Ansible Playbook Grapher

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.

Features

• 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_* and include_*.
• 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-tasks is 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 (not include_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.
• Export the dot file used to generate the graph with Graphviz.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10 at least. Might work with some previous versions, but the code is NOT tested against them. See support matrix.
• 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 ansible package has been split).
• Graphviz: The tool used to generate the graph in SVG. Optional if you don't plan to use the graphviz renderer.

  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.

Installation

pip install ansible-playbook-grapher

You can also install the unpublished version from GitHub direction.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"

Renderers

At the time of writing, two renderers are supported:

1. graphviz (default): Generate the graph in SVG. Has more features than the other renderers.
2. 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.
3. json: Generate a JSON representation of the graph to be used by other tools. The corresponding JSON schema is here.

If you are interested to support more renderers, feel free to create an issue or raise a PR based on the existing renderers.

Usage

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_34b89e53("tests/fixtures/multi-plays.yml")
%% Start of the play 'Play: all (0)'
    play_8c4134b8["Play: all (0)"]
    style play_8c4134b8 fill:#656f5d, color:#ffffff
    playbook_34b89e53 -->|" 1 "| play_8c4134b8
    linkStyle 0 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
    pre_task_dd2c1b7d["[pre_task] Pretask"]
    style pre_task_dd2c1b7d stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    play_8c4134b8 -->|" 1 "| pre_task_dd2c1b7d
    linkStyle 1 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
    pre_task_bc33639f["[pre_task] Pretask 2"]
    style pre_task_bc33639f stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    play_8c4134b8 -->|" 2 "| pre_task_bc33639f
    linkStyle 2 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
%% Start of the role 'fake_role'
    play_8c4134b8 -->|" 3 "| role_f4e6fb4d
    linkStyle 3 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
    role_f4e6fb4d("[role] fake_role")
    style role_f4e6fb4d fill:#656f5d, color:#ffffff, stroke:#656f5d
    task_94f7fc58[" fake_role : Debug 1"]
    style task_94f7fc58 stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    role_f4e6fb4d -->|" 1 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian'] "| task_94f7fc58
    linkStyle 4 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
    task_bd56c6b5[" fake_role : Debug 2"]
    style task_bd56c6b5 stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    role_f4e6fb4d -->|" 2 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian'] "| task_bd56c6b5
    linkStyle 5 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
    task_4f51a1cc[" fake_role : Debug 3 with double quote "here" in the name"]
    style task_4f51a1cc stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    role_f4e6fb4d -->|" 3 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian'] "| task_4f51a1cc
    linkStyle 6 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
%% End of the role 'fake_role'
%% Start of the role 'display_some_facts'
    play_8c4134b8 -->|" 4 "| role_497b8470
    linkStyle 7 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
    role_497b8470("[role] display_some_facts")
    style role_497b8470 fill:#656f5d, color:#ffffff, stroke:#656f5d
    task_984b3c44[" display_some_facts : ansible_architecture"]
    style task_984b3c44 stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    role_497b8470 -->|" 1 "| task_984b3c44
    linkStyle 8 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
    task_3cb4a46c[" display_some_facts : ansible_date_time"]
    style task_3cb4a46c stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    role_497b8470 -->|" 2 "| task_3cb4a46c
    linkStyle 9 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
    task_715c2049[" display_some_facts : Specific included task for Debian"]
    style task_715c2049 stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    role_497b8470 -->|" 3 "| task_715c2049
    linkStyle 10 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
%% End of the role 'display_some_facts'
    task_d8b579ea["[task] Add backport {{backport}}"]
    style task_d8b579ea stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    play_8c4134b8 -->|" 5 "| task_d8b579ea
    linkStyle 11 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
    task_99117197["[task] Install packages"]
    style task_99117197 stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    play_8c4134b8 -->|" 6 "| task_99117197
    linkStyle 12 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
    post_task_f789bda0["[post_task] Posttask"]
    style post_task_f789bda0 stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    play_8c4134b8 -->|" 7 "| post_task_f789bda0
    linkStyle 13 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
    post_task_08755b4b["[post_task] Posttask 2"]
    style post_task_08755b4b stroke:#656f5d, fill:#ffffff
    play_8c4134b8 -->|" 8 "| post_task_08755b4b
    linkStyle 14 stroke:#656f5d, color:#656f5d
%% End of the play 'Play: all (0)'
%% Start of the play 'Play: database (0)'
    play_40fea3c6["Play: database (0)"]
    style play_40fea3c6 fill:#2370a9, color:#ffffff
    playbook_34b89e53 -->|" 2 "| play_40fea3c6
    linkStyle 15 stroke:#2370a9, color:#2370a9
%% Start of the role 'fake_role'
    play_40fea3c6 -->|" 1 "| role_38fdd7bb
    linkStyle 16 stroke:#2370a9, color:#2370a9
    role_38fdd7bb("[role] fake_role")
