ansible-playbook-grapher is a command line tool to create a graph representing your Ansible playbooks, plays, tasks and roles. The aim of this project is to have an overview of your playbooks that you can use as documentation.
Inspired by Ansible Inventory Grapher.
- Multiple rendering formats: graphviz, mermaid and JSON.
- Automatically find all your installed roles and collection.
- Native support for Ansible filters based on tags.
- Variables interpolation (when possible).
- Support for
import_*andinclude_*. - Multiple flags to hide empty plays, group roles by name, etc...
- Support for playbooks in collections.
The following features are available when opening the SVGs in a browser (recommended) or a viewer that supports JavaScript:
- Highlighting of all the related nodes of a given node when clicking or hovering. Example: Click on a role to select
all its tasks when
--include-role-tasksis set. - A double click on a node opens the corresponding file or folder depending on whether it's a playbook, a play, a task
or a role. By default, the browser will open folders and download files since it may not be able to render the YAML
file.
Optionally, you can set the open protocol to use VSCode with--open-protocol-handler vscode: it will open the folders when double-clicking on roles (notinclude_role) and the files for the other nodes. The cursor will be at the task exact position in the file.
Lastly, you can provide your own protocol formats with--open-protocol-handler custom --open-protocol-custom-formats '{}'. See the help and an example. To not confuse with Ansible Handlers. - Export the dot file used to generate the graph with Graphviz.
- Python 3.10 at least. It might work with previous versions, but the code is NOT tested against them. See the support matrix and the matrix in the testing workflow.
- A virtual environment from which to run the grapher. This is highly recommended because the grapher depends on
some versions of ansible-core which are not necessarily installed in your environment and may cause issues if you use
some older versions of Ansible (
since
ansiblepackage has been split). - Graphviz: The tool used to generate the graph in SVG. Optional if you don't plan to use the
graphvizrenderer.sudo apt-get install graphviz # or yum install or brew install
I try to respect Red Hat Ansible Engine Life Cycle for the supported Ansible version.
pip install ansible-playbook-grapherYou can also install the unpublished version from GitHub direction. Examples:
# Install the version from the main branch
pip install "ansible-playbook-grapher @ git+https://github.com/haidaraM/ansible-playbook-grapher"
# Install the version from a specific branch
pip install "ansible-playbook-grapher @ git+https://github.com/haidaraM/ansible-playbook-grapher@specific-branch"At the time of writing, two renderers are supported:
graphviz(default): Generate the graph in SVG. Has more features than the other renderers.mermaid-flowchart: Generate the graph in Mermaid format. You can directly embed the graph in your Markdown and GitHub ( and other integrations) will render it.json: Generate a JSON representation of the graph. The corresponding JSON schema is here. The JSON output will give you more flexibility to create your own renderer outside the grapher.
Comparison of the renderers:
graphviz (.svg) |
mermaid-flowchart (.mmd) |
json (.json) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Click on nodes to open the files (open protocol handler) | ✅ | ❌ | ✅: the file location is in the output |
| Highlight on hover | ✅ | ❌ | ❌: NA |
| Change graph orientation | ❌ | ✅ | ❌: NA |
| Group roles by name | ✅ | ✅ | ✅: the roles with the same names will have the same IDs. |
| Hide empty roles | ✅ | ✅ | ❌: The empty roles are kept in the output |
| View the output file in your the OS default viewer | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Tests of the output | Automatic | Manual (need a parser) | Automatic |
If you are interested to support more renderers, feel free to create an issue or raise a PR based on the existing renderers.
