This article shows a few examples of how to use variables in Ansible.

See also: Official Documentation on Variables

Inline #

Variables can be defined inside a playbook in the vars section:

- name: Install K3s servers
  hosts: k3s_servers

  vars:
    download_url: "https://get.k3s.io"
    node_token_path: "/var/lib/rancher/k3s/server/node-token"

  tasks:
    - name: Install k3s server
      shell:
        cmd: "curl -sfL {{ download_url }} | sh -"

    - name: Read K3s node token
      slurp:
        src: "{{ node_token_path }}"
      register: k3s_token_raw

Variables are used by wrapping them in curly braces - like {{ download_url }}.

In Separate File #

Variables can also be defined in a separate file:

# File name: k3s.vars.yml
download_url: "https://get.k3s.io"
node_token_path: "/var/lib/rancher/k3s/server/node-token"

You use them in a playbook with the vars_files section:

- name: Install K3s servers
  hosts: k3s_servers

  vars_files:
    - k3s.vars.yml

  tasks:
    - name: Install k3s server
      shell:
        cmd: "curl -sfL {{ download_url }} | sh -"

    - name: Read K3s node token
      slurp:
        src: "{{ node_token_path }}"
      register: k3s_token_raw

You can use the variables as if they were defined inline.