    style role_38fdd7bb fill:#2370a9, color:#ffffff, stroke:#2370a9
    task_54a811a1[" fake_role : Debug 1"]
    style task_54a811a1 stroke:#2370a9, fill:#ffffff
    role_38fdd7bb -->|" 1 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian'] "| task_54a811a1
    linkStyle 17 stroke:#2370a9, color:#2370a9
    task_0400749b[" fake_role : Debug 2"]
    style task_0400749b stroke:#2370a9, fill:#ffffff
    role_38fdd7bb -->|" 2 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian'] "| task_0400749b
    linkStyle 18 stroke:#2370a9, color:#2370a9
    task_e453cadd[" fake_role : Debug 3 with double quote "here" in the name"]
    style task_e453cadd stroke:#2370a9, fill:#ffffff
    role_38fdd7bb -->|" 3 [when: ansible_distribution == 'Debian'] "| task_e453cadd
    linkStyle 19 stroke:#2370a9, color:#2370a9
%% End of the role 'fake_role'
%% Start of the role 'display_some_facts'
    play_40fea3c6 -->|" 2 "| role_b05b7094
    linkStyle 20 stroke:#2370a9, color:#2370a9
    role_b05b7094("[role] display_some_facts")
    style role_b05b7094 fill:#2370a9, color:#ffffff, stroke:#2370a9
    task_153db06e[" display_some_facts : ansible_architecture"]
    style task_153db06e stroke:#2370a9, fill:#ffffff
    role_b05b7094 -->|" 1 "| task_153db06e
    linkStyle 21 stroke:#2370a9, color:#2370a9
    task_13df99ce[" display_some_facts : ansible_date_time"]
    style task_13df99ce stroke:#2370a9, fill:#ffffff
    role_b05b7094 -->|" 2 "| task_13df99ce
    linkStyle 22 stroke:#2370a9, color:#2370a9
    task_369b5720[" display_some_facts : Specific included task for Debian"]
    style task_369b5720 stroke:#2370a9, fill:#ffffff
    role_b05b7094 -->|" 3 "| task_369b5720
    linkStyle 23 stroke:#2370a9, color:#2370a9
%% End of the role 'display_some_facts'
%% End of the play 'Play: database (0)'
%% Start of the play 'Play: webserver (0)'
    play_a68ff4e7["Play: webserver (0)"]
    style play_a68ff4e7 fill:#a905c7, color:#ffffff
    playbook_34b89e53 -->|" 3 "| play_a68ff4e7
    linkStyle 24 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
%% Start of the role 'nested_include_role'
    play_a68ff4e7 -->|" 1 "| role_8bcf64e2
    linkStyle 25 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
    role_8bcf64e2("[role] nested_include_role")
    style role_8bcf64e2 fill:#a905c7, color:#ffffff, stroke:#a905c7
    task_bd87cdf3[" nested_include_role : Ensure postgresql is at the latest version"]
    style task_bd87cdf3 stroke:#a905c7, fill:#ffffff
    role_8bcf64e2 -->|" 1 "| task_bd87cdf3
    linkStyle 26 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
    task_d7674c4b[" nested_include_role : Ensure that postgresql is started"]
    style task_d7674c4b stroke:#a905c7, fill:#ffffff
    role_8bcf64e2 -->|" 2 "| task_d7674c4b
    linkStyle 27 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
%% Start of the role 'display_some_facts'
    role_8bcf64e2 -->|" 3 [when: x is not defined] "| role_806214e1
    linkStyle 28 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
    role_806214e1("[role] display_some_facts")
    style role_806214e1 fill:#a905c7, color:#ffffff, stroke:#a905c7
    task_b1fb63fd[" display_some_facts : ansible_architecture"]
    style task_b1fb63fd stroke:#a905c7, fill:#ffffff
    role_806214e1 -->|" 1 "| task_b1fb63fd
    linkStyle 29 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
    task_4a1319fd[" display_some_facts : ansible_date_time"]
    style task_4a1319fd stroke:#a905c7, fill:#ffffff
    role_806214e1 -->|" 2 "| task_4a1319fd
    linkStyle 30 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
    task_175005a1[" display_some_facts : Specific included task for Debian"]
    style task_175005a1 stroke:#a905c7, fill:#ffffff
    role_806214e1 -->|" 3 "| task_175005a1
    linkStyle 31 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
%% End of the role 'display_some_facts'
%% Start of the role 'fake_role'
    role_8bcf64e2 -->|" 4 "| role_557d6933
    linkStyle 32 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
    role_557d6933("[role] fake_role")
    style role_557d6933 fill:#a905c7, color:#ffffff, stroke:#a905c7
    task_1fa41f3c[" fake_role : Debug 1"]
    style task_1fa41f3c stroke:#a905c7, fill:#ffffff
    role_557d6933 -->|" 1 "| task_1fa41f3c
    linkStyle 33 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
    task_2841d72b[" fake_role : Debug 2"]
    style task_2841d72b stroke:#a905c7, fill:#ffffff
    role_557d6933 -->|" 2 "| task_2841d72b
    linkStyle 34 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
    task_e5fef12a[" fake_role : Debug 3 with double quote "here" in the name"]
    style task_e5fef12a stroke:#a905c7, fill:#ffffff
    role_557d6933 -->|" 3 "| task_e5fef12a
    linkStyle 35 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
%% End of the role 'fake_role'
%% End of the role 'nested_include_role'
%% Start of the role 'display_some_facts'
    play_a68ff4e7 -->|" 2 "| role_2720d5bc
    linkStyle 36 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
    role_2720d5bc("[role] display_some_facts")
    style role_2720d5bc fill:#a905c7, color:#ffffff, stroke:#a905c7
    task_4d8d8def[" display_some_facts : ansible_architecture"]
    style task_4d8d8def stroke:#a905c7, fill:#ffffff
    role_2720d5bc -->|" 1 "| task_4d8d8def
    linkStyle 37 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
    task_58aea4f6[" display_some_facts : ansible_date_time"]
    style task_58aea4f6 stroke:#a905c7, fill:#ffffff
    role_2720d5bc -->|" 2 "| task_58aea4f6
    linkStyle 38 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
    task_800f91e9[" display_some_facts : Specific included task for Debian"]
    style task_800f91e9 stroke:#a905c7, fill:#ffffff
    role_2720d5bc -->|" 3 "| task_800f91e9
    linkStyle 39 stroke:#a905c7, color:#a905c7
%% End of the role 'display_some_facts'
%% End of the play 'Play: webserver (0)'
%% End of the playbook 'tests/fixtures/multi-plays.yml'

