As mentioned, if you are writing a module in Python, there are some very powerful shortcuts you can use.
Modules are still transferred as one file, but an arguments file is no longer needed, so these are not
only shorter in terms of code, they are actually FASTER in terms of execution time.
Rather than mention these here, the best way to learn is to read some of the `source of the modules <https://github.com/ansible/ansible-modules-core>`_ that come with Ansible.
The 'group' and 'user' modules are reasonably non-trivial and showcase what this looks like.
Key parts include always importing the boilerplate code from
:mod:`ansible.module_utils.basic` like this::
from ansible.module_utils.basic import AnsibleModule
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()
..note::
Prior to Ansible-2.1.0, importing only what you used from
:mod:`ansible.module_utils.basic` did not work. You needed to use
a wildcard import like this::
from ansible.module_utils.basic import *
And instantiating the module class like::
def main():
module = AnsibleModule(
argument_spec = dict(
state = dict(default='present', choices=['present', 'absent']),
name = dict(required=True),
enabled = dict(required=True, type='bool'),
something = dict(aliases=['whatever'])
)
)
The :class:`AnsibleModule` provides lots of common code for handling returns, parses your arguments
Remember that, as module developer, you are responsible for ensuring that no
system state is altered when the user enables check mode.
If your module does not support check mode, when the user runs Ansible in check
mode, your module will simply be skipped.
.._module_dev_pitfalls:
Common Pitfalls
```````````````
You should also never do this in a module::
print "some status message"
Because the output is supposed to be valid JSON.
Modules must not output anything on standard error, because the system will merge
standard out with standard error and prevent the JSON from parsing. Capturing standard
error and returning it as a variable in the JSON on standard out is fine, and is, in fact,
how the command module is implemented.
If a module returns stderr or otherwise fails to produce valid JSON, the actual output
will still be shown in Ansible, but the command will not succeed.
Always use the hacking/test-module script when developing modules and it will warn
you about these kind of things.
.._module_dev_conventions:
Conventions/Recommendations
```````````````````````````
As a reminder from the example code above, here are some basic conventions
and guidelines:
* If the module is addressing an object, the parameter for that object should be called 'name' whenever possible, or accept 'name' as an alias.
* If you have a company module that returns facts specific to your installations, a good name for this module is `site_facts`.
* Modules accepting boolean status should generally accept 'yes', 'no', 'true', 'false', or anything else a user may likely throw at them. The AnsibleModule common code supports this with "type='bool'".
* Include a minimum of dependencies if possible. If there are dependencies, document them at the top of the module file, and have the module raise JSON error messages when the import fails.
* Modules must be self-contained in one file to be auto-transferred by ansible.
* If packaging modules in an RPM, they only need to be installed on the control machine and should be dropped into /usr/share/ansible. This is entirely optional and up to you.
* Modules must output valid JSON only. The toplevel return type must be a hash (dictionary) although they can be nested. Lists or simple scalar values are not supported, though they can be trivially contained inside a dictionary.
* In the event of failure, a key of 'failed' should be included, along with a string explanation in 'msg'. Modules that raise tracebacks (stacktraces) are generally considered 'poor' modules, though Ansible can deal with these returns and will automatically convert anything unparseable into a failed result. If you are using the AnsibleModule common Python code, the 'failed' element will be included for you automatically when you call 'fail_json'.
* Return codes from modules are actually not significant, but continue on with 0=success and non-zero=failure for reasons of future proofing.
* As results from many hosts will be aggregated at once, modules should return only relevant output. Returning the entire contents of a log file is generally bad form.
.._module_documenting:
Documenting Your Module
```````````````````````
All modules included in the CORE distribution must have a
``DOCUMENTATION`` string. This string MUST be a valid YAML document
which conforms to the schema defined below. You may find it easier to
start writing your ``DOCUMENTATION`` string in an editor with YAML
syntax highlighting before you include it in your Python file.
.._module_doc_example:
Example
+++++++
See an example documentation string in the checkout under `examples/DOCUMENTATION.yml <https://github.com/ansible/ansible/blob/devel/examples/DOCUMENTATION.yml>`_.
