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YAML Syntax
===========
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.. image:: http://ansible.cc/docs/_static/ansible_fest_2013.png
:alt: ansiblefest 2013
:target: http://ansibleworks.com/fest
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This page provides a basic overview of correct YAML syntax, which is how Ansible
playbooks (our configuration management language) are expressed.
We use YAML because it is easier to read and write for humans than other common
data formats like XML or JSON. Further, there are libraries available for reading
and writing YAML in most programming languages.
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You may also wish to read :doc:`playbooks` at the same time to see how this
is used in practice.
YAML Basics
-----------
For `ansible`, nearly every YAML file starts with a list.
Each item in the list is a list of key/value pairs, commonly
called a "hash" or a "dictionary". So, we need to know how
to write lists and dictionaries in YAML.
There's another small quirk to YAML. All YAML files (regardless of their association with
`ansible` or not) should start with ``---``. This is just a YAML
format thing that means "this is the start of a document".
All members of a list are lines beginning at the same indentation level starting
with a ``-`` (dash) character::
---
# A list of tasty fruits
- Apple
- Orange
- Strawberry
- Mango
A dictionary is represented in a simple ``key:`` and ``value`` form::
---
# An employee record
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name: Example Developer
job: Developer
skill: Elite
Dictionaries can also be represented in an abbreviated form if you really want to::
---
# An employee record
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{name: Example Developer, job: Developer, skill: Elite}
.. _truthiness:
Ansible doesn't really use these too much, but you can also specify a
boolean value (true/false) in several forms::
---
create_key: yes
needs_agent: no
knows_oop: True
likes_emacs: TRUE
uses_cvs: false
Let's combine what we learned so far in an arbitary YAML example. This really
has nothing to do with Ansible, but will give you a feel for the format::
---
# An employee record
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name: Example Developer
job: Developer
skill: Elite
employed: True
foods:
- Apple
- Orange
- Strawberry
- Mango
languages:
ruby: Elite
python: Elite
dotnet: Lame
That's all you really need to know about YAML to get started writing
`Ansible` playbooks.
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Gotchas
-------
While YAML is generally friendly, the following is going to be a YAML syntax error:
foo: somebody said I should put a colon here: so I did
You will want to quote any hash values using colons, like so:
foo: "somebody said I should put a colon here: so I did"
And then the colon will be preserved.
.. seealso::
:doc:`playbooks`
Learn what playbooks can do and how to write/run them.
`YAMLLint <http://yamllint.com/>`_
YAML Lint (online) helps you debug YAML syntax if you are having problems
`Github examples directory <https://github.com/ansible/ansible/tree/devel/examples/playbooks>`_
Complete playbook files from the github project source
`Mailing List <http://groups.google.com/group/ansible-project>`_
Questions? Help? Ideas? Stop by the list on Google Groups
`irc.freenode.net <http://irc.freenode.net>`_
#ansible IRC chat channel