feature-name

Deploying Playbooks

Deploy the updated playbooks from the develop branch to your environments. Ensure proper testing and validation are performed in a staging environment before deploying to production.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can create a collaborative environment for developing Ansible playbooks using version control. This approach helps maintain code quality, streamline reviews, and ensure smooth deployments.