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wtf is packer-plugin-ansible?

brandonromano/packer-plugin-ansible — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2023-08-17

GoAudience · ops devopsComplexity · 3/5DormantSetup · moderate

TL;DR

A plugin that connects Ansible to Packer so Ansible playbooks configure a machine while Packer builds it into a reusable image.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((packer-plugin-ansible))
    What it does
      Runs Ansible in Packer builds
      Configures machine images
      Replaces custom scripts
    Tech Stack
      Go
      Packer
      Ansible
    Use Cases
      Build pre-configured server images
      Standardize cloud instances
      Automate image pipelines
    Audience
      DevOps engineers
      Platform teams
      Startup founders

Code map

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Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Build a machine image with Docker, Nginx, and monitoring agents already installed using one Ansible playbook.

REASON 2

Replace custom setup scripts in Packer builds with reusable Ansible playbooks.

REASON 3

Standardize identical server images across a team so every deploy starts from the same configured baseline.

What's in the stack?

GoPackerAnsible

How it stacks up

brandonromano/packer-plugin-ansible42wim/fabio42wim/go-xmpp
LanguageGoGoGo
Last pushed2023-08-172018-02-042020-01-24
MaintenanceDormantDormantDormant
Setup difficultymoderatemoderatemoderate
Complexity3/53/53/5
Audienceops devopsops devopsdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires existing familiarity with both Packer and Ansible to write the playbooks.

The README does not specify license terms.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Help me configure packer-plugin-ansible in my Packer template to run an existing Ansible playbook during the build.
Prompt 2
Show me how to structure an Ansible playbook that installs Docker and Nginx for use with packer-plugin-ansible.
Prompt 3
Walk me through building this plugin from source instead of using the pre-built binary.
Prompt 4
Explain the configuration options packer-plugin-ansible supports for pointing Packer at my playbooks.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is packer-plugin-ansible?

A plugin that connects Ansible to Packer so Ansible playbooks configure a machine while Packer builds it into a reusable image.

What language is packer-plugin-ansible written in?

Mainly Go. The stack also includes Go, Packer, Ansible.

Is packer-plugin-ansible actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2023-08-17).

What license does packer-plugin-ansible use?

The README does not specify license terms.

How hard is packer-plugin-ansible to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is packer-plugin-ansible for?

Mainly ops devops.

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