How to Run an Ansible Playbook using GitHub Actions

GitHub Actions provides powerful CI/CD capabilities. Combining it with Ansible enables automated infrastructure deployment triggered by code changes, creating a true GitOps workflow.

Why Automate with GitHub Actions?

Continuous Deployment: Automatically deploy infrastructure changes on push or pull request.

Consistency: Same deployment process every time, reducing human error.

Audit Trail: Every deployment is tracked in your git history.

Collaboration: Team members can trigger deployments through pull requests.

Workflow Components

A typical GitHub Actions workflow for Ansible includes:

1. Checkout Code: Get your playbooks and inventory
2. Setup Python/Ansible: Install required dependencies
3. Configure Secrets: Inject credentials securely
4. Run Playbook: Execute Ansible against your infrastructure
5. Report Results: Notify team of success or failure

Example Workflow

name: Deploy Infrastructure

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  deploy:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      
      - name: Setup Ansible
        run: |
          pip install ansible
          
      - name: Run Playbook
        env:
          ANSIBLE_HOST_KEY_CHECKING: False
        run: |
          ansible-playbook -i inventory playbook.yml

Security Best Practices

GitHub Secrets: Store sensitive data like SSH keys and API tokens in GitHub Secrets.

Environment Protection: Use GitHub Environments for production deployments with required reviewers.

Limited Scope: Grant minimal permissions to your GitHub Actions workflows.

Audit Logs: Review deployment history regularly.

Advanced Features

• Matrix Builds: Deploy to multiple environments in parallel
• Conditional Deployment: Deploy only when specific files change
• Manual Approval: Require approval for production changes
• Status Checks: Block deployments if tests fail

Integration Benefits

Combining GitHub Actions with Ansible creates a powerful automation pipeline that’s:

• Version controlled
• Reviewable
• Testable
• Auditable
• Repeatable

Read the full article on Medium: How to run an Ansible playbook using GitHub Action