Running, Optimizing and Getting the Most Out of Ansible on a PopOS GNU/Linux System
The Problem That Ansible Was Designed to Solve
Before tools like Ansible existed, system administrators had to manually configure each server in their network, one by one. This approach was not only tedious and time-consuming, but it was also prone to human error. As the number of systems grew, so did the complexity and the chances of something going wrong. Administrators needed a tool that could consistently apply configurations across many machines at once, while remaining simple to use. Ansible was designed to solve this very problem by allowing users to automate system configuration, application deployment, and other repetitive IT tasks in a consistent and reproducible way.
Ansible uses a model where you describe what the system should look like, rather than how to get it there. This declarative model allows administrators to focus on the end state, not the complex steps to achieve it. It helps reduce configuration drift and increases reliability across multiple systems.
The History of Ansible
Ansible was created by Michael DeHaan and released in 2012. Unlike some earlier automation tools that required agents to be installed on every managed system, Ansible took a simpler approach. It uses SSH to connect to remote machines and push changes from a central control node. This agentless design helped Ansible to stand out immediately, since it reduced setup complexity and lowered security risks by minimizing the number of components running on each server.
Over time, Ansible grew in popularity because of its ease of use and strong community support. In 2015, Red Hat acquired Ansible Inc., which helped to further integrate the tool into enterprise environments. Since then, Ansible has become one of the most widely used automation tools in the world, powering everything from small startup environments to global infrastructure operations.
The Directories and Files That Ansible Creates and Uses On a PopOS GNU/Linux System
When you install Ansible on a PopOS GNU/Linux system, it does not flood your system with new directories. The tool is lightweight and depends mostly on a few key locations for its operation. The most important file is the ansible.cfg configuration file, which controls the behavior of Ansible commands. This file can be placed in several locations, including the current working directory, the home directory (~/.ansible.cfg), or system-wide in /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg.
The default inventory file, which lists the hosts that Ansible will manage, is located at /etc/ansible/hosts. You can override this with your own custom inventory file using the -i flag on the command line or by specifying it in the configuration file. Other commonly used files include playbooks, which are written in YAML and usually saved with a .yml extension. These playbooks can be stored anywhere, but best practice is to organize them in directories that match their function, such as playbooks/, roles/, and group_vars/.
Installing Ansible on a PopOS GNU/Linux System
Installing Ansible on PopOS is straightforward, since PopOS is based on Ubuntu and uses the same package management system. The easiest way to install it is through the terminal using the Advanced Package Tool (APT). Begin by updating your package list using sudo apt update, then install Ansible with the command sudo apt install ansible. This will download and install the necessary packages and dependencies.
Once installed, you can verify the installation with ansible --version, which will confirm the version number and where Ansible is located on your system. Because PopOS uses the same repositories as Ubuntu, the version available through APT might not always be the very latest. If you need the latest version, you can install it using pip, the Python package manager, after first installing python3-pip.
The Most Common Uses for Ansible on a PopOS GNU/Linux System
On a PopOS GNU/Linux system, Ansible is often used to automate software installation, to configure services, and to maintain system consistency across development environments. Developers and system administrators use it to provision virtual machines, to install packages, to apply security updates, and to synchronize configuration files. For example, you might write a playbook that ensures your development machine always has the latest version of your preferred editor, compiler, and debugging tools.
Ansible also integrates well with cloud services, allowing users on PopOS to manage virtual machines on providers such as Linode, DigitalOcean, AWS, and others. It can be used to deploy Docker containers, to manage Kubernetes clusters, and to coordinate complex tasks across multiple machines with a single command. Whether you are a solo developer or managing a fleet of servers, Ansible makes it possible to do more while reducing the need to perform manual steps.