container_hostname is computed for sethostname(2) and clamped to 63 bytes, so a v3 onion domain degrades it to the bare entity name. container_healthcheck forwarded that value into the curl probe's Host header, and curl is the only flavor that asserts a vhost identity on a loopback probe -- tcp and http_status hardcode Host: localhost, wget and http send none. An app that validates Host therefore rejected its own healthcheck: bookwyrm's Django answered 400 to Host: bookwyrm and the container never turned healthy while serving fine over its onion. This was diagnosed once already.e9817f825measured it A/B on pretix (Host: pretix -> 400 x4 unhealthy, Host: localhost -> healthy), named reusing a kernel hostname as an HTTP Host the underlying design bug, and deferred the general fix because it would move six roles' probes at once.9fb08b4edthen pinned bookwyrm the same way. This is that deferred change, so there is no third round of per-role pinning. The header now comes from meta/services.yml and nowhere else. Of the eight roles defining container_hostname, bookwyrm and pretix were already pinned and bridgy-fed and postmarks use the tcp flavor, which never reads it. Of the remaining four, chess never passed anything but its entity name and xwiki was measured healthy while answering to Host: xwiki, a name in no vhost config; so both are safe without a header. confluence and jira are pinned here rather than argued about -- their Host is today the real domain on a clearnet deploy, and Tomcat's ATL_PROXY_NAME being a proxyName and not an allow-list is reasoning, not a measurement. The templating contract moves from the play var to healthcheck.hostname, and a new test fails if the fallback ever returns. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Ansible Plugins (plugins/) 🧩
This document is the central reference for plugin types and plugin placement in Infinito.Nexus.
Not to be confused with application addons. This
plugins/directory holds Ansible plugins (action / filter / lookup) that extend the automation engine itself. Some applications also call their own extensions "plugins" (e.g. Nextcloud, WordPress). Those application-level extensions, whatever the app calls them natively, are declared through the unifiedmeta/addons/contract, documented in Unified Addons. An app "plugin" is an addon; an Ansible plugin lives here.
Current Project Layout 🗂️
plugins/
├── action/ # custom action plugins
├── filter/ # custom Jinja2 filters
└── lookup/ # custom lookup plugins
Configured plugin paths in this repository are defined in ansible.cfg:
action_plugins = ./plugins/actionfilter_plugins = ./plugins/filterlookup_plugins = ./plugins/lookup
All Common Ansible Plugin Types 📚
The table below summarizes common Ansible plugin types and their conventional directory names.
| Emoji | Plugin Type | Conventional Directory | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| ⚙️ | action |
action_plugins/ or plugins/action/ |
Wrap/extend module execution behavior at task runtime. |
| 🔐 | become |
become_plugins/ |
Implement privilege escalation methods. |
| 💾 | cache |
cache_plugins/ |
Persist gathered facts and cached data between runs. |
| 📣 | callback |
callback_plugins/ |
React to play/task events (logging, reporting, notifications). |
| 🖧 | cliconf |
cliconf_plugins/ |
Define CLI command transport behavior (mainly network platforms). |
| 🔌 | connection |
connection_plugins/ |
Control how Ansible connects to targets (ssh, local, etc.). |
| 🔍 | filter |
filter_plugins/ or plugins/filter/ |
Add Jinja2 filters for data transformation. |
| 🌐 | httpapi |
httpapi_plugins/ |
API transport layer over HTTP(S), mainly for network devices. |
| 🧭 | inventory |
inventory_plugins/ |
Build dynamic inventories from APIs, services, or files. |
| 👉 | lookup |
lookup_plugins/ or plugins/lookup/ |
Resolve dynamic values during playbook processing. |
| 🛰️ | netconf |
netconf_plugins/ |
NETCONF transport integration for network automation. |
| 🐚 | shell |
shell_plugins/ |
Adjust shell command wrapping/execution behavior. |
| 🧠 | strategy |
strategy_plugins/ |
Customize task scheduling/execution strategy. |
| ✅ | test |
test_plugins/ |
Add Jinja2 tests used in conditions and templates. |
| 📦 | vars |
vars_plugins/ |
Load variables from custom sources. |
Which Plugin Type to Use 🧭
action ⚙️
Use when task execution behavior itself must be changed or wrapped.
Examples:
- centralized retry logic (
uri_retry.py), - argument normalization before module dispatch,
- pre/post task orchestration.
filter 🔍
Use for pure data transformation in Jinja2 expressions.
Examples:
- mapping/normalizing dictionaries,
- deriving computed fields for templates,
- deterministic formatting helpers.
lookup 👉
Use when a value must be dynamically resolved at runtime.
Examples:
- computing IDs from role metadata,
- resolving paths/version data,
- reading structured project data for templates/tasks.
callback 📣
Use to hook into execution events and shape output/reporting.
inventory 🧭
Use when host/group data should come from a dynamic source.
strategy 🧠
Use to alter how tasks are scheduled/executed across hosts.
vars 📦
Use to load variables from custom backends.
connection, become, shell 🔌🔐🐚
Use to customize low-level execution and privilege mechanics.
cache 💾
Use to persist facts/results across runs for performance and consistency.
cliconf, httpapi, netconf 🖧🌐🛰️
Use in network automation contexts requiring protocol-specific transport behavior.
test ✅
Use to add custom Jinja2 test operators for conditional logic.
Best Practices 🧪
- Keep plugin interfaces explicit and stable.
- Keep plugin logic focused; move shared logic to
utils/. - Add unit tests for plugin behavior and integration tests for end-to-end flows.
- Prefer deterministic outputs and avoid hidden global state.
- Document any plugin-specific task arguments in the plugin docstring and README.
References 🔗
- Ansible plugin development: docs.ansible.com
- Ansible plugin index (all types): docs.ansible.com
- Ansible
ansible-docplugin types:ansible-doc -t ...