new-conf

Generate an annotated ansible.cfg for a specific environment.

Required Inputs

1. target_path — Where to write the ansible.cfg (default: ./ansible.cfg; warn if one already exists)
2. environment — Target environment:

• dev — development workstation, local VMs
• ci — CI/CD pipeline (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins)
• awx — AWX / Ansible Automation Platform

Behavior

Step 1 — Discovery

Run discovery per references/discovery.md. Check if an ansible.cfg already exists at the target path. If it does:

An ansible.cfg already exists at ./ansible.cfg.
Overwriting it will replace all current settings.
Use /ansible-designer:update-conf to make targeted changes instead.
Proceed with overwrite? (yes/no)

Step 2 — Parameter Collection

Ask for environment if not provided. Show options:

Which environment is this ansible.cfg for?
  1. dev — Development (local VMs, permissive settings, verbose output)
  2. ci  — CI/CD pipeline (strict, no interactive prompts, minimal output)
  3. awx — AWX / Automation Controller (callback plugins, fact caching)

Enter 1, 2, or 3:

Step 3 — Pre-Write Confirmation

Show summary:

Will create: ./ansible.cfg (dev profile)

Sections:
  [defaults]          — inventory=./inventory, forks=10, yaml callback, profile_tasks
  [diff]              — always=True, context=5
  [privilege_escalation] — become=True, sudo
  [ssh_connection]    — pipelining=True, ControlMaster=auto
  [persistent_connection] — connect_timeout=30

Security notes:
  host_key_checking=False (dev only — NOT for production)
  All settings annotated with justification comments

Proceed? (yes/no)

Step 4 — Generate ansible.cfg

Use the appropriate profile from references/ansible_cfg.md:

• dev → Profile 1
• ci → Profile 2
• awx → Profile 3

All non-default values must have an inline comment explaining why. Security-sensitive settings (host_key_checking=False) must have a justification comment. Any vault guidance must stay aligned with `references/security_vault.md`.

Step 5 — Final Output

Show file path:

ls -la ./ansible.cfg

Suggest next step:

Next step: Validate with `ansible --version` to confirm the config is loaded
           or use /ansible-designer:review-conf to check for security issues.

Sections to Include (all environments)

Every generated ansible.cfg must include all of these sections, populated with environment-appropriate values:

1. [defaults] — inventory, remote_user, private_key_file, host_key_checking, forks, timeout, log_path, roles_path, collections_path, retry_files_enabled, stdout_callback, callbacks_enabled, gathering, fact_caching, fact_caching_connection, fact_caching_timeout, error_on_undefined_vars
2. [diff] — always, context
3. [privilege_escalation] — become, become_method, become_user, become_ask_pass
4. [ssh_connection] — pipelining, control_path, control_master, control_persist, ssh_args
5. [persistent_connection] — connect_timeout, command_timeout
6. [colors] (dev only) — highlight, verbose, warn, error
7. Vault config comment block — vault_password_file or vault_identity_list guidance

Environment Differences Summary