ansible-playbook-grapher tests/fixtures/example.yml
ansible-playbook-grapher --include-role-tasks tests/fixtures/with_roles.yml
ansible-playbook-grapher tests/fixtures/with_block.yml
ansible-playbook-grapher --include-role-tasks --renderer mermaid-flowchart tests/fixtures/multi-plays.yml---
title: Ansible Playbook Grapher
---
%%{ init: { "flowchart": { "curve": "bumpX" } } }%%
flowchart LR
%% Start of the playbook 'tests/fixtures/multi-plays.yml'
playbook_a27d9bec("tests/fixtures/multi-plays.yml")
%% Start of the play 'Play: all (0)'
play_d6dd122d["Play: all (0)"]
style play_d6dd122d stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ba1a12,color:#ffffff
playbook_a27d9bec --> |"1"| play_d6dd122d
linkStyle 0 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
pre_task_676cdcb1["[pre_task] Pretask"]
style pre_task_676cdcb1 stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
play_d6dd122d --> |"1"| pre_task_676cdcb1
linkStyle 1 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
pre_task_44476583["[pre_task] Pretask 2"]
style pre_task_44476583 stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
play_d6dd122d --> |"2"| pre_task_44476583
linkStyle 2 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
%% Start of the role '[role] fake_role'
play_d6dd122d --> |"3"| role_f0c07194
linkStyle 3 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
role_f0c07194(["[role] fake_role"])
style role_f0c07194 fill:#ba1a12,color:#ffffff,stroke:#ba1a12
task_90876ffc["[task] fake_role : Debug 1"]
style task_90876ffc stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
role_f0c07194 --> |"1 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian']"| task_90876ffc
linkStyle 4 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
task_bb701882["[task] fake_role : Debug 2"]
style task_bb701882 stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
role_f0c07194 --> |"2 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian']"| task_bb701882
linkStyle 5 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
task_c00c5d61["[task] fake_role : Debug 3 with double quote "here" in the name"]
style task_c00c5d61 stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
role_f0c07194 --> |"3 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian']"| task_c00c5d61
linkStyle 6 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
%% End of the role '[role] fake_role'
%% Start of the role '[role] display_some_facts'
play_d6dd122d --> |"4"| role_a168caef
linkStyle 7 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
role_a168caef(["[role] display_some_facts"])
style role_a168caef fill:#ba1a12,color:#ffffff,stroke:#ba1a12
task_737e2be9["[task] display_some_facts : ansible_architecture"]
style task_737e2be9 stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
role_a168caef --> |"1"| task_737e2be9
linkStyle 8 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
task_61bbb3fb["[task] display_some_facts : ansible_date_time"]
style task_61bbb3fb stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
role_a168caef --> |"2"| task_61bbb3fb
linkStyle 9 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
task_3b7308dc["[task] display_some_facts : Specific included task for Debian"]
style task_3b7308dc stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
role_a168caef --> |"3"| task_3b7308dc
linkStyle 10 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
%% End of the role '[role] display_some_facts'
task_c8b76065["[task] Add backport {{backport}}"]
style task_c8b76065 stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
play_d6dd122d --> |"5"| task_c8b76065
linkStyle 11 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
task_f7cebcbb["[task] Install packages"]
style task_f7cebcbb stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
play_d6dd122d --> |"6"| task_f7cebcbb
linkStyle 12 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
post_task_caafa665["[post_task] Posttask"]
style post_task_caafa665 stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
