kevinveenbirkenbachandClaude Fable 5
aedb26eacc
The freeswitch build fetched libopusenc from launchpad.net, whose librarian backend rate-limits CI (429s across 11 attempts); three more build-time fetches carried the same risk. The maintainer publishes an alangecker/* image for every buildable service, so compose_mods drops build: wherever the service carries an image and compose pulls instead; a guard task fails loudly if a future upstream service still builds. Pin ref to the v3.0.23 release branch (the packaging repo has no tags) and clone it without submodules via the new compose_repository_recursive toggle: submodules only feed build contexts and DEV_MODE mounts, and generate-compose falls back to the committed repos/tags file. Declare the pulled images in meta/services.yml (updater-managed SPOT, mirror pre-pull) and the named data volumes in meta/volumes.yml; the override renders both through the standard container_image / container_volumes / compose_volumes lookups with the service_name pattern. Compose merges volumes by target, so the override's named volumes verifiably replace the clone-local bind mounts (docker compose config proven). This also heals a split-brain mount: apps-akka, periodic and prometheus-exporter previously kept bind mounts while their peers used the named volumes. Teach container_image and compose_volumes to honour compose_mode_force (the SPOT the other mode-aware lookups already read): bbb deploys as a node-local compose stack in swarm, so it must get hub image refs and plain local volumes there, not registry-prefixed refs and NFS driver_opts. The unpinned-engine-volume lint learns the same two safe conditions. Read the embedded Collabora port from web-svc-collabora's services SPOT instead of hardcoding 9980. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <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 ...