Ansible Interview Questions - Basics¶
How to use these interview questions
🧠 Read each question carefully.
Try answering it yourself before expanding the answer to compare with the ideal response.
Level: Basics
🟢 Foundational interview questions.
Focus on core concepts, definitions, and building blocks.
1. What are the prerequisites for using Ansible?
Python and SSH.
Ansible is agentless but requires Python to be installed on both the control node and the managed nodes (target servers). It uses SSH to communicate with managed nodes.
2. Where are the default Ansible configuration and inventory files located?
/etc/ansible/ansible.cfg and /etc/ansible/hosts.
These are the default locations, but they can be overridden by local configuration files or environment variables.
3. How do you execute a simple Ansible module from the command line?
ansible [target] -m [module] -i [inventory].
For example: ansible webservers -m ping -i inventory.txt. This runs the ping module against hosts in the webservers group using the specified inventory file.
4. How can you disable Host Key checking in Ansible?
Set host_key_checking = False in ansible.cfg.
Alternatively, you can set the environment variable ANSIBLE_HOST_KEY_CHECKING=False. This prevents interactive SSH prompts for new hosts.
5. What is an Ansible Collection?
A distribution format for Ansible content.
Collections can include playbooks, roles, modules, and plugins. They allow for modular distribution and versioning of Ansible content independent of the core Ansible release.
6. What is the difference between Static and Dynamic inventories?
Static inventories are fixed text files; Dynamic inventories are scripts.
Static inventories (like /etc/ansible/hosts) list IPs manually. Dynamic inventories query cloud providers (AWS, Azure, GCP) to fetch the current list of instances in real-time.
7. What is the precedence order for ansible.cfg?
ANSIBLE_CONFIG (env var) > ./ansible.cfg (current dir) > ~/.ansible.cfg (home) > /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg.
Ansible uses the first configuration file it finds and ignores the rest.
8. What is the default SSH authentication method in Ansible?
SSH keys (Public/Private key pair).
While password authentication is supported, key-based authentication is the standard and recommended method for automation.
9. What is the purpose of the host_vars directory?
To store variable definitions specific to individual hosts.
Files in this directory should be named after the host (e.g., host_vars/db01.yml) and contain variables that apply only to that specific host.
10. How do you run only specific tasks in a playbook?
Using tags: ansible-playbook playbook.yml --tags "deploy".
You must first assign tags: [deploy] to the tasks you want to target in the playbook.
11. How do you skip specific tasks in a playbook?
Using skip-tags: ansible-playbook playbook.yml --skip-tags "install".
This executes all tasks except those marked with the "install" tag.
12. What are the special always and never tags?
always runs even when specific tags are requested; never only runs when explicitly requested.
Use always for cleanup tasks and never for dangerous or optional tasks (like a debug print).
13. What is gathering_facts and is it enabled by default?
It collects system information (OS, IP, memory) from remote hosts; Yes, it is enabled by default.
It runs the setup module at the start of a play. You can disable it with gather_facts: no to speed up execution.
14. How do you check which Ansible configuration file is currently being used?
ansible --version.
The output includes the path to the active configuration file (e.g., config file = /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg).
15. What are the default host groups in every inventory?
all and ungrouped.
all contains every host. ungrouped contains hosts that are not members of any other specific group.
16. How do you capture the output of a task into a variable?
Using the register keyword.
Example:
- name: Run command
command: uptime
register: system_uptime
{{ system_uptime.stdout }}.
17. What are Handlers in Ansible?
Special tasks that run only when notified by another task.
They are typically used to restart services when a configuration file changes. They run once at the end of the play, even if notified multiple times.
??? question "18. How do you install a package on different OS families (RedHat vs Debian) in one task?
Use the package module**.
It serves as a generic wrapper. For distro-specific package names (e.g., `httpd` vs `apache2`), you typically use variables loaded based on `ansible_os_family`.
19. How do you list all hosts in the inventory?
ansible-inventory --list or ansible all --list-hosts.
--list outputs JSON details, while --list-hosts just prints the names.
20. How do you check the syntax of a playbook without running it?
ansible-playbook playbook.yml --syntax-check.
This verifies the YAML structure and includes but does not execute any tasks.
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