ansible-for-devops
A curated collection of real-world Ansible playbook examples and configurations supporting the 'Ansible for DevOps' book. Covers infrastructure automation, deployment patterns, Kubernetes, Docker, security hardening, and CI/CD across multiple chapters with practical, runnable code.
Key facts
Objective fields from the source. Values we can't verify are shown as “Unknown” rather than guessed.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | geerlingguy/ansible-for-devops |
| Owner | geerlingguy |
| Primary language | Python |
| License | MIT — OSI-approved |
| Stars | 9.8k |
| Forks | 3.8k |
| Open issues | 118 |
| Latest release | Unknown |
| Last updated | 2025-05-25 |
| Source | https://github.com/geerlingguy/ansible-for-devops |
What ansible-for-devops is
Python-based Ansible example repository with playbooks demonstrating orchestration, role-based architecture, dynamic inventory, multi-server deployments, container management, certificate automation (Let's Encrypt), and Molecule testing. Examples span LAMP stacks, Kubernetes, Jenkins, ELK, and rolling deployments.
Get the ansible-for-devops source
Clone the repository and explore it locally.
git clone https://github.com/geerlingguy/ansible-for-devops.gitcd ansible-for-devops# follow the project's README for install & configurationNeed it deployed, integrated, or customized instead? DEV.co ships production installs.
Best use cases
Implementation considerations
- Examples use Vagrant/VirtualBox as test environments; verify playbooks work in your target infrastructure (cloud, bare metal, containers) before production deployment.
- Code is pedagogical and intentionally includes non-best-practice patterns for teaching; audit and refactor for production use, particularly around error handling and variable management.
- Some playbooks target specific OS versions (e.g., CentOS); test compatibility with your target OS distributions and Ansible version.
- Dynamic inventory examples provided in PHP and Python; evaluate whether custom inventory scripts suit your infrastructure or if you should use Ansible's native cloud modules.
- Molecule testing setup included; ensure your CI environment supports Docker/container-based testing or adapt to alternative testing frameworks.
When to avoid it — and what to weigh
- Seeking production-ready, supported infrastructure code — Repository explicitly states examples do not follow all Ansible best practices and are instructive in nature. Not a substitute for thoroughly tested, organization-specific infrastructure code or commercial solutions.
- Requiring active issue resolution and release management — No versioned releases (n/a), 118 open issues, and contributions are not guaranteed. Use as reference, not as a dependency with SLA expectations.
- Working with older Ansible or non-standard environments — Examples use Vagrant, VirtualBox, and assume Linux hosts. May require environment adaptation and compatibility verification against your Ansible version and infrastructure.
- Needing commercial support or liability — MIT license provides no warranties or commercial support guarantees. Suitable for learning and reference; not as a contracted dependency.
License & commercial use
MIT License (permissive, OSI-approved). Permits commercial use, modification, distribution, and private use with no warranty and minimal conditions (retain license notice).
MIT license permits commercial use, but this is a learning/reference repository, not a production product or service. Any derivative work incorporating these examples must retain the MIT license notice. No warranty, support, or indemnification provided. Ensure your organization's legal review covers use of community-contributed examples in production.
DEV.co evaluation signals
Editorial assessment — not user reviews. Directional, with an explicit confidence level.
| Signal | Assessment |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | Active |
| Documentation | Strong |
| License clarity | Clear |
| Deployment complexity | Moderate |
| DEV.co fit | Good |
| Assessment confidence | High |
Examples include a dedicated 'security' playbook demonstrating hardening tasks, and 'https-letsencrypt' for certificate automation. However, as instructive code, examples may not reflect all hardening best practices for production. Self-signed certificate examples are pedagogical only. Review and augment playbooks with organization-specific security policies before production use. No vulnerability disclosure process documented.
Alternatives to consider
Ansible official documentation and Galaxy
Official Ansible docs and community Galaxy roles provide supported, versioned examples with broader community vetting. Recommended for production-grade infrastructure patterns.
HashiCorp Terraform + Ansible
If infrastructure provisioning is a primary concern, Terraform handles cloud resource creation while Ansible handles configuration; separates concerns vs. Ansible-only approach.
Kubernetes Helm charts and operators
For Kubernetes deployments, Helm and operators provide declarative, versioned package management vs. hand-written Ansible playbooks; better for production Kubernetes.
Build on ansible-for-devops with DEV.co software developers
Explore these practical examples alongside the Ansible for DevOps book, or consult Devco to build production-grade infrastructure automation tailored to your team's needs.
Talk to DEV.coRelated open-source tools
Surfaced by semantic similarity across the DEV.co open-source index.
Related on DEV.co
Explore the category and the services that help you build with it.
ansible-for-devops FAQ
Can I use these playbooks directly in production?
What Ansible version is required?
Are there security audits or vulnerability disclosures?
How do I contribute or report issues?
Work with a software development agency
Adopting ansible-for-devops is usually one piece of a larger software development effort. As a software development agency, DEV.co provides software development services and web development expertise — pairing senior software developers and web developers with your team to design, build, and operate open-source devops software in production.
Ready to master Ansible automation?
Explore these practical examples alongside the Ansible for DevOps book, or consult Devco to build production-grade infrastructure automation tailored to your team's needs.