play_d6dd122d --> |"7"| post_task_caafa665
linkStyle 13 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
post_task_b5ade468["[post_task] Posttask 2"]
style post_task_b5ade468 stroke:#ba1a12,fill:#ffffff
play_d6dd122d --> |"8"| post_task_b5ade468
linkStyle 14 stroke:#ba1a12,color:#ba1a12
%% End of the play 'Play: all (0)'
%% Start of the play 'Play: database (0)'
play_d780677e["Play: database (0)"]
style play_d780677e stroke:#686864,fill:#686864,color:#ffffff
playbook_a27d9bec --> |"2"| play_d780677e
linkStyle 15 stroke:#686864,color:#686864
%% Start of the role '[role] fake_role'
play_d780677e --> |"1"| role_1e6bf323
linkStyle 16 stroke:#686864,color:#686864
role_1e6bf323(["[role] fake_role"])
style role_1e6bf323 fill:#686864,color:#ffffff,stroke:#686864
task_3cb17d25["[task] fake_role : Debug 1"]
style task_3cb17d25 stroke:#686864,fill:#ffffff
role_1e6bf323 --> |"1 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian']"| task_3cb17d25
linkStyle 17 stroke:#686864,color:#686864
task_1f6232f4["[task] fake_role : Debug 2"]
style task_1f6232f4 stroke:#686864,fill:#ffffff
role_1e6bf323 --> |"2 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian']"| task_1f6232f4
linkStyle 18 stroke:#686864,color:#686864
task_0361ffa3["[task] fake_role : Debug 3 with double quote "here" in the name"]
style task_0361ffa3 stroke:#686864,fill:#ffffff
role_1e6bf323 --> |"3 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian']"| task_0361ffa3
linkStyle 19 stroke:#686864,color:#686864
%% End of the role '[role] fake_role'
%% Start of the role '[role] display_some_facts'
play_d780677e --> |"2"| role_a8b4b712
linkStyle 20 stroke:#686864,color:#686864
role_a8b4b712(["[role] display_some_facts"])
style role_a8b4b712 fill:#686864,color:#ffffff,stroke:#686864
task_c1d17653["[task] display_some_facts : ansible_architecture"]
style task_c1d17653 stroke:#686864,fill:#ffffff
role_a8b4b712 --> |"1"| task_c1d17653
linkStyle 21 stroke:#686864,color:#686864
task_8353a2ef["[task] display_some_facts : ansible_date_time"]
style task_8353a2ef stroke:#686864,fill:#ffffff
role_a8b4b712 --> |"2"| task_8353a2ef
linkStyle 22 stroke:#686864,color:#686864
task_d8141ffa["[task] display_some_facts : Specific included task for Debian"]
style task_d8141ffa stroke:#686864,fill:#ffffff
role_a8b4b712 --> |"3"| task_d8141ffa
linkStyle 23 stroke:#686864,color:#686864
%% End of the role '[role] display_some_facts'
%% End of the play 'Play: database (0)'
%% Start of the play 'Play: webserver (0)'
play_4d3ee472["Play: webserver (0)"]
style play_4d3ee472 stroke:#43418b,fill:#43418b,color:#ffffff
playbook_a27d9bec --> |"3"| play_4d3ee472
linkStyle 24 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
%% Start of the role '[role] nested_include_role'
play_4d3ee472 --> |"1"| role_f611e648
linkStyle 25 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
role_f611e648(["[role] nested_include_role"])
style role_f611e648 fill:#43418b,color:#ffffff,stroke:#43418b
task_8d2e4414["[task] nested_include_role : Ensure postgresql is at the latest version"]
style task_8d2e4414 stroke:#43418b,fill:#ffffff
role_f611e648 --> |"1"| task_8d2e4414
linkStyle 26 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
task_d1bc52f0["[task] nested_include_role : Ensure that postgresql is started"]
style task_d1bc52f0 stroke:#43418b,fill:#ffffff
role_f611e648 --> |"2"| task_d1bc52f0
linkStyle 27 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
%% Start of the role '[role] display_some_facts'
role_f611e648 --> |"3 [when: x is not defined]"| role_39ad2981
linkStyle 28 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
role_39ad2981(["[role] display_some_facts"])
style role_39ad2981 fill:#43418b,color:#ffffff,stroke:#43418b
task_110062e7["[task] display_some_facts : ansible_architecture"]
style task_110062e7 stroke:#43418b,fill:#ffffff
role_39ad2981 --> |"1"| task_110062e7
linkStyle 29 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
