Executing Custom Lookup Plugins in the Ansible Automation Platform

How to execute two custom Ansible Lookup Plugins to interact with API and read the contents of files in the local Ansible Controller.

Introduction

Ansible, an open-source automation tool, offers a wide range of built-in modules and plugins to simplify infrastructure management. However, sometimes, you may need to extend its functionality by creating custom plugins tailored to your needs. In this article, we’ll explore the creation of a custom Ansible lookup plugin in Python and execute it in Ansible Controller (part of Ansible Automation Platform).

What is a Lookup Plugin?

Ansible lookup plugins are used to retrieve data dynamically during playbook execution. They allow you to fetch information from various sources, such as databases, APIs, or external files, and use that data in your Ansible tasks.

Links

• https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/dev_guide/developing_plugins.html#lookup-plugins
• https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/plugins/lookup.html#lookup-plugins
• https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/reference_appendices/config.html#defa…