Ansible 'Failed to Connect via SSH localhost:22': Fix Guide — Video Tutorial

Introduction In today's episode of Ansible Pilot, I'm Luca Berton, and we'll delve into Ansible troubleshooting, focusing on the common error "Failed to connect to the host via SSH: localhost port 22." This error often occurs when testing your code on your local machine using the `ansible_connection local` parameter. Understanding the Error The exact error message you might encounter in the terminal is: ```bash fatal: [localhost]: UNREACHABLE! => {"changed": false, "msg": "Failed to connect to the host via SSH: ssh: connect to host localhost port 22: Connection refused", "unreachable": true} ``` This error is a clear indication that Ansible failed to establish an SSH connection to the localhost on port 22. Live Demo Let's jump into a live Playbook to reproduce the Ansible connection failed problem and fix it in the inventory file. Error Code: `ping.yml` ```yaml --- - name: ping module Playbook hosts: all tasks: - name: test connection ansible.builtin.ping: ``` Error Execution Executing the playbook with the error: ```bash $ ansible-playbook -i inventory ping.yml PLAY [ping module Playbook] ***************************************************************** TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************** fatal: [localhost]: UNREACHABLE! => {"changed": false, "msg": "Failed to connect to the host via SSH: ssh: connect to host localhost port 22: Connection refused", "unreachable": true} PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************** localhost : ok=0 changed=0 unreachable=1 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0 ``` Fix Code: `ping.yml` ```yaml --- - name: ping module Playbook hosts: all tasks: - name: test connection ansible.builtin.ping: ``` Fix Execution Executing the fixed playbook: ```bash $ ansible-playbook -i inventory ping.yml PLAY [ping module Playbook] ***************************************************************** TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************** [WARNING]: Platform darwin on host localhost is using the discovered Python interpreter at /opt/homebrew/bin/python3.10, but future installation of another Python interpreter could change the meaning of that path. See https://docs.ansible.com/ansible- core/2.13/reference_appendices/interpreter_discovery.html for more information. ok: [localhost] TASK [test connection] ****************************************************************** ok: [localhost] PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************** localhost : ok=2 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0 ``` Links - [Local playbooks](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/user_guide/playbooks_delegation.html) Conclusion In conclusion, you now know how to troubleshoot the common Ansible error "Failed to connect to the host via