task_05309d40["[task] display_some_facts : ansible_date_time"]
style task_05309d40 stroke:#43418b,fill:#ffffff
role_39ad2981 --> |"2"| task_05309d40
linkStyle 30 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
task_d8106118["[task] display_some_facts : Specific included task for Debian"]
style task_d8106118 stroke:#43418b,fill:#ffffff
role_39ad2981 --> |"3"| task_d8106118
linkStyle 31 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
%% End of the role '[role] display_some_facts'
%% Start of the role '[role] fake_role'
role_f611e648 --> |"4"| role_60085133
linkStyle 32 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
role_60085133(["[role] fake_role"])
style role_60085133 fill:#43418b,color:#ffffff,stroke:#43418b
task_aa202401["[task] fake_role : Debug 1"]
style task_aa202401 stroke:#43418b,fill:#ffffff
role_60085133 --> |"1"| task_aa202401
linkStyle 33 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
task_bb8335d6["[task] fake_role : Debug 2"]
style task_bb8335d6 stroke:#43418b,fill:#ffffff
role_60085133 --> |"2"| task_bb8335d6
linkStyle 34 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
task_7e0c8ed3["[task] fake_role : Debug 3 with double quote "here" in the name"]
style task_7e0c8ed3 stroke:#43418b,fill:#ffffff
role_60085133 --> |"3"| task_7e0c8ed3
linkStyle 35 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
%% End of the role '[role] fake_role'
%% End of the role '[role] nested_include_role'
%% Start of the role '[role] display_some_facts'
play_4d3ee472 --> |"2"| role_ff23a4e9
linkStyle 36 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
role_ff23a4e9(["[role] display_some_facts"])
style role_ff23a4e9 fill:#43418b,color:#ffffff,stroke:#43418b
task_8fc8f4bc["[task] display_some_facts : ansible_architecture"]
style task_8fc8f4bc stroke:#43418b,fill:#ffffff
role_ff23a4e9 --> |"1"| task_8fc8f4bc
linkStyle 37 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
task_6a9bc407["[task] display_some_facts : ansible_date_time"]
style task_6a9bc407 stroke:#43418b,fill:#ffffff
role_ff23a4e9 --> |"2"| task_6a9bc407
linkStyle 38 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
task_b6121d94["[task] display_some_facts : Specific included task for Debian"]
style task_b6121d94 stroke:#43418b,fill:#ffffff
role_ff23a4e9 --> |"3"| task_b6121d94
linkStyle 39 stroke:#43418b,color:#43418b
%% End of the role '[role] display_some_facts'
%% End of the play 'Play: webserver (0)'
%% End of the playbook 'tests/fixtures/multi-plays.yml'
ansible-playbook-grapher --renderer json tests/fixtures/simple_playbook.ymlJson output
{
"version": 1,
"playbooks": [
{
"type": "PlaybookNode",
"id": "playbook_75f89ea1",
"name": "tests/fixtures/simple_playbook.yml",
"when": "",
"index": 1,
"location": {
"type": "file",
"path": "tests/fixtures/simple_playbook.yml",
"line": 1,
"column": 1
},
"plays": [
{
"type": "PlayNode",
"id": "play_b348eb24",
"name": "all",
"when": "",
"index": 1,
"location": {
"type": "file",
"path": "/Users/mohamedelmouctarhaidara/projects/ansible-playbook-grapher/tests/fixtures/simple_playbook.yml",
"line": 2,
"column": 3
},
"post_tasks": [
{
"type": "TaskNode",
"id": "post_task_d67cb13a",
"name": "Post task 1",
"when": "",
"index": 1,
"location": {
"type": "file",
"path": "/Users/mohamedelmouctarhaidara/projects/ansible-playbook-grapher/tests/fixtures/simple_playbook.yml",
"line": 4,
"column": 7
}
},
{
"type": "TaskNode",
"id": "post_task_2f8f97a7",
"name": "Post task 2",
"when": "",
"index": 2,
"location": {
"type": "file",
"path": "/Users/mohamedelmouctarhaidara/projects/ansible-playbook-grapher/tests/fixtures/simple_playbook.yml",
"line": 7,
"column": 7
}
}
],
"pre_tasks": [],
"roles": [],
"tasks": [],
"handlers": [],
"hosts": [],
"colors": {
"main": "#4a826b",
"font": "#ffffff"
}
}
]
}
],
"title": "Ansible Playbook Grapher"
}Note on block: Since a block is a logical group of tasks, the conditional when is not displayed on the edges
pointing to them but on the tasks inside the block. This
mimics Ansible behavior
regarding the blocks.
