- add simple python regex tester w/ an accompanied ansible test

- add create user ansible test
- organized scattered referenced URLs into one place

1 files changed, 263 insertions, 24 deletions

diff --git a/ansible_stuff.org b/ansible_stuff.org
index 3b161ab..f427ae8 100644
--- a/ansible_stuff.org
+++ b/ansible_stuff.org
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
-* notes on ansible
+#+STARTUP: overview
+#+TITLE: my scrappy ansible notes
+#+AUTHOR: blizzack
 
-* installing ansible via pip
-** <2023-10-23 Mon>
+* <2023-10-23 Mon>
+
+- installing ansible via pip
 
 bash-5.2$ python3 -m pip install --user ansible
 Collecting ansible
@@ -300,7 +303,7 @@ bash-5.2$
 bash-5.2$
 bash-5.2$
 
-** <2023-10-24 Tue>
+* <2023-10-24 Tue>
 
 decided it would be nice to have another host to play around with so
 i dusted off 'bbox' and logged into it from 'boom2'
@@ -388,7 +391,7 @@ Connection to 192.168.0.220 closed.
 
       https://www.educba.com/ansible-hosts-file/
 
-** <2023-10-29 Sun>
+* <2023-10-29 Sun>
 
 - created '~/.ansible/hosts' file like so:
 
@@ -444,7 +447,7 @@ ansible dev -m ping
 	      msg: Hello Ansible World
     #+end_src
 
-** <2023-10-30 Mon>
+* <2023-10-30 Mon>
 
 - make sure to setup my path correctly so that the ansible executable
   can be found
@@ -488,14 +491,14 @@ bash-5.2$ echo $PATH
 - seems i dont understand YAML well enuf
   https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/reference_appendices/YAMLSyntax.html
 
-** <2023-11-02 Thu>
+* <2023-11-02 Thu>
 
 some definitions of things:
 
 - control node    =  my ansible server
 - managed node(s) = target systems
 
-** <2023-11-22 Wed>
+* <2023-11-22 Wed>
 
 did a lil research on more resources
 
@@ -627,7 +630,7 @@ playbook: 12-playbook-copy-directory.yml
 
         ansible-playbook -l dev-stations 12-playbook-copy-directory.yml
 
-** <2023-11-30 Thu>
+* <2023-11-30 Thu>
 
 researching 'roles' and how to use them.
 
@@ -693,7 +696,7 @@ https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_reuse_roles.htm
       - localhost.yml
       - other_hosts.yml
 
-** <2023-12-04 Mon>
+* <2023-12-04 Mon>
 
 - experimented w/ using the 'inventory_hostname' above by using an
   example from here:
@@ -708,7 +711,7 @@ https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_reuse_roles.htm
   https://github.com/cesarvr/ansible-role-hello-world
   - the inet needs more simple examples like this !!
 
-** <2023-12-05 Tue>
+* <2023-12-05 Tue>
 
 - How to Use Ansible Roles to Abstract your Infrastructure Environment
    https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-ansible-roles-to-abstract-your-infrastructure-environment
@@ -730,7 +733,7 @@ https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_reuse_roles.htm
   https://stackoverflow.com/questions/53253879/ansible-vars-files-vs-include-vars
   https://stackoverflow.com/questions/36134552/use-multiple-var-files-in-ansible-role
 
-** <2023-12-07 Thu>
+* <2023-12-07 Thu>
 
 - worked w/ 'var_files' and that did not do what i expected
 - playing w/ 'group_vars' directory
@@ -772,7 +775,7 @@ https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_reuse_roles.htm
   - so...this explains why trying to add different variablse for the
     hosts in roles was painful...its bcuz its in the wrong place
 
-** <2023-12-08 Fri>
+* <2023-12-08 Fri>
 
 - continued my tests of copying files and found the correct way is to
   use hosts and/or group vars that can be kept in the playbook or w/
@@ -817,15 +820,14 @@ https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_reuse_roles.htm
   'ansible.builtin.command'
   https://stackoverflow.com/questions/56663332/difference-between-shell-and-command-in-ansible
 
-
-** <2023-12-12 Tue>
+* <2023-12-12 Tue>
 
 today i learned that ansible makes it a lil difficult to copy/move
 files around on the controller node.  they make it very apparent that
 ansible is for contolling managed nodes not necessarily controlling
 the control node.
 
