sys-token-store

Description

sys-token-store is a lightweight Ansible helper role for resolving and persisting per-user application tokens in a unified and idempotent way.

It provides a single source of truth for application tokens while keeping runtime usage simple and consistent across roles.

The role is intentionally not a secret generator.
It only stores and propagates tokens that already exist (e.g. created by bootstrap processes or provided externally).

Overview

This role stores and manages per-user application tokens in a local YAML store file (idempotent read/write helpers).

Features

Automated provisioning: Configured by Ansible without manual steps.

Core Principles

Single logic for all roles
- Always resolve tokens as: users → token store → empty
No implicit token generation
- Empty tokens are rejected
Idempotent persistence
- Store file is only rewritten when content actually changes
Lookup-based runtime resolution
- Tokens are resolved through lookup('users'), which hydrates from the store on each lookup call
Case-sensitive keys
- User keys and application IDs must match exactly

Token Resolution Order

When resolving a token, the following order is used:

lookup('users', '<user>').tokens.<application_id>
Token store file (tokens.yml)
Empty string ('')

No automatic fallback generation happens.

Store Format

Tokens are stored in a single YAML file:

users:
  administrator:
    tokens:
      web-app-matomo: "46e50b0eb52d0d141a7d6cf9b3d0b3e2"

Default location:

/var/lib/infinito/secrets/tokens.yml

Permissions are restricted to root by default.

Provided Tasks

`write.yml`

Persists a token so it is available through the users lookup on subsequent reads.

This is the canonical way to store tokens.

Input

sys_token_store_user_key
sys_token_store_app
sys_token_store_token (must be non-empty)

Effects

Updates the token store file (idempotent)
Makes the token available via lookup('users', '<user>').tokens['<app>']
Exports sys_token_store_token

Empty tokens are rejected explicitly.

Usage Examples

Persist a token

- include_role:
    name: sys-token-store
    tasks_from: write.yml
  vars:
    sys_token_store_user_key: administrator
    sys_token_store_app: web-app-matomo
    sys_token_store_token: "{{ matomo_token_value }}"

After this, the token is available as:

lookup('users', 'administrator').tokens['web-app-matomo']

What This Role Does Not Do

❌ No token generation
❌ No encryption
❌ No user management
❌ No application-specific logic

It is a generic infrastructure helper.

Best Practices

Keep all user and application keys lowercase
Use stable application_id values
Let application roles create tokens
Let sys-token-store handle persistence