The available options:
usage: ansible-playbook-grapher [-h] [-v] [--exclude-roles EXCLUDE_ROLES] [--only-roles] [-i INVENTORY] [--include-role-tasks] [-s]
[--view] [-o OUTPUT_FILENAME] [--open-protocol-handler {default,vscode,custom}]
[--open-protocol-custom-formats OPEN_PROTOCOL_CUSTOM_FORMATS] [--group-roles-by-name]
[--renderer {graphviz,mermaid-flowchart,json}]
[--renderer-mermaid-directive RENDERER_MERMAID_DIRECTIVE]
[--renderer-mermaid-orientation {TD,RL,BT,RL,LR}] [--version] [--hide-plays-without-roles]
[--hide-empty-plays] [--title TITLE] [--show-handlers] [-t TAGS] [--skip-tags SKIP_TAGS]
[--vault-id VAULT_IDS] [-J | --vault-password-file VAULT_PASSWORD_FILES] [-e EXTRA_VARS]
playbooks [playbooks ...]
Make graphs from your Ansible Playbooks.
positional arguments:
playbooks Playbook(s) to graph. You can specify multiple playbooks, separated by spaces and reference playbooks in
collections.
options:
--exclude-roles EXCLUDE_ROLES
Specify file path or comma separated list of roles, which should be excluded. This argument may be specified
multiple times.
--group-roles-by-name
When rendering the graph (graphviz and mermaid), only a single role will be displayed for all roles having the
same names. Default: False
--hide-empty-plays Hide the plays that end up with no tasks in the graph (after applying the tags filter).
--hide-plays-without-roles
Hide the plays that end up with no roles in the graph (after applying the tags filter). Only roles at the play
level and include_role as tasks are considered (no import_role).
--include-role-tasks Include the tasks of the roles in the graph. Default: False
--only-roles Only render the roles in the graph (ignoring the tasks)
--open-protocol-custom-formats OPEN_PROTOCOL_CUSTOM_FORMATS
The custom formats to use as URLs for the nodes in the graph. Required if --open-protocol-handler is set to
custom. You should provide a JSON formatted string like: {"file": "", "folder": ""}. Example: If you want to
open folders (roles) inside the browser and files (tasks) in vscode, set it to: '{"file":
"vscode://file/{path}:{line}:{column}", "folder": "{path}"}'. path: the absolute path to the file containing
the the plays/tasks/roles. line/column: the position of the plays/tasks/roles in the file. You can optionally
add the attribute "remove_from_path" to remove some parts of the path if you want relative paths.
--open-protocol-handler {default,vscode,custom}
The protocol to use to open the nodes when double-clicking on them in your SVG viewer (only for graphviz). Your
SVG viewer must support double-click and Javascript. The supported values are 'default', 'vscode' and 'custom'.
For 'default', the URL will be the path to the file or folders. When using a browser, it will open or download
them. For 'vscode', the folders and files will be open with VSCode. For 'custom', you need to set a custom
format with --open-protocol-custom-formats.
--renderer {graphviz,mermaid-flowchart,json}
The renderer to use to generate the graph. Default: graphviz
--renderer-mermaid-directive RENDERER_MERMAID_DIRECTIVE
The directive for the mermaid renderer. Can be used to customize the output: fonts, theme, curve etc. More info
at https://mermaid.js.org/config/directives.html. Default: '%%{ init: { "flowchart": { "curve": "bumpX" } }
}%%'
--renderer-mermaid-orientation {TD,RL,BT,RL,LR}
The orientation of the flow chart. Default: 'LR'
--show-handlers Show the handlers in the graph. See the limitations in the project README on GitHub.
--skip-tags SKIP_TAGS
only run plays and tasks whose tags do not match these values. This argument may be specified multiple times.
--title TITLE The title to display in the graph. Default: 'Ansible Playbook Grapher'. Set it to an empty string to remove the
title.
--vault-id VAULT_IDS the vault identity to use. This argument may be specified multiple times.
--vault-password-file, --vault-pass-file VAULT_PASSWORD_FILES
vault password file
--version show program's version number and exit
--view Automatically open the resulting SVG file with your system's default viewer application for the file type
-J, --ask-vault-password, --ask-vault-pass
ask for vault password
-e, --extra-vars EXTRA_VARS
set additional variables as key=value or YAML/JSON, if filename prepend with @. This argument may be specified
multiple times.