-** <2023-12-13 Wed>
+* <2023-12-13 Wed>
 
 looking at examples to update a file on a managed host
 
@@ -838,7 +840,7 @@ https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/lineinfile_m
 - an online python regex syntax checker
   https://pythex.org/
 
-** <2023-12-14 Thu>
+* <2023-12-14 Thu>
 
 copy 'rc.firewall' from bbox to boom2:
 
@@ -846,11 +848,248 @@ rsync --progress -avzhr --delete -e 'ssh -i ~/.ssh/20231024bbox' dpierre@192.168
 
 https://chmod-calculator.com/
 
----
-- name: "09 - custom ansible - backup system files"
-  hosts: localhost
+* <2023-12-15 Fri>
+
+lol..learned of a lil abnormality w/ ansible today.  while testing
+replacing contents of a file w/ the 'ansible.builtin.replace' module
+it was just not working as i expected.  it seemed that the task
+completed ok but no changes took place.  i was testing on a particular
+task w/in a playbook.  i was calling the task like so:
+
+#+begin_example
+  ansible-playbook 11-playbook-herd-new-host.yml -b -K --tags=slackpkg_blacklist
+
+  BECOME password: 
+
+  PLAY [11 - custom ansible - herd new host] ********************************************
+
+  TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************
+  ok: [192.168.0.220]
+
+  PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************
+  192.168.0.220              : ok=1    changed=0    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0
+#+end_example
+
+
+the following looks okay...but you really need to look at the above
+closely.  i called the 'slackpkg_blacklist' task to be run but the
+above output does not state that the task has run.....grrr!!
+
+to debug i had to move the separate task into its own playbook and the
+error showed up like so:
+
+#+begin_example
+  $ ansible-playbook system/12-replace-text.yml -b -K 
+  BECOME password: 
+
+  PLAY [12 - custom ansible - replace text] ***********************************************
+
+  TASK [Gathering Facts] ******************************************************************
+  ok: [192.168.0.220]
+
+  TASK [update slackpg blacklist] *********************************************************
+  fatal: [192.168.0.220]: FAILED! => {"changed": false, "msg": "Unsupported parameters for (ansible.builtin.replace) module: tags. Supported parameters include: after, attributes, backup, before, encoding, group, mode, owner, path, regexp, replace, selevel, serole, setype, seuser, unsafe_writes, validate (attr, dest, destfile, name)."}
+
+  PLAY RECAP ******************************************************************************
+  192.168.0.220              : ok=1    changed=0    unreachable=0    failed=1    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0  
+#+end_example
+
+when i looked closer at my playbook the 'tags:' directive was indented
+too much and ansible complained w/ the running playbook.  which is
+nice!  but... it did not complain when the task was called directly as
+part of a playbook w/ many tasks.
+
+  #+name: BAD EXAMPLE !!!!
+  #+begin_example
+  - name: update slackpg blacklist
+    ansible.builtin.replace:
+      path: "{{ backup_etc_dir }}/blacklist-list"
+      regexp: '#kernel'
+      replace: 'kernel'
+      backup: yes
+      tags: ['slackpkg_blacklist']
+  #+end_example
+
+  #+name: GOOD EXAMPLE !!!!
+  #+begin_example
+  - name: update slackpg blacklist
+    ansible.builtin.replace:
+      path: "{{ backup_etc_dir }}/blacklist-list"
+      regexp: '#kernel'
+      replace: 'kernel'
+      backup: yes
+    tags: ['slackpkg_blacklist']
+  #+end_example
+
+another crazy thing i noticed w/ the first example output above was
+that i purposed placed errors in the task to see if i'd get an error
+and still no feedback from ansible that anything went wrong.
+
+the lesson learned here: 
+- looking at the CLI for awhile can make anyone skip over text on the
+  screen.  when calling a task explicitly from a playbook you'll want
+  to make sure that task is explictly listed in the output !!!!
+
+** python backtrace
+
+i thought i was gonna need to use pythons regex backtrace construct
+but realized i did not need it.  the following are decent resources on
+backtrace.
+
+https://www.howtouselinux.com/post/modify-files-with-ansible-lineinfile-replace-and-blockinfile
+https://www.programiz.com/python-programming/regex
