computer-playbook/lookup_plugins

Custom Lookup Plugins for CyMaIS

This directory contains custom Ansible lookup plugins used within the CyMaIS project.

When to Use a Lookup Plugin

• Load external data: Use lookups to retrieve data from files, APIs, databases, environment variables, or other external sources.
• Context-aware data access: Lookups can access the full Ansible context, including inventory, facts, and runtime variables.
• Generate dynamic lists: Lookups are often used to build inventories, secrets, or host lists dynamically.

Examples

# Load the contents of a file as a variable
my_secret: "{{ lookup('file', '/path/to/secret.txt') }}"

# Retrieve a list of hostnames from an external source
host_list: "{{ lookup('cymais_inventory_hosts', 'group_name') }}"

When not to Use a Lookup Plugin

• If you only need to manipulate or transform data already available in your playbook, prefer a filter plugin instead.

Further Reading

• Ansible Lookup Plugins Documentation
• Developing Ansible Lookup Plugins