Loading

ansible-playbook-grapher --renderer json tests/fixtures/simple_playbook.yml

{
  "version": 1,
  "playbooks": [
    {
      "type": "PlaybookNode",
      "id": "playbook_e4dc5cb3",
      "name": "tests/fixtures/simple_playbook.yml",
      "when": "",
      "index": 1,
      "location": {
        "type": "file",
        "path": "/Users/mohamedelmouctarhaidara/projects/ansible-playbook-grapher/tests/fixtures/simple_playbook.yml",
        "line": 1,
        "column": 1
      },
      "plays": [
        {
          "type": "PlayNode",
          "id": "play_1c544613",
          "name": "Play: all (0)",
          "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_a9b2e9ac",
              "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_61204621",
              "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": [],
          "hosts": [],
          "colors": {
            "main": "#585874",
            "font": "#ffffff"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

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.

CLI options

The available options:

usage: ansible-playbook-grapher [-h] [-v] [-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] [-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:
  --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. Applied when parsing the playbooks.
  --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'
  --skip-tags SKIP_TAGS
                        only run plays and tasks whose tags do not match these values. This argument may be specified multiple times.
  --vault-id VAULT_IDS  the vault identity to use. This argument may be specified multiple times.
  --vault-password-file VAULT_PASSWORD_FILES, --vault-pass-file VAULT_PASSWORD_FILES
                        vault password file
  --version
  --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 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 INVENTORY
                        Specify inventory host path or comma separated host list. This argument may be specified multiple times.
  -o OUTPUT_FILENAME, --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 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.

Configuration: ansible.cfg

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.

Limitations

• 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 any import_* or include_* 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.

Contribution

Contributions are welcome. Feel free to contribute by creating an issue or submitting a PR 😃

Local development

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 tests

The 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.

Lint and format

The project uses ruff to format and lint the code. Run make lint to format and lint.

License

GNU General Public License v3.0 or later (Same as Ansible)

See LICENSE for the full text