Ansible troubleshooting - Error args

The args rule in Ansible validates task arguments against module documentation, ensuring correct parameter usage for reliable automation.

Introduction

In Ansible, the args rule is a critical aspect of ensuring that your playbook's task arguments align with the plugin's documentation. It's vital to maintain a proper structure and adhere to the required parameters for each module. Failure to do so can lead to unexpected behavior and issues in your automation workflow.

This rule primarily serves as a validator, confirming that your task arguments are not only present but also correctly defined. It checks if the option names are valid and if they have the correct values. Additionally, it examines conditions related to these options, such as mutually exclusive, required together, required one of, and more.

Here are some possible messages that this rule might generate:

args[module] - missing required arguments: ...

args[module] - missing parameter(s) required by ...

Let's delve into some examples to understand this rule better.

Problematic Code

``yaml


---
name: Fixture to validate module options failure scenarios
  hosts: all
  tasks:
    - name: Clone content repository

ansible.builtin.git: # <- Required option repo is missing.


        dest: /home/www
        accept_hostkey: true
        version: master
        update: false

    - name: Enable service httpd and ensure it is not masked
      ansible.builtin.systemd: # <- Missing 'name' parameter required by 'enabled'.
        enabled: true
        masked: false

    - name: Use quiet to avoid verbose output
      ansible.builtin.assert:
        test:
          - my_param <= 100
          - my_param >= 0

quiet: invalid # <- Value for option quiet is invalid.



Output

`bash


WARNING  Listing 2 violation(s) that are fatal
args[module]: missing required arguments: repo (warning)
args.yml:5 Task/Handler: Clone content repository

args[module]: missing parameter(s) required by 'enabled': name (warning)
args.yml:12 Task/Handler: Enable service httpd and ensure it is not masked

Read documentation for instructions on how to ignore specific rule violations.

                  Rule Violation Summary                   
 count tag          profile rule associated tags           
     2 args[module]         syntax, experimental (warning) 

Passed: 0 failure(s), 2 warning(s) on 1 files. Last profile that met the validation criteria was 'production'. Rating: 5/5 star



Correct Code

`yaml


---
name: Fixture to validate module options pass scenario
  hosts: all
  tasks:
    - name: Clone content repository

ansible.builtin.git: # <- Contains required option repo`.

repo: https://github.com/ansible/ansible-examples

dest: /home/www

accept_hostkey: true

version: master

update: false

- name: Enable service httpd and ensure it is not masked

ansible.builtin.systemd: # <- Contains 'name' parameter required by 'enabled'.

name: httpd

enabled: false

masked: false

- name: Use quiet to avoid verbose output

ansible.