CMDBSyncer Inventory Plugin

An Ansible dynamic inventory plugin that fetches host and group information from CMDBSyncer.

Installation

Via pip (Recommended)

# Install the package
pip install cmdbsyncer-inventory

# Auto-install plugin for Ansible (run once after installation)
python -m cmdbsyncer_inventory

That's it! The plugin is now automatically available to Ansible.

Alternative methodm

Method 1: Using the install command (if available)

cmdbsyncer-install-plugin  # If console scripts work on your system

Method 2: Manual copy to project

# Install the package
pip install cmdbsyncer-inventory

# Manually copy to your project
mkdir -p inventory_plugins
python -c "
import cmdbsyncer_inventory
from pathlib import Path
import shutil

src = Path(cmdbsyncer_inventory.__file__).parent / 'inventory_plugins' / 'cmdbsyncer_inventory.py'
shutil.copy2(src, 'inventory_plugins/cmdbsyncer_inventory.py')
print('Plugin copied to ./inventory_plugins/')
"

Via pip from source

pip install git+https://github.com/kuhn-ruess/cmdbsyncer-inventory.git
python -m cmdbsyncer_inventory

Usage

After installation and running python -m cmdbsyncer_inventory, the plugin is available to Ansible in two transport modes:

• local (default): shells out to the local cmdbsyncer CLI. Use this when the Ansible control node and the Syncer run on the same host — no auth, no HTTP, fastest.
• http: GETs /api/v1/inventory/ansible/<provider> from a remote Syncer over HTTPS. Use this from a separate Ansible control node.

Local mode

# inventory.yml
plugin: cmdbsyncer_inventory
mode: local         # default — can be omitted
provider: ansible   # default — names a provider registered in the Syncer
# cmdbsyncer_bin: /opt/cmdbsyncer/cmdbsyncer    # optional override

ansible-inventory -i inventory.yml --list
ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml your-playbook.yml

The Syncer's UI runner sets CMDBSYNCER_INVENTORY_PROVIDER per-playbook based on its manifest, so the same inventory YAML works for every dispatched playbook.

HTTP mode

# inventory.yml
plugin: cmdbsyncer_inventory
mode: http
provider: ansible
api_url: https://your-cmdbsyncer-instance.com
# username / password optional — prefer env vars

export CMDBSYNCER_APIUSER="your_username"
export CMDBSYNCER_APIPASSWORD="your_password"

ansible-inventory -i inventory.yml --list

Configuration Options

Both mode and provider may also be set via env vars (CMDBSYNCER_INVENTORY_MODE, CMDBSYNCER_INVENTORY_PROVIDER); env wins over the YAML so the same inventory file works for many playbooks.

Example Output

The plugin will create Ansible inventory with hosts and groups based on your CMDBSyncer configuration. Example structure:

{
  "_meta": {
    "hostvars": {
      "server1.example.com": {
        "ansible_host": "10.0.0.1",
        "ansible_user": "admin",
        "environment": "production"
      }
    }
  },
  "production": {
    "hosts": ["server1.example.com"]
  },
  "web": {
    "hosts": ["server1.example.com"]  
  }
}

Requirements

• Python 3.7+
• Ansible Core 2.12+
• CMDBSyncer instance with API access

Development

Local Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/kuhn-ruess/cmdbsyncer-inventory.git
cd cmdbsyncer-inventory

# Install in development mode
pip install -e .

# Install plugin for Ansible
python -m cmdbsyncer_inventory

# Test the plugin
ansible-inventory -i example-inventory.yml --list

Building for PyPI

# Install build tools
pip install build twine

# Build package
python -m build

# Upload to PyPI
python -m twine upload dist/*

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Support

• � Email: info@kuhn-ruess.de
• �🐛 Issues: GitHub Issues
• 📖 Documentation: Wiki