inventory.yaml fields

Use an inventory file to store information about your targets and arrange them into groups. Both targets and groups can include data such as facts or vars and can configure the transports Bolt uses to establish connections with targets.

Top-level fields

The top level of your inventory file contains fields that configure the implicit all group. These fields apply to all of the groups and targets in the inventory file. For more information on inventory files, such as precedence, see Inventory files

config

A map of configuration options for the implicit all group. Configuration set at this level applies to all groups and targets in the inventory file. For a detailed description of each option, their default values, and any available sub-options, see Transport configuration reference.

  • Type: Hash
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config:
  transport: ssh
  ssh:
    host-key-check: false
  winrm:
    user: bolt
    password: hunter2!

facts

A map of system information, also known as facts, for the implicit all group. Facts set at this level apply to all groups and targets in the inventory file.

  • Type: Hash
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facts:
  os:
    family: Darwin

features

A list of available features for the implicit all group. Features set at this level apply to all groups and targets in the inventory file.

  • Type: Array

Tip: You can set the puppet-agent feature to indicate that Bolt should skip installing the Puppet agent on all targets when using bolt apply or the apply_prep plan function.

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features:
  - puppet-agent

groups

A list of groups and their associated configuration.

  • Type: Array
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groups:
  - name: linux
    targets:
      - linux-1.example.com
      - linux-2.example.com
  - name: windows
    targets:
      - windows-1.example.com
      - windows-2.example.com

targets

A list of targets and their associated configuration.

  • Type: Array
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targets:
  - target1.example.com
  - target2.example.com

vars

A map of variables for the implicit all group. Variables set at this level apply to all groups and targets in the inventory file.

  • Type: Hash
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vars:
  ssh_config: /etc/ssh_config

Group objects

Use a groups field to specify a list of groups, which contain a list of targets. Each item in the groups list is a map of data and configuration for the group. Group objects accept many of the same fields as the implicit all group.

config

A map of configuration options for the group. Configuration set at this level applies to all groups and targets under the group. For a detailed description of each option, their default values, and any available sub-options, see Transport configuration reference.

  • Type: Hash
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groups:
  - name: linux
    config:
      transport: ssh
      ssh:
        host-key-check: false

facts

A map of system information, also known as facts, for the group. Facts set at this level apply to all groups and targets under the group.

  • Type: Hash
Copy 
groups:
  - name: windows
    facts:
      os:
        family: Windows

features

A list of available features for the group. Features set at this level apply to all groups and targets under the group.

  • Type: Array

Tip: You can set the puppet-agent feature on the group to indicate that Bolt should skip installing the Puppet agent on all targets under the group when using bolt apply or the apply_prep plan function.

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groups:
  - name: agents
    features:
      - puppet-agent

groups

A list of groups and their associated configuration.

  • Type: Array
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groups:
  - name: servers
    groups:
      - name: linux
      - name: windows

name

The name of the group. Group names must be unique and cannot conflict with the name of another group or a target, including the implicit all group. This option is required.

  • Type: String
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groups:
  - name: linux

plugin_hooks

A map of plugin hooks and which plugins a hook should use for targets in the group. The only configurable plugin hook is puppet_library, which configures the plugin used to install the Puppet agent on targets when plans call apply_prep or the bolt apply command or Invoke-BoltApply PowerShell cmdlet are used.

The puppet_library plugin hook can use one of two plugins: puppet_agent or task.

  • Type: Hash
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groups:
  - name: agents
    plugin_hooks:
      puppet_library:
        plugin: task
        task: puppet_agent::install
        parameters:
          collection: puppet6
    targets:
      - linux.example.com
      - windows.example.com

targets

A list of targets and their associated configuration.

  • Type: Array
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groups:
  - name: linux
    targets:
      - linux-1.example.com
      - linux-2.example.com

vars

A map of variables for the group. Vars set at this level apply to all groups and targets under the group.

  • Type: Hash
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groups:
  - name: linux
    vars:
      ssh_config: /etc/ssh_config

Target objects

The targets field is used to specify a list of targets. Each item in the targets list must be one of the following:

  • A string representation of the target's URI
  • A map of data and configuration options for the target

When specifying a target using a map of data and configuration, the following fields are available:

alias

A unique alias to refer to the target. Aliases cannot conflict with the name of a group, the name of a target, or another alias.

  • Type Array
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targets:
  - uri: linux-1.example.com
    alias:
      - database
  - uri: linux-2.example.com
    alias:
      - webserver

config

A map of configuration options for the target. A detailed description of each option, their default values, and any available sub-options can be viewed in Transport configuration reference.

  • Type: Hash
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targets:
  - uri: windows.example.com
    config:
      transport: winrm
      winrm:
        user: bolt
        password: hunter2!

facts

A map of system information, also known as facts, for the target.

  • Type: Hash
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targets:
  - uri: linux.example.com
    facts:
      os:
        architecture: x86_64

features

A list of available features for the target.

  • Type: Array

Tip: You can set the puppet-agent feature on the target to indicate that Bolt should skip installing the Puppet agent on the target when using bolt apply or the apply_prep plan function.

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targets:
  - uri: linux.example.com
    features:
      - puppet-agent

name

A human-readable name for the target. This option is required unless the uri option is set.

  • Type: String
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targets:
  - name: database

plugin_hooks

A map of plugin hooks and which plugins a hook should use for the target. The only configurable plugin hook is puppet_library, which configures the plugin used to install the Puppet agent on a target when plans call apply_prep or the bolt apply command or Invoke-BoltApply PowerShell cmdlet are used.

The puppet_library plugin hook can use one of two plugins: puppet_agent or task.

  • Type: Hash
Copy 
targets:
  - uri: linux.example.com
    plugin_hooks:
      puppet_library:
        plugin: task
        task: puppet_agent::install
        parameters:
          collection: puppet6

uri

The URI of the target. This option is required unless the name option is set.

  • Type: String
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targets:
  - uri: linux.example.com

vars

A map of variables for the target.

  • Type: Hash
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targets:
  - uri: linux.example.com
    vars:
      ssh_config: /etc/ssh_config

Example file

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# inventory.yaml
groups:
  - name: ssh_nodes
    groups:
      - name: webservers
        targets:
          - 192.168.100.179
          - 192.168.100.180
          - 192.168.100.181
      - name: memcached
        targets:
          - 192.168.101.50
          - 192.168.101.60
        config:
          ssh:
            user: root
    config:
      transport: ssh
      ssh:
        user: centos
        private-key: ~/.ssh/id_rsa
        host-key-check: false
  - name: win_nodes
    groups:
      - name: domaincontrollers
        targets:
          - 192.168.110.10
          - 192.168.110.20
      - name: testservers
        targets:
          - 172.16.219.20
          - 172.16.219.30
        config:
          winrm:
            realm: MYDOMAIN
            ssl: false
    config:
      transport: winrm
      winrm:
        user: DOMAIN\opsaccount
        password: S3cretP@ssword
        ssl: true