Ansible Core Modules and Aliases

 

Ansible's core modules are the built-in modules that come with Ansible, providing essential functionality for configuration management, deployment, and orchestration tasks. These modules cover a wide range of tasks, such as managing files, packages, services, and users, as well as handling system configuration and network settings.

Core Modules

Here are some commonly used core modules in Ansible:

1. File and Directory Management

   • ansible.builtin.copy: Copies files to remote locations.
   • ansible.builtin.file: Manages files and directory properties.
   • ansible.builtin.fetch: Fetches files from remote nodes.
   • ansible.builtin.template: Processes and deploys Jinja2 templates.

2. Package Management

   • ansible.builtin.package: Generic package manager (handles apt, yum, dnf, etc.).
   • ansible.builtin.apt: Manages packages with the apt package manager.
   • ansible.builtin.yum: Manages packages with the yum package manager.
   • ansible.builtin.dnf: Manages packages with the dnf package manager.

3. Service Management

   • ansible.builtin.service: Manages services (start, stop, restart, enable, disable).
   • ansible.builtin.systemd: Manages systemd services.

4. User and Group Management

   • ansible.builtin.user: Manages user accounts.
   • ansible.builtin.group: Manages groups.

5. System and Network Configuration

   • ansible.builtin.command: Executes commands on remote nodes.
   • ansible.builtin.shell: Executes shell commands on remote nodes.
   • ansible.builtin.sysctl: Manages sysctl parameters.

6. File System and Storage

   • ansible.builtin.mount: Manages file system mount points.
   • ansible.builtin.parted: Manages disk partitions.

Aliases

In Ansible, an alias is a way to reference a module by a different name. The ansible.builtin namespace is the standard namespace for built-in modules in Ansible. This makes it clear that the module is a built-in, core module rather than one from a collection or third-party source.

Examples of Core Modules and Their Aliases

• package and ansible.builtin.package

  • Both refer to the same generic package management module.
    
    - name: Install a package
      package:
        name: httpd
        state: present
    

           - name: Install a package
             ansible.builtin.package:
              name: httpd
              state: present
  
  
  - name: Copy a file
    copy:
      src: /path/to/local/file
      dest: /path/to/remote/file
  
  - name: Copy a file
    ansible.builtin.copy:
      src: /path/to/local/file
      dest: /path/to/remote/file