Watch: Simplify Ansible Output with the community.general.dense Callback Plugin

Learn how to reduce verbosity in Ansible output using callback plugins, enhancing efficiency and integration in large-scale automation tasks.

Introduction

Ansible, an open-source automation tool, simplifies complex IT tasks by orchestrating configuration management, application deployment, and task automation. One of the essential features of Ansible is its ability to provide feedback on the tasks it performs through output messages. In certain scenarios, especially when dealing with large-scale automation or integrating Ansible with other tools, reducing the verbosity of the output becomes crucial. This is where Ansible callback plugins come into play.

Understanding Ansible Inventory and Playbooks

Before diving into callback plugins, let's quickly revisit the basic components of an Ansible setup: the inventory file and playbooks.

Inventory

The inventory file defines the hosts on which Ansible will perform tasks. In the example, we see a simple inventory file with the localhost defined as the target host.

``yaml


inventory
localhost ansible_connection=local



Playbook (ping.yml)

A playbook is a YAML file that outlines a set of tasks to be executed on specified hosts. In this example, we have a playbook named ping.yml that tests the connection to the hosts using the Ansible ping module.

`yaml


ping.yml
---
name: Ping module Playbook
  hosts: all
  tasks:
    - name: Test connection
      ansible.builtin.ping:



Ansible Configuration (ansible.cfg)

The Ansible configuration file (ansible.cfg) allows users to customize various settings. In this case, the configuration includes a callback plugin configuration to control the output verbosity.

`ini


ansible.cfg
[defaults]
callbacks_enabled = community.general.dense
stdout_callback = community.general.dense



Introducing community.general.dense Callback Plugin

The community.general.dense callback plugin is designed to minimize the standard output (stdout) of Ansible, providing a cleaner and more concise representation of task execution. Let's explore how to leverage this plugin to streamline Ansible output.



Using community.general.dense Callback Plugin

To enable the community.general.dense callback plugin, include the following configuration in your ansible.cfg file:

`ini


[defaults]
callbacks_enabled = community.general.dense
stdout_callback = community.general.dense

This ensures that the dense callback plugin is set as the standard output callback.



Ansible Execution Without community.general.dense

When running an Ansible playbook without the community.general.dense` callb