Include it in your module file like this::
#!/usr/bin/python
# Copyright header....
DOCUMENTATION = '''
---
module: modulename
short_description: This is a sentence describing the module
# ... snip ...
'''
If an argument takes both C(True)/C(False) and C(Yes)/C(No), the documentation should use C(True) and C(False).
The ``description``, and ``notes`` fields
support formatting with some special macros.
These formatting functions are ``U()``, ``M()``, ``I()``, and ``C()``
for URL, module, italic, and constant-width respectively. It is suggested
to use ``C()`` for file and option names, and ``I()`` when referencing
parameters; module names should be specified as ``M(module)``.
And this will make the items in your fork be loaded ahead of what ships with Ansible. Just be sure
to make sure you're not reporting bugs on versions from your fork!
To be safe, if you're working on a variant on something in Ansible's normal distribution, it's not
a bad idea to give it a new name while you are working on it, to be sure you know you're pulling
your version.
.._module_contribution:
Getting Your Module Into Ansible
````````````````````````````````
High-quality modules with minimal dependencies
can be included in Ansible, but modules (just due to the programming
preferences of the developers) will need to be implemented in Python and use
the AnsibleModule common code, and should generally use consistent arguments with the rest of
the program. Stop by the mailing list to inquire about requirements if you like, and submit
a github pull request to the `extras <https://github.com/ansible/ansible-modules-extras>`_ project.
Included modules will ship with ansible, and also have a chance to be promoted to 'core' status, which
gives them slightly higher development priority (though they'll work in exactly the same way).
Module checklist
````````````````
The following checklist items are important guidelines for people who want to contribute to the development of modules to Ansible on GitHub. Please read the guidelines before you submit your PR/proposal.
* The shebang must always be ``#!/usr/bin/python``. This allows ``ansible_python_interpreter`` to work
* Modules must be written to support Python 2.4. If this is not possible, required minimum python version and rationale should be explained in the requirements section in ``DOCUMENTATION``. This minimum requirement will be advanced to Python-2.6 in Ansible-2.4.
* Modules must be written to use proper Python-3 syntax. At some point in the future we'll come up with rules for running on Python-3 but we're not there yet. See :doc:`developing_modules_python3` for help on how to do this.
* Documentation: Make sure it exists
* Module documentation should briefly and accurately define what each module and option does, and how it works with others in the underlying system. Documentation should be written for broad audience--readable both by experts and non-experts. This documentation is not meant to teach a total novice, but it also should not be reserved for the Illuminati (hard balance).
* If an argument takes both C(True)/C(False) and C(Yes)/C(No), the documentation should use C(True) and C(False).
* Descriptions should always start with a capital letter and end with a full stop. Consistency always helps.
* The `required` setting is only required when true, otherwise it is assumed to be false.
* If `required` is false/missing, `default` may be specified (assumed 'null' if missing). Ensure that the default parameter in docs matches default parameter in code.
* Documenting `default` is not needed for `required: true`.
* Remove unnecessary doc like `aliases: []` or `choices: []`.
* Do not use Boolean values in a choice list . For example, in the list `choices: ['no', 'verify', 'always]`, 'no' will be interpreted as a Boolean value (you can check basic.py for BOOLEANS_* constants to see the full list of Boolean keywords). If your option actually is a boolean, just use `type=bool`; there is no need to populate 'choices'.
* For new modules or options in a module add version_added. The version should match the value of the current development version and is a string (not a float), so be sure to enclose it in quotes.
* Verify that arguments in doc and module spec dict are identical.
* For password / secret arguments no_log=True should be set.
* Requirements should be documented, using the `requirements=[]` field.
* Author should be set, with their name and their github id, at the least.
* Ensure that you make use of U() for urls, C() for files and options, I() for params, M() for modules.
* If an optional parameter is sometimes required this need to be reflected in the documentation, e.g. "Required when C(state=present)."
* Verify that a GPL 3 License header is included.
* Does module use check_mode? Could it be modified to use it? Document it. Documentation is everyone's friend.
