Roles

Roles are the standard way to organise and share Ansible automation. A role packages tasks, variables, files, templates, and handlers into a reusable, self-contained unit with a well-defined directory structure.

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Why Use Roles?

Benefit	Description
Reusability	Write once, use across multiple playbooks and projects
Organisation	Standard directory structure makes code easy to find and maintain
Sharing	Share roles via Ansible Galaxy or private repositories
Testing	Test roles independently with Molecule
Encapsulation	Each role has its own variables, defaults, files, and templates

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Role Directory Structure

roles/
+-- nginx/
    +-- defaults/
    |   +-- main.yml       # Default variables (lowest precedence)
    +-- vars/
    |   +-- main.yml       # Role variables (higher precedence)
    +-- tasks/
    |   +-- main.yml       # Main task list
    +-- handlers/
    |   +-- main.yml       # Handler definitions
    +-- templates/
    |   +-- nginx.conf.j2  # Jinja2 templates
    +-- files/
    |   +-- index.html     # Static files
    +-- meta/
    |   +-- main.yml       # Role metadata and dependencies
    +-- tests/
    |   +-- test.yml       # Test playbook
    +-- README.md          # Documentation

Directory Purposes