Ansible Role: systemd_unit

This Ansible role manages the creation and lifecycle of systemd unit files on Linux systems. It supports defining unit files dynamically via templating, and can handle multiple unit types such as service, target, or timer. It ensures units are written correctly, notifies systemd to reload if changes are made, and supports integration with Molecule for testing.

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✅ Requirements

• Ansible 2.13+
• Python 3.9+ (for Molecule + testinfra)
• Tested on Ubuntu 22.04+

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⚙️ Role Variables

These variables can be overridden in your inventory, playbooks, or group_vars.

Defaults (defaults/main.yml)

Variable	Description	Default
systemd_unit_name	Name of the systemd unit (e.g., nginx)	null
systemd_unit_type	Unit type (service, target, timer, etc.)	null
systemd_unit_directory	Directory where the unit file will be placed	/etc/systemd/system
systemd_unit_file	Full path to the unit file	{{ systemd_unit_directory }}/{{ systemd_unit_name }}.{{ systemd_unit_type }}
systemd_unit_generic_options	List of directives for [Unit] section	[]
systemd_unit_options	List of directives for the [<Type>] section (e.g., [Service])	[]
systemd_unit_install_options	List of directives for [Install] section	[]
systemd_unit_types_supported	Valid unit types this role supports	['service', 'target', 'timer']

Variables (vars/main.yml)

No variables defined.

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📦 Dependencies

None.

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📥 Installing the Role

To include this role in your project using a requirements.yml file:

roles:
  - name: okb.systemd_unit
    src: https://github.com/1000bulbs/ansible-role-systemd_unit.git
    scm: git
    version: master

Then install it with:

ansible-galaxy role install -r requirements.yml

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💡 Example Playbook

Including an example of how to use your role (for instance, with variables passed in as parameters) is always nice for users too:

- name: My Playbook
  hosts: all
  become: true
  roles:
    - role: okb.systemd_unit

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🧪 Testing

This role uses Python and Node.js for linting and formatting, Molecule with pytest-testinfra for integration testing, and Act for local GitHub Actions testing — all orchestrated through a Makefile for ease of use and convenience.

Install dependencies

Install all dependencies and setup environment

make setup

Run tests locally

Lint and Format Checks

Run lint and format checks

make check

Integration Tests

Run integration tests

make test

GitHub Actions Tests

Run github actions tests locally

make ci

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🪝 Git Hooks

This project includes pre-commit integration via Git hooks to automatically run formatting and linting checks before each commit.

These hooks help catch errors early and keep the codebase consistent across contributors.

Prerequisites

Before installing the hooks, make sure your system has:

• Python 3.9+ with pip installed
• Node.js and npm (required for markdownlint-cli2)

You can check your versions with:

python3 --version
pip --version
node --version
npm --version

Install Git Hooks

make install-hooks

This will:

• Install pre-commit (if not already installed)
• Register a Git hook in .git/hooks/pre-commit
• Automatically run checks like:
• Code formatting with black and isort
• Linting with ruff, yamllint, and ansible-lint

Test Git Hooks

make test-hooks

This will run the pre-commit hooks on all files, the same as when you run git commit.

Remove Git Hooks

make uninstall-hooks

This removes the Git pre-commit hook and disables automatic checks.

💡 Even with hooks uninstalled, you can still run the same checks manually with make test-hooks.

Why Use Git Hooks?

• Ensures consistency across contributors
• Catches syntax and style issues before they hit CI
• Prevents accidental commits of broken or misformatted files
• Integrates seamlessly with your local workflow