JSON Data Search with Ansible

Learn how to use Ansible to automate the search for specific data within a structured list.

Introduction

Ansible is a powerful tool used for automation and configuration management. While it is commonly associated with tasks like server provisioning and application deployment, its flexibility allows it to be used for a wide variety of tasks, even something as simple as searching for a specific band member in a list of bands. In this article, we’ll create an Ansible playbook that searches for bands formed with a member named “Starr” and outputs the result.

Disclaimer

Full example available: https://www.redhat.com/sysadmin/ansible-jinja-lists-dictionaries

The Playbook

Below is the Ansible playbook designed for this task. It includes a list of bands, each with its members, formation year, and the decade they were most active. The playbook filters through this list to find any band that has a member named “Starr.”

---
- name: List bands formed with a member named Starr
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: no
  vars:
    bands:
      - name: The Beatles
        members:
          - Lennon
          - McCartney
          - Harrison
          - Starr
        formed…