Handling Non-Compliant Variable Names in Ansible Easily

A guide to managing non-compliant variable names in Ansible, offering tips on aliasing, linter rule adjustments, and using dictionary structures.

Handling Variable Naming Constraints in Ansible: Workarounds for Compliance

When working with automation tools like Ansible, adhering to variable naming conventions is essential for maintainability, readability, and avoiding conflicts. Some setups, however, enforce specific naming patterns for variables, such as ^[a-z_][a-z0-9_]*$, which only allows lowercase letters, numbers, and underscores, and requires the variable name to start with a letter or underscore. If you’re using a variable name that doesn’t comply—such as vcenter.account—changing it outright might not always be feasible.

This article explores effective workarounds that let you keep the original variable name intact while ensuring compliance with naming standards.

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1. Define an Alias Variable

One of the simplest ways to handle non-compliant variable names is to define an alias that adheres to the required pattern and assign it the value of the original variable. This approach allows the original variable name to stay unchanged while you use the alias wherever compliance is required.

#### Example

Suppose you’re using the variable cloud.config, which doesn’t meet the required pattern due to the dot (.) separator. You can create an alias like this:

``yaml


cloud_config: "{{ cloud.config }}"

Now, instead of using cloud.config directly, you can use cloud_config in parts of your code that require a compliant variable name.



#### How to Use It

`yaml


Original variable
cloud:
  config: "my_cloud_config_value"

Alias variable
cloud_config: "{{ cloud.config }}"

Usage
name: Print compliant variable
  debug:
    msg: "Cloud configuration value: {{ cloud_config }}"



This approach is especially useful if you have multiple roles or playbooks referencing the original variable name, as it avoids extensive refactoring.

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2. Update Linting Rules (If Using a Linter)

If your tooling enforces strict naming conventions, and you’re using a linter that flags non-compliant variable names, you might be able to adjust the linting rules to allow variables with dots (.) in them. This solution, however, depends on the flexibility of your linting tool and the specific use case.



#### Example for Adjusting Linting Rules

For instance, if you’re using ansible-lint, check if your configuration allows customizing the variable name patterns it accepts. In your .ansible-lint or ansible-lint.yml configuration file, you could try adjusting the rule to permit dots (.) in variable names. Note that not all tools support this kind of customization, so review the documentation for your linter.

While this approach won’t change the variable’s actual structure, it may allow the linter to bypass or adjust the rule so that variables like database.config or api.endpoint` won’t raise errors.

#### Note

Adjusting linter rules is only advisable if you have control over the linting configuration, and it’s acceptable in your project or organization. This method d