Creating a Custom Ansible Lookup Plugin in Python for retrieving API token — Video Tutorial

Introduction Ansible, an open-source automation tool, offers a wide range of built-in modules and plugins to simplify infrastructure management. However, sometimes, you may need to extend its functionality by creating custom plugins tailored to your specific needs. In this article, we’ll explore the creation of a custom Ansible lookup plugin in Python. What is a Lookup Plugin? Ansible lookup plugins are used to retrieve data dynamically during playbook execution. They allow you to fetch information from various sources, such as databases, APIs, or external files, and use that data in your Ansible tasks. Links - https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/dev_guide/developing_plugins.html#lookup-plugins - https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/plugins/lookup.html#lookup-plugins - https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/reference_appendices/config.html#default-lookup-plugin-path Step by Step The following steps explain how to create a custom Ansible lookup plugin in Python. It begins by introducing lookup plugins in Ansible, which are used to fetch data dynamically during playbook execution. The provided Python script is an example of a plugin designed to retrieve an API token from a specific URL. The following steps break down the script into its components: Python headers, documentation, imports, initialization, and the custom lookup module with its ‘run’ method. Setting the Stage Let’s consider the example of retrieving a token via an API request with a POST specifying email and password. This is a common behavior. In the following example, we are using the following endpoint `https://reqres.in/api/login` with the credentials: `“email”: “eve.holt@reqres.in”` and `“password”: “cityslicka”`. A successful connection to the API returns the token `QpwL5tke4Pnpja7X4`. You can find the full code at the end of the article. Let’s take a closer look at the Python script provided at the beginning of this article. This script is an example of a custom Ansible `token.py` lookup plugin designed to fetch an API token from a specific URL. Here’s a breakdown of its components: 1. Python 3 Headers ```python from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function) __metaclass__ = type ``` These lines specify Python 3 headers required for compatibility when submitting this plugin to Ansible. 2. Documentation ```python DOCUMENTATION = r""" name: test author: Luca Berton version_added: "0.1" # same as collection version short_description: read API token description: - This lookup returns the token from the provided API. """ ``` This block provides metadata about the plugin, including its name, author, version, and a short description. It’s essential for documentation and readability. 3. Imports ```python from ansible.errors import AnsibleError, AnsibleParserError from ansible.plugins.lookup import LookupBase from ansible.utils.display import Display import requests ``` The script imports necessary modu