+https://www.pythontutorial.net/python-regex/python-regex-backreferences/
+
+ansible replace examples:
+- https://www.linuxtechi.com/replace-strings-lines-with-ansible/
+
+* <2023-12-16 Sat>
+
+just pointing out another case of weirdness that occured as a result
+of the 'command' vs. 'shell' in a playbook.
+
+this is an example of the playbook tested:
+
+  #+name: using command module
+  #+begin_example
   tasks:
-  - name: backup '/etc/fstab' 
-    ansible.builtin.debug:
-      msg: backup_etc_dir variable = {{ backup_etc_dir }}
-    tags: ['fstab']
+    - name: check if user exists
+      ansible.builtin.command: id {{ username }}
+      register: user_check
+      ignore_errors: true
+
+    - name: display user information
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: user '{{ username }}' exists !
+      when: user_check.rc == 0
+
+    - name: display error message if user does not exist
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: user '{{ username }}' does not exist !
+      when: user_check.rc != 0
+  #+end_example
+
+  #+name: using shell module
+  #+begin_example
+  tasks:
+    - name: check if user exists
+      ansible.builtin.shell: id {{ username }}
+      register: user_check
+      ignore_errors: true
+
+    - name: display user information
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: user '{{ username }}' exists !
+      when: user_check.rc == 0
+
+    - name: display error message if user does not exist
+      ansible.builtin.debug:
+        msg: user '{{ username }}' does not exist !
+      when: user_check.rc != 0
+  #+end_example
+
+for the ignored test that failed i noticed that the "cmd" object
+from the command module returns an array, like so:
+
+  #+name: shell module result
+  #+begin_example
+    ...
+    ...
+    TASK [check if user exists] ************************************************************
+    fatal: [192.168.0.220]: FAILED! => {"changed": true, "cmd": ["id", "testuser1"], "delta": "0:00:00.011568", "end": "2023-12-17 09:04:06.919370", "msg": "non-zero return code", "rc": 1, "start": "2023-12-17 09:04:06.907802", "stderr": "id: ‘testuser1’: no such user", "stderr_lines": ["id: ‘testuser1’: no such user"], "stdout": "", "stdout_lines": []}
+    ...ignoring
+    ...
+    ...
+  #+end_example
+
+while the same object under the shell command returns a string, like so:
+
+  #+name: shell module result
+  #+begin_example
+    ...
+    ...
+    TASK [check if user exists] ************************************************************
+    fatal: [192.168.0.220]: FAILED! => {"changed": true, "cmd": "id testuser1", "delta": "0:00:00.025297", "end": "2023-12-17 08:08:40.530399", "msg": "non-zero return code", "rc": 1, "start": "2023-12-17 08:08:40.505102", "stderr": "id: ‘testuser1’: no such user", "stderr_lines": ["id: ‘testuser1’: no such user"], "stdout": "", "stdout_lines": []}
+    ...ignoring
+    ...
+    ...
+  #+end_example
+
+just documenting this fact here cuz i have a feeling this weirdness
+will bite me in the ass someday.
+
+
+* references
+2023-12-16 -- the following is a lists of ansible related URLs compiled so far.
+
+http://mywiki.wooledge.org/BashFAQ/088
+https://assets.digitalocean.com/books/how-to-manage-remote-servers-with-ansible.pdf
+https://chmod-calculator.com/
+https://cyb.org.uk/2021/05/03/bash-productivity.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.15/reference_appendices/interpreter_discovery.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/2.7/user_guide/playbooks_variables.html#variable-precedence-where-should-i-put-a-variable
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/2.9/user_guide/playbooks_reuse.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/2.9/user_guide/playbooks_reuse_includes.html#including-and-importing-task-files