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-i, --inventory INVENTORY
Specify inventory host path or comma separated host list. This argument may be specified multiple times.
-o, --output-file-name OUTPUT_FILENAME
Output filename without the '.svg' extension (for graphviz), '.mmd' for Mermaid or `.json`. The extension will
be added automatically.
-s, --save-dot-file Save the graphviz dot file used to generate the graph.
-t, --tags TAGS only run plays and tasks tagged with these values. This argument may be specified multiple times.
-v, --verbose Causes Ansible to print more debug messages. Adding multiple -v will increase the verbosity, the builtin
plugins currently evaluate up to -vvvvvv. A reasonable level to start is -vvv, connection debugging might
require -vvvv. This argument may be specified multiple times.
❯ ansible-playbook-grapher --help | pbcopy
❯ ansible-playbook-grapher --help
usage: ansible-playbook-grapher [-h] [-v] [--exclude-roles EXCLUDE_ROLES] [--only-roles] [-i INVENTORY] [--include-role-tasks] [-s]
[--view] [-o OUTPUT_FILENAME] [--open-protocol-handler {default,vscode,custom}]
[--open-protocol-custom-formats OPEN_PROTOCOL_CUSTOM_FORMATS] [--group-roles-by-name]
[--renderer {graphviz,mermaid-flowchart,json}]
[--renderer-mermaid-directive RENDERER_MERMAID_DIRECTIVE]
[--renderer-mermaid-orientation {TD,RL,BT,RL,LR}] [--version] [--hide-plays-without-roles]
[--hide-empty-plays] [--title TITLE] [--show-handlers] [-t TAGS] [--skip-tags SKIP_TAGS]
[--vault-id VAULT_IDS] [-J | --vault-password-file VAULT_PASSWORD_FILES] [-e EXTRA_VARS]
playbooks [playbooks ...]
Make graphs from your Ansible Playbooks.
positional arguments:
playbooks Playbook(s) to graph. You can specify multiple playbooks, separated by spaces and reference playbooks in
collections.
options:
--exclude-roles EXCLUDE_ROLES
Specify file path or comma separated list of roles, which should be excluded. This argument may be specified
multiple times.
--group-roles-by-name
When rendering the graph (graphviz and mermaid), only a single role will be displayed for all roles having the
same names. Default: False
--hide-empty-plays Hide the plays that end up with no tasks in the graph (after applying the tags filter).
--hide-plays-without-roles
Hide the plays that end up with no roles in the graph (after applying the tags filter). Only roles at the play
level and include_role as tasks are considered (no import_role).
--include-role-tasks Include the tasks of the roles in the graph. Default: False
--only-roles Only render the roles in the graph (ignoring the tasks)
--open-protocol-custom-formats OPEN_PROTOCOL_CUSTOM_FORMATS
The custom formats to use as URLs for the nodes in the graph. Required if --open-protocol-handler is set to
custom. You should provide a JSON formatted string like: {"file": "", "folder": ""}. Example: If you want to
open folders (roles) inside the browser and files (tasks) in vscode, set it to: '{"file":
"vscode://file/{path}:{line}:{column}", "folder": "{path}"}'. path: the absolute path to the file containing
the the plays/tasks/roles. line/column: the position of the plays/tasks/roles in the file. You can optionally
add the attribute "remove_from_path" to remove some parts of the path if you want relative paths.
--open-protocol-handler {default,vscode,custom}
The protocol to use to open the nodes when double-clicking on them in your SVG viewer (only for graphviz). Your
SVG viewer must support double-click and Javascript. The supported values are 'default', 'vscode' and 'custom'.
For 'default', the URL will be the path to the file or folders. When using a browser, it will open or download
them. For 'vscode', the folders and files will be open with VSCode. For 'custom', you need to set a custom
format with --open-protocol-custom-formats.
--renderer {graphviz,mermaid-flowchart,json}
The renderer to use to generate the graph. Default: graphviz
--renderer-mermaid-directive RENDERER_MERMAID_DIRECTIVE
The directive for the mermaid renderer. Can be used to customize the output: fonts, theme, curve etc. More info
at https://mermaid.js.org/config/directives.html. Default: '%%{ init: { "flowchart": { "curve": "bumpX" } }
}%%'
--renderer-mermaid-orientation {TD,RL,BT,RL,LR}
The orientation of the flow chart. Default: 'LR'
--show-handlers Show the handlers in the graph. See the limitations in the project README on GitHub.
--skip-tags SKIP_TAGS
only run plays and tasks whose tags do not match these values. This argument may be specified multiple times.
--title TITLE The title to display in the graph. Default: 'Ansible Playbook Grapher'. Set it to an empty string to remove the
title.
--vault-id VAULT_IDS the vault identity to use. This argument may be specified multiple times.
--vault-password-file, --vault-pass-file VAULT_PASSWORD_FILES
vault password file
--version show program's version number and exit
--view Automatically open the resulting SVG file with your system's default viewer application for the file type
-J, --ask-vault-password, --ask-vault-pass
ask for vault password
-e, --extra-vars EXTRA_VARS
set additional variables as key=value or YAML/JSON, if filename prepend with @. This argument may be specified
multiple times.
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-i, --inventory INVENTORY
Specify inventory host path or comma separated host list. This argument may be specified multiple times.
-o, --output-file-name OUTPUT_FILENAME
Output filename without the '.svg' extension (for graphviz), '.mmd' for Mermaid or `.json`. The extension will
be added automatically.
-s, --save-dot-file Save the graphviz dot file used to generate the graph.
-t, --tags TAGS only run plays and tasks tagged with these values. This argument may be specified multiple times.
-v, --verbose Causes Ansible to print more debug messages. Adding multiple -v will increase the verbosity, the builtin
plugins currently evaluate up to -vvvvvv. A reasonable level to start is -vvv, connection debugging might
require -vvvv. This argument may be specified multiple times.
The content of ansible.cfg is loaded automatically when running the grapher according to Ansible's behavior. The
corresponding environment variables are also loaded.
The values in the config file (and their corresponding environment variables) may affect the behavior of the grapher.
For example TAGS_RUN and TAGS_SKIP or vault configuration.
More information here.
- Since Ansible Playbook Grapher is a static analyzer that parses your playbook, it's limited to what can be determined
statically: no task is run against your inventory. The parser tries to interpolate the variables, but some of them are
only available when running your playbook (
ansible_os_family,ansible_system, etc.). The tasks inside anyimport_*orinclude_*with some variables in their arguments may not appear in the graph. - The rendered SVG graph may sometime display tasks in a wrong order. I cannot control this behavior of Graphviz yet. Always check the edge label to know the task order.
- The label of the edges may overlap with each other. They are positioned so that they are as close as possible to the target nodes. If the same role is used in multiple plays or playbooks, the labels can overlap.
- Ansible Handlers: The handlers are partially supported for the moment. Their position in the graph doesn't entirely reflect their real order of execution in the playbook. They are displayed at the end of the play and roles, but they might be executed before that.
- Looping on tasks and roles is not supported. The tasks using loop are displayed as a single task.
Contributions are welcome. Feel free to contribute by creating an issue or submitting a PR 😃
To set up a new local development environment:
- Install graphviz (see above)
- pip install -r requirements.txt -r tests/requirements_tests.txt
- (cd tests/fixtures && ansible-galaxy install -r requirements.yml)
The project contains some collections in collections. If you modify them, you need to do a force install with
ansible-galaxy install -r requirements.yml --force
Run the tests and open the generated files in your system’s default viewer application:
export TEST_VIEW_GENERATED_FILE=1
make test # run all testsThe graphs are generated in the folders tests/generated-svgs, tests/generated-mermaids and tests/generated-jsons.
They are also generated as artifacts in GitHub Actions.
Feel free to look at them when submitting PRs.
The project uses ruff to format and lint the code. Run make lint to format and lint.
GNU General Public License v3.0 or later (Same as Ansible)
See LICENSE for the full text