---
description: >
  The ansible-local Packer provisioner will run ansible in ansible's "local"
  mode on the remote/guest VM using Playbook and Role files that exist on the
  guest VM. This means ansible must be installed on the remote/guest VM.
  Playbooks and Roles can be uploaded from your build machine (the one running
  Packer) to the vm.
layout: docs
page_title: Ansible Local - Provisioners
sidebar_title: Ansible Local
---

# Ansible Local Provisioner

Type: `ansible-local`

The `ansible-local` Packer provisioner will run ansible in ansible's "local"
mode on the remote/guest VM using Playbook and Role files that exist on the
guest VM. This means ansible must be installed on the remote/guest VM.
Playbooks and Roles can be uploaded from your build machine (the one running
Packer) to the vm. Ansible is then run on the guest machine in [local
mode](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/playbooks_delegation.html#local-playbooks)
via the `ansible-playbook` command.

-> **Note:** Ansible will _not_ be installed automatically by this
provisioner. This provisioner expects that Ansible is already installed on the
guest/remote machine. It is common practice to use the [shell
provisioner](/docs/provisioners/shell) before the Ansible provisioner to
do this.

## Basic Example

The example below is fully functional.

<Tabs>
<Tab heading="JSON">

```json
{
    "builders": [
      {
          "type":        "docker",
          "image":       "williamyeh/ansible:ubuntu14.04",
          "export_path": "packer_example",
          "run_command": [ "-d", "-i", "-t", "--entrypoint=/bin/bash", "{{.Image}}" ]
      }
    ],
    "variables":
      {
        "topping": "mushroom"
      },
    "provisioners": [
      {
        "type":            "ansible-local",
        "playbook_file":   "./playbook.yml",
        "extra_arguments": ["--extra-vars", "\"pizza_toppings={{ user `topping`}}\""]
      }
    ]
}
```

</Tab>
<Tab heading="HCL2">

```hcl
variable "topping" {
  type    = string
  default = "mushroom"
}

source "docker" "example" {
  image       = "williamyeh/ansible:ubuntu14.04"
  export_path = "packer_example"
  run_command = ["-d", "-i", "-t", "--entrypoint=/bin/bash", "{{.Image}}"]
}

build {
  sources = [
    "source.docker.example"
  ]

  provisioner "ansible-local" {
    playbook_file   = "./playbook.yml"
    extra_arguments = ["--extra-vars", "\"pizza_toppings=${var.topping}\""]
  }
}
```

</Tab>
</Tabs>

where ./playbook.yml contains

```
---
- name: hello world
  hosts: 127.0.0.1
  connection: local

  tasks:
    - command: echo {{ pizza_toppings }}
    - debug: msg="{{ pizza_toppings }}"

```

## Configuration Reference

The reference of available configuration options is listed below.

Required:

- `playbook_file` (string) - The playbook file to be executed by ansible.
  This file must exist on your local system and will be uploaded to the
  remote machine. This option is exclusive with `playbook_files`.

- `playbook_files` (array of strings) - The playbook files to be executed by
  ansible. These files must exist on your local system. If the files don't
  exist in the `playbook_dir` or you don't set `playbook_dir` they will be
  uploaded to the remote machine. This option is exclusive with
  `playbook_file`.

Optional:

- `command` (string) - The command to invoke ansible. Defaults to
  "ANSIBLE_FORCE_COLOR=1 PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 ansible-playbook". Note, This
  disregards the value of `-color` when passed to `packer build`. To disable
  colors, set this to `PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1 ansible-playbook`.

- `extra_arguments` (array of strings) - An array of extra arguments to pass
  to the ansible command. By default, this is empty. These arguments _will_
  be passed through a shell and arguments should be quoted accordingly. Usage
  example:

  ```text
  "extra_arguments": [ "--extra-vars \"Region={{user `Region`}} Stage={{user `Stage`}}\"" ]
  ```

- `inventory_groups` (string) - A comma-separated list of groups to which
  packer will assign the host `127.0.0.1`. A value of `my_group_1,my_group_2`
  will generate an Ansible inventory like:

  ```text
  [my_group_1]
  127.0.0.1
  [my_group_2]
  127.0.0.1
  ```

- `inventory_file` (string) - The inventory file to be used by ansible. This
  file must exist on your local system and will be uploaded to the remote
  machine.

  When using an inventory file, it's also required to `--limit` the hosts to the
  specified host you're building. The `--limit` argument can be provided in the
  `extra_arguments` option.

  An example inventory file may look like:

  ```text
  [chi-dbservers]
  db-01 ansible_connection=local
  db-02 ansible_connection=local

  [chi-appservers]
  app-01 ansible_connection=local
  app-02 ansible_connection=local

  [chi:children]
  chi-dbservers
  chi-appservers

  [dbservers:children]
  chi-dbservers

  [appservers:children]
  chi-appservers
  ```

- `playbook_dir` (string) - a path to the complete ansible directory
  structure on your local system to be copied to the remote machine as the
  `staging_directory` before all other files and directories.

- `playbook_paths` (array of strings) - An array of directories of playbook
  files on your local system. These will be uploaded to the remote machine
  under `staging_directory`/playbooks. By default, this is empty.

- `galaxy_file` (string) - A requirements file which provides a way to
  install roles with the [ansible-galaxy
  cli](http://docs.ansible.com/ansible/galaxy.html#the-ansible-galaxy-command-line-tool)
  on the remote machine. By default, this is empty.

- `galaxy_command` (string) - The command to invoke ansible-galaxy. By
  default, this is ansible-galaxy.

- `group_vars` (string) - a path to the directory containing ansible group
  variables on your local system to be copied to the remote machine. By
  default, this is empty.

- `host_vars` (string) - a path to the directory containing ansible host
  variables on your local system to be copied to the remote machine. By
  default, this is empty.

- `role_paths` (array of strings) - An array of paths to role directories on
  your local system. These will be uploaded to the remote machine under
  `staging_directory`/roles. By default, this is empty.

- `staging_directory` (string) - The directory where all the configuration of
  Ansible by Packer will be placed. By default this is
  `/tmp/packer-provisioner-ansible-local/<uuid>`, where `<uuid>` is replaced
  with a unique ID so that this provisioner can be run more than once. If
  you'd like to know the location of the staging directory in advance, you
  should set this to a known location. This directory doesn't need to exist
  but must have proper permissions so that the SSH user that Packer uses is
  able to create directories and write into this folder. If the permissions
  are not correct, use a shell provisioner prior to this to configure it
  properly.

- `clean_staging_directory` (boolean) - If set to `true`, the content of the
  `staging_directory` will be removed after executing ansible. By default,
  this is set to `false`.

@include 'provisioners/common-config.mdx'

## Default Extra Variables

In addition to being able to specify extra arguments using the
`extra_arguments` configuration, the provisioner automatically defines certain
commonly useful Ansible variables:

- `packer_build_name` is set to the name of the build that Packer is running.
  This is most useful when Packer is making multiple builds and you want to
  distinguish them slightly when using a common playbook.

- `packer_builder_type` is the type of the builder that was used to create
  the machine that the script is running on. This is useful if you want to
  run only certain parts of the playbook on systems built with certain
  builders.

- `packer_http_addr` If using a builder that provides an http server for file
  transfer (such as hyperv, parallels, qemu, virtualbox, and vmware), this
  will be set to the address. You can use this address in your provisioner to
  download large files over http. This may be useful if you're experiencing
  slower speeds using the default file provisioner. A file provisioner using
  the `winrm` communicator may experience these types of difficulties.
