What is the become directive in Ansible?

become: true tells Ansible to run tasks with elevated privileges (sudo by default), required for tasks that install packages or modify system files.

What are handlers in Ansible?

Handlers are tasks that only run when notified by another task. They are commonly used to restart services after configuration changes, and run once at the end of a play even if notified multiple times.

What is the difference between a play and a task?

A playbook contains one or more plays. Each play targets a group of hosts and contains a list of tasks. Tasks are the individual units of work executed by Ansible modules.

Validate an Ansible Playbook

Ansible playbooks are YAML files that define automation tasks across servers. Indentation errors and missing required fields cause playbook runs to fail partway through, potentially leaving servers in inconsistent states. This example shows a playbook that installs and configures a web server. Validate the YAML syntax before running ansible-playbook to catch structural errors before they reach your infrastructure.

Example

---
- name: Configure web server
  hosts: webservers
  become: true
  vars:
    app_port: 8080
    app_user: deploy

  tasks:
    - name: Install nginx
      apt:
        name: nginx
        state: present
        update_cache: true

    - name: Copy nginx config
      template:
        src: nginx.conf.j2
        dest: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
      notify: Restart nginx

  handlers:
    - name: Restart nginx
      service:
        name: nginx
        state: restarted

[ open in YAML Validator → ]

FAQ

What is the become directive in Ansible?: become: true tells Ansible to run tasks with elevated privileges (sudo by default), required for tasks that install packages or modify system files.
What are handlers in Ansible?: Handlers are tasks that only run when notified by another task. They are commonly used to restart services after configuration changes, and run once at the end of a play even if notified multiple times.
What is the difference between a play and a task?: A playbook contains one or more plays. Each play targets a group of hosts and contains a list of tasks. Tasks are the individual units of work executed by Ansible modules.

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