To use this, first install `cookiecutter`, then run `cookiecutter git+https://hub.cybercinch.nz/guisea/cookiecutter-ansible-role` and answer the prompts.
## Development Workflow ##
Molecule uses Docker by default to spin up local containers for testing. I have created [several containers] work well for testing Ansible roles. Feel free to use them or change to your own in `molecule/default/molecule.yml`.
To test your role, you first need to install Molecule by running `pip install molecule`, or using your package manager of choice. You may also `pip install molecule[docker]` to also install the `docker` Python library, or `pip install molecule[lint]` to install `ansible-lint`, `yamllint`, and `flake8`.
Next, run `molecule test`. This will run the entire default test scenario, which creates a test container, runs the linters, runs the role twice, then destroys the container.
I frequently find I want to interact with the test instance rather than destroying it. To create a test instance, run your role, then leave the container running, run `molecule converge`. You can then interact with the container using `molecule login`. To rerun your role against the existing container, just run `molecule converge` again.
Once you are done with the container, run `molecule destroy` to remove it.
### Customizing the Test ###
The default scenario runs `molecule/default/converge.yml`. You can customize this playbook to suit your needs.
The `molecule.yml` file is setup to accept three environment variables:
`MOLECULE_DISTRIBUTION`: controls the distribution to test against
`MOLECULE_COMMAND`: the command to run inside the container
`MOLECULE_PLAYBOOK`: the name of the playbook to run
Valid values for `MOLECULE_DISTRIBUTION` based on how I name my test containers are:
- centos7
- centos8 (the default)
- ubuntu16
- ubuntu18
- ubuntu20
- debian9
- debian10
- fedora30
- fedora31
For example, to test your role on Debian 10, run `env MOLECULE_DISTRIBUTION=debian10 molecule test`.
## Thanks ##
A special thank you to [Jeff Geerling] for being a trailblazer with Molecule (and Ansible role testing in general). I would be lost without his amazing work.