* Examples--include them whenever possible and make sure they are reproducible.
* Document the return structure of the module. Refer to :ref:`common_return_values` and :ref:`module_documenting` for additional information.
* Predictable user interface: This is a particularly important section as it is also an area where we need significant improvements.
* Name consistency across modules (we’ve gotten better at this, but we still have many deviations).
* Declarative operation (not CRUD)--this makes it easy for a user not to care what the existing state is, just about the final state. ``started/stopped``, ``present/absent``--don't overload options too much. It is preferable to add a new, simple option than to add choices/states that don't fit with existing ones.
* Keep options small, having them take large data structures might save us a few tasks, but adds a complex requirement that we cannot easily validate before passing on to the module.
* Allow an "expert mode". This may sound like the absolute opposite of the previous one, but it is always best to let expert users deal with complex data. This requires different modules in some cases, so that you end up having one (1) expert module and several 'piecemeal' ones (ec2_vpc_net?). The reason for this is not, as many users express, because it allows a single task and keeps plays small (which just moves the data complexity into vars files, leaving you with a slightly different structure in another YAML file). It does, however, allow for a more 'atomic' operation against the underlying APIs and services.
* Informative responses: Please note, that for >= 2.0, it is required that return data to be documented.
* Always return useful data, even when there is no change.
* Be consistent about returns (some modules are too random), unless it is detrimental to the state/action.
* Make returns reusable--most of the time you don't want to read it, but you do want to process it and re-purpose it.
* Return diff if in diff mode. This is not required for all modules, as it won't make sense for certain ones, but please attempt to include this when applicable).
* Code: This applies to all code in general, but often seems to be missing from modules, so please keep the following in mind as you work.
* Validate upfront--fail fast and return useful and clear error messages.
* Defensive programming--modules should be designed simply enough that this should be easy. Modules should always handle errors gracefully and avoid direct stacktraces. Ansible deals with this better in 2.0 and returns them in the results.
* Fail predictably--if we must fail, do it in a way that is the most expected. Either mimic the underlying tool or the general way the system works.
* Modules should not do the job of other modules, that is what roles are for. Less magic is more.
* Don't reinvent the wheel. Part of the problem is that code sharing is not that easy nor documented, we also need to expand our base functions to provide common patterns (retry, throttling, etc).
* Support check mode. This is not required for all modules, as it won't make sense for certain ones, but please attempt to include this when applicable). For more information, refer to :ref:`check_mode_drift` and :ref:`check_mode_dry`.
* Exceptions: The module must handle them. (exceptions are bugs)
* Give out useful messages on what you were doing and you can add the exception message to that.
* Avoid catchall exceptions, they are not very useful unless the underlying API gives very good error messages pertaining the attempted action.
* Module-dependent guidelines: Additional module guidelines may exist for certain families of modules.
* Be sure to check out the modules themselves for additional information.
serializable. A common pitfall is to try returning an object via
exit_json(). Instead, convert the fields you need from the object into the
fields of a dictionary and return the dictionary.
* When fetching URLs, please use either fetch_url or open_url from ansible.module_utils.urls
rather than urllib2; urllib2 does not natively verify TLS certificates and so is insecure for https.
Windows modules checklist
`````````````````````````
* Favour native powershell and .net ways of doing things over calls to COM libraries or calls to native executables which may or may not be present in all versions of windows
* modules are in powershell (.ps1 files) but the docs reside in same name python file (.py)
* look at ansible/lib/ansible/module_utils/powershell.ps1 for common code, avoid duplication
* Ansible uses strictmode version 2.0 so be sure to test with that enabled
* start with::
#!powershell
then::
<GPL header>
then::
# WANT_JSON
# POWERSHELL_COMMON
then, to parse all arguments into a variable modules generally use::
$params = Parse-Args $args
* Arguments:
* Try and use state present and state absent like other modules
* You need to check that all your mandatory args are present. You can do this using the builtin Get-AnsibleParam function.
* Required arguments::
$package = Get-AnsibleParam -obj $params -name name -failifempty $true