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/cli/ansible-config.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/command_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/copy_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/debug_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/file_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/import_playbook_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/lineinfile_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/reboot_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/replace_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/shell_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/stat_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/general/shutdown_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/general/slackpkg_module.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/command_guide/intro_adhoc.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/installation_guide/intro_configuration.html#getting-the-latest-configuration
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/inventory/implicit_localhost.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/inventory_guide/connection_details.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/inventory_guide/intro_inventory.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_conditionals.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_delegation.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_delegation.html#delegating-facts
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_privilege_escalation.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_reuse_roles.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_variables.html#id44
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_variables.html#registering-variables
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_vars_facts.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_vars_facts.html#information-about-ansible-magic-variables
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/plugins/become.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/reference_appendices/YAMLSyntax.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/reference_appendices/config.html
+https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/reference_appendices/faq.html#how-do-i-handle-different-machines-needing-different-user-accounts-or-ports-to-log-in-with
+https://docs.python.org/3/library/re.html
+https://docs.slackware.com/howtos:slackware_admin:slackware_automation_using_ansible
+https://github.com/cesarvr/ansible-role-hello-world
+https://gitlab.com/mmlj4/ansible_slackware_bootstrap
+https://nixzie.com/run-ansible-playbook-locally/#Run_Ansible_Playbook_Locally_Using_Local_Action
+https://phoenixnap.com/kb/ansible-check-if-file-exists
+https://phoenixnap.com/kb/ansible-create-file
+https://pythex.org/
+https://serverfault.com/questions/589734/ansible-can-i-use-vars-files-when-some-files-do-not-exist
+https://stackoverflow.com/questions/18839509/where-can-i-get-a-list-of-ansible-pre-defined-variables
+https://stackoverflow.com/questions/24162996/how-to-move-rename-a-file-using-an-ansible-task-on-a-remote-system
+https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32101001/ansible-playbooks-vs-roles
+https://stackoverflow.com/questions/36134552/use-multiple-var-files-in-ansible-role
+https://stackoverflow.com/questions/53253879/ansible-vars-files-vs-include-vars
+https://stackoverflow.com/questions/56663332/difference-between-shell-and-command-in-ansible
+https://www.digitalocean.com/community/cheatsheets/how-to-manage-multiple-servers-with-ansible-ad-hoc-commands
+https://www.digitalocean.com/community/cheatsheets/how-to-use-ansible-cheat-sheet-guide
+https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorial-series/how-to-write-ansible-playbooks
+https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-ansible-roles-to-abstract-your-infrastructure-environment
+https://www.educba.com/ansible-hosts-file/
+https://www.freekb.net/Article?id=2395
+https://www.freekb.net/Article?id=3078
+https://www.freekb.net/Article?id=573
+https://www.freekb.net/Article?id=759
+https://www.howtouselinux.com/post/ansible-copy-module-examples-to-copy-file-to-remote-server
+https://www.howtouselinux.com/post/modify-files-with-ansible-lineinfile-replace-and-blockinfile
+https://www.lifewire.com/download-free-books-3482754
+https://www.linuxtechi.com/replace-strings-lines-with-ansible/
+https://www.middlewareinventory.com/blog/ansible-update-etc-hosts-file-across-all-hosts/
+https://www.middlewareinventory.com/blog/run-ansible-playbook-locally/
+https://www.programiz.com/python-programming/regex
+https://www.pythontutorial.net/python-regex/python-regex-backreferences/