Ansible Inventory File

Ansible needs to know which servers it can manage. The inventory file is a simple text file that lists managed nodes (hosts) and organizes them into groups.

What Is an Inventory File?

An inventory defines the target hosts for Ansible operations. It can be a static file (INI or YAML format) or dynamic (script that queries a cloud provider).

Simple INI Format

Create a file named inventory.ini with the following content:

# Individual hosts
192.168.1.10
192.168.1.11

# Hosts with aliases
web1 ansible_host=192.168.1.20
web2 ansible_host=192.168.1.21

# Groups
[webservers]
web1
web2

[databases]
db1 ansible_host=192.168.1.30

Using the Inventory

Specify the inventory file with the -i flag:

ansible -i inventory.ini web1 -m ping

To target all hosts in a group:

ansible -i inventory.ini webservers -m ping

YAML Format

Ansible also supports YAML for inventories:

all:
  hosts:
    192.168.1.10:
    192.168.1.11:
  children:
    webservers:
      hosts:
        web1:
          ansible_host: 192.168.1.20
        web2:
          ansible_host: 192.168.1.21
    databases:
      hosts:
        db1:
          ansible_host: 192.168.1.30

Inventory Variables

You can define variables for hosts or groups:

[webservers]
web1 ansible_user=admin ansible_port=2222

[all:vars]
ansible_python_interpreter=/usr/bin/python3

Default Inventory Location

If you don’t specify -i, Ansible looks for /etc/ansible/hosts. For most tutorials, it’s better to create a project‑specific inventory file.

Two Minute Drill

Inventory defines target hosts and groups (INI or YAML).
Use -i flag to specify inventory file.
Groups allow targeting multiple hosts (e.g., webservers).
Variables can be set per host or group.

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