Ansible Admin Dashboard

A modern web-based interface for managing and executing Ansible playbooks with real-time monitoring and live execution output.

Features

🎯 Core Functionality

• Playbook Management: Create, edit, and organize Ansible playbooks
• Template System: Built-in templates and Jinja2 template support
• Inventory Management: Dynamic host and group management
• Real-time Execution: Live monitoring of playbook execution with streaming output
• Execution History: Track and review past playbook runs

🎨 Enhanced Output Display

• Unixy Callback Integration: Uses Ansible's community.general.unixy callback for condensed, readable output
• Color-Coded Output: Syntax highlighting for different Ansible output types:
  • 🟢 OK/Success: Green highlighting
  • 🟡 Changed: Yellow highlighting
  • 🔴 Failed: Red highlighting with background
  • 🔵 Info: Blue for informational messages
  • 🟣 Headers: Purple for PLAY/TASK headers
  • ⚪ Skipped: Gray for skipped tasks
• Responsive Design: Optimized for both desktop and mobile viewing

🔧 Technical Features

• Server-Sent Events: Real-time output streaming during execution
• Background Processing: Non-blocking playbook execution
• Error Handling: Comprehensive error reporting and recovery
• CORS Support: Cross-origin resource sharing enabled
• RESTful API: Clean API endpoints for all operations

Screenshots

Dashboard

Playbook Execution

Live Execution Output

About Modal

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8+
• Ansible 2.9+
• community.general collection (automatically installed)

Setup

1. Clone the repository:

git clone <repository-url>
cd ansible-admin

2. Install Python dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Install Ansible collections:

ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml

4. Start the server:

python3 server.py

5. Open your browser to http://localhost:8000

Configuration

Ansible Configuration

The application uses a custom ansible.cfg file with the following settings:

[defaults]
stdout_callback = community.general.unixy
display_ok_hosts = true
display_skipped_hosts = true
show_task_path_on_failure = true
force_color = true

Unixy Callback Features

The unixy callback provides:

• Condensed Output: More compact than default Ansible output
• Color Coding: Visual distinction between different output types
• Timing Information: Execution time for each task
• Host Status: Clear indication of success/failure per host
• Check Mode Support: Visual markers for dry-run mode

Usage

Running Playbooks

1. Navigate to the Execute page
2. Select a playbook from the dropdown or enter a custom path
3. Configure inventory and target hosts
4. Add any additional Ansible options
5. Click Execute to start the playbook
6. Monitor progress in real-time with color-coded output

Managing Templates

• Built-in Templates: Pre-configured playbooks for common tasks
• Jinja2 Templates: Dynamic templates with variable substitution
• Custom Templates: Save and reuse your own templates

Monitoring Execution

• Live Output: Real-time streaming of Ansible execution
• Status Indicators: Visual status badges (Running, Completed, Failed)
• Execution Timer: Track total execution time
• Auto-scroll: Automatically scroll to latest output
• Download Logs: Export execution logs for analysis

API Endpoints

Playbook Management

• GET /api/list-playbooks - List available playbooks
• POST /api/save-playbook - Save a playbook
• POST /api/delete-playbook - Delete a playbook

Template Management

• GET /api/list-jinja-templates - List Jinja2 templates
• GET /api/get-jinja-template?name=<name> - Get template content

Execution

• POST /execute-playbook - Start playbook execution
• GET /execution-stream/<execution_id> - Stream execution output
• POST /cancel-execution - Cancel running execution

History

• GET /get-execution-history - Get execution history
• GET /execution-details/<execution_id> - Get detailed execution info

Development

Project Structure

ansible-admin/
├── server.py              # Main HTTP server
├── ansible.cfg           # Ansible configuration with unixy callback
├── requirements.yml      # Ansible collection requirements
├── execute.html          # Playbook execution interface
├── playbooks/            # Ansible playbooks directory
├── templates/            # Jinja2 templates directory
├── datastore/            # Data storage (JSON files)
└── static/               # Static web assets

Adding New Features

1. Backend: Add new endpoints in server.py
2. Frontend: Update HTML/JavaScript files
3. Styling: Modify CSS for new UI elements
4. Configuration: Update ansible.cfg for new Ansible settings

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Unixy callback not working:

• Ensure community.general collection is installed
• Check that ansible.cfg is in the project root
• Verify ANSIBLE_CONFIG environment variable is set

Output not streaming:

• Check browser console for JavaScript errors
• Verify Server-Sent Events are supported
• Check server logs for connection issues

Color output not displaying:

• Ensure force_color = true in ansible.cfg
• Check terminal/browser color support

Debug Mode

Enable verbose output by adding -vvv to Ansible options for detailed debugging.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Ansible - Automation framework
• community.general.unixy - Condensed output callback
• Bootstrap - UI framework
• Server-Sent Events - Real-time communication