Need help?

Our experts have had an average response time of 13.14 minutes in February 2024 to fix urgent issues.

We will keep your servers stable, secure, and fast at all times for one fixed price.

Ansible playbook tasks file must contain a list of tasks – Quick fix

by | Feb 19, 2020

Stuck by the error Ansible playbook tasks file must contain a list of tasks?

The Ansible is an automation tool for managing apps and server configuration.

Usually, the error shows up due to syntax error in the tasks/main.yml file in Ansible.

At Bobcares, we often get requests to fix Ansible errors, as a part of our Server Management Services.

Today, let’s have a look at Ansible and see how our Support Engineers fix this error.

 

A quick look at ansible and ansible-playbook

Ansible is an open-source automation tool. Ansible connects to other nodes via SSH and pushes Ansible modules into them.

Later it executes these modules and removes them when finished. The .yml files hold the configuration for Ansible.

Whereas an Ansible playbook is the scripts that define how this automation tool should work. That is, playbooks are Ansible’s configuration. This is also a .yml file.

 

Why does ansible-playbook show error tasks file must contain a list of tasks?

The playbook is the file that specifies the task that Ansible has to do. Hence any error in this file throws errors. One such error is

ERROR! The tasks/main.yml file for role 'xxxxx' must contain a list of tasks

The typical error that shows up while running a .yml file appears as,

Ansible playbook tasks file must contain a list of tasksAnsible playbook tasks file must contain a list of tasks.

Here the error messages specify where the exact error is. That is it specifies the offending line.

Usually, this error occurs due to syntax error in the .yml files. Now let’s see how our Support Engineers fix this error.

 

How we fix this ansible playbook error?

Whenever customers approach us with such an error, our Support Engineers check the Ansible files. We check the syntax of .yml files.

We check it using ansible-lint. This is a command-line tool for linting the playbooks. That is, it analyzes the code and troubleshoots errors.

The command usage is,

ansible-lint <.yml file>

Another common mistake every user makes is on the first-line. The .yml begin with ‘-‘ but most users miss this and throw errors while running it.

A sample main.yml file to install VIM appears as,

- name: "Installing VIM"
apt: pkg=vim state=installed

Thus by correcting the syntax, we fix the error.

[Still, having trouble in fixing ansible errors? – We can help you.]

 

Conclusion

In short, Ansible playbook shows the error tasks file must contain a list of tasks, due to syntax error. Today, we saw how our Support Engineers fix this error.

PREVENT YOUR SERVER FROM CRASHING!

Never again lose customers to poor server speed! Let us help you.

Our server experts will monitor & maintain your server 24/7 so that it remains lightning fast and secure.

GET STARTED

var google_conversion_label = "owonCMyG5nEQ0aD71QM";

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

Tags

Privacy Preference Center

Necessary

Necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.

PHPSESSID - Preserves user session state across page requests.

gdpr[consent_types] - Used to store user consents.

gdpr[allowed_cookies] - Used to store user allowed cookies.

PHPSESSID, gdpr[consent_types], gdpr[allowed_cookies]
PHPSESSID
WHMCSpKDlPzh2chML

Statistics

Statistic cookies help website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information anonymously.

_ga - Preserves user session state across page requests.

_gat - Used by Google Analytics to throttle request rate

_gid - Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how you use the website.

smartlookCookie - Used to collect user device and location information of the site visitors to improve the websites User Experience.

_ga, _gat, _gid
_ga, _gat, _gid
smartlookCookie
_clck, _clsk, CLID, ANONCHK, MR, MUID, SM

Marketing

Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.

IDE - Used by Google DoubleClick to register and report the website user's actions after viewing or clicking one of the advertiser's ads with the purpose of measuring the efficacy of an ad and to present targeted ads to the user.

test_cookie - Used to check if the user's browser supports cookies.

1P_JAR - Google cookie. These cookies are used to collect website statistics and track conversion rates.

NID - Registers a unique ID that identifies a returning user's device. The ID is used for serving ads that are most relevant to the user.

DV - Google ad personalisation

IDE, test_cookie, 1P_JAR, NID, DV, NID
IDE, test_cookie
1P_JAR, NID, DV
NID
hblid

Security

These are essential site cookies, used by the google reCAPTCHA. These cookies use an unique identifier to verify if a visitor is human or a bot.

SID, APISID, HSID, NID, PREF
SID, APISID, HSID, NID, PREF