classicvalues / ansible-role-pkg-mgr-path

An Ansible role to set variables based on the system package manager's paths

Ansible role ableton.pkg_mgr_path

This role sets variables for non-standard paths that belong to an Ansible host's package manager. The primary use-case is for provisioning on macOS-based hosts where the Homebrew and MacPorts package managers aren't able to install their packages to a location which is part of the default system PATH.

When this role finishes, it will set data in facts which can then be used to set the path for other tasks. Please see the "Role Variables" and "Example Playbook" sections below.

Requirements

Ansible >= 2.10 is required. The following host OS types are supported:

• Debian Linux
• macOS (for both Homebrew and MacPorts)
• Windows (Chocolatey)

On Linux, apt can install packages to the system PATH, and on Windows the concept of paths (especially with Ansible) is somewhat different, however this role supports those OS types in the interest of being cross-platform. The intention is that role should be easy to add as a dependency of another role regardless of the OS type.

Role Variables

This role has no required variables, but when it finishes running, it will set these variables for you:

• ansible_pkg_mgr_bin: The location to the package manager's binary folder (for example, /opt/whatever/bin).
• ansible_pkg_mgr_path: The full system path with the package manager's binary folder first (for example, /opt/whatever/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin).
• ansible_pkg_mgr_prefix: The prefix to the package manager's installation folder (for example, /opt/whatever).

IMPORTANT: While this role has no required variables, it does require that the ansible_pkg_mgr variable has been set. This is usually set when gathering facts for a host, but can also be set manually, or by calling the gather_facts module.

Example Playbook

---
- name: Run a command which has been installed by a package manager
  hosts: "all"

  roles:
    - ableton.pkg_mgr_path

  tasks:
    - name: Run a command by setting the PATH for this task
      command: cowsay hello
      environment:
        PATH: "{{ ansible_pkg_mgr_path }}"

    - name: Run a command with the absolute path
      command: "{{ ansible_pkg_mgr_bin }}/cowsay hello"

License

MIT

Maintainers

This project is maintained by the following GitHub users:

• @ala-ableton
• @nre-ableton