Chapter 5. Developing Ansible content

Procedure

1. Go to the Ansible Lightspeed portal login page.
2. Click Log in Log in with Red Hat.

3. Enter your Red Hat account username and password.

   On successful authentication, the login screen is displayed along with your username and your assigned user role.

Procedure

1. Open the VS Code application.
2. From the navigation menu, click the Extensions icon.
3. In the Search field, enter Ansible.
4. Select Ansible to choose the Ansible language support extension published by Red Hat.
5. Click Install.

6. After installation is complete, verify your VSCode installation:

   1. Create a new YAML file using the .yml or .yaml file extension.
   2. From the Status toolbar, click the language indicator and select Ansible to associate the Ansible language type with the new YAML file.
   3. Start writing a test playbook. Contextual aids are displayed as you start creating your content.

Procedure

1. Open the VS Code application.
2. From the Activity bar, click the Extensions icon .
3. From the Installed Extensions list, select Ansible.
4. From the Ansible extension page, click the Settings icon and select Extension Settings.

5. Select Ansible Lightspeed settings, and specify the following information:

   Expand

   UI field	Description
   Ansible Lightspeed: Enabled	Select this checkbox to enable the Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed service.
   Ansible Lightspeed: Provider	Select the active AI service for code generation. Choose the AI provider from the following options: wca: (Default setting) Uses IBM watsonx Code Assistant as the AI provider. google: Uses Google Gemini as the AI provider.
   Ansible Lightspeed: Model Name	Specify the specific AI model version to use for code generation: For IBM watsonx Code Assistant: (Required) The IBM watsonx Code Assistant model name or ID that you want to use for code generation. For Google Gemini: (Optional) The system applies a recommended default model if left blank.
   Ansible Lightspeed: Api Key	Specify the secret credential required to authenticate requests with third-party model providers. For IBM watsonx Code Assistant: (Optional) This field is not used for the IBM WCA provider. IBM watsonx Code Assistant relies on a separate OAuth2 login flow via the Red Hat portal. For Google Gemini: (Required) Paste your active Google Gemini API key into this field. This token authorizes the extension to send prompts to Google’s servers.
   Ansible Lightspeed: Api Endpoint	Specify the destination URL for network requests sent by the Ansible VS Code extension. For IBM watsonx Code Assistant: (Required) This field allows modification of the service URL for IBM watsonx Code Assistant connections. The default URL is https://c.ai.ansible.redhat.com. For Google Gemini: (Not configurable) This setting is not configurable when using the Google provider. The extension automatically manages the correct endpoint URL for Google services internally.
   Ansible Lightspeed Suggestions: Enabled	Toggle the automatic display of inline code completions within the Ansible VS Code editor. Inline suggestions are currently available for the IBM watsonx Code Assistant provider only.
   Ansible Lightspeed: Timeout	Define the maximum duration the Ansible VS Code extension waits for a server response. The default timeout for API calls is 3000 milliseconds.

   Show more

Procedure

1. Open the VS Code application.

2. Sign in using either the Connect button in the Ansible Lightspeed view or the Accounts menu.

   • Sign in using the Connect button:

     1. From the VS Code activity bar, click the Ansible icon.
     2. In the Ansible Lightspeed view, click Connect.
     3. Follow the on-screen prompts to sign in to Ansible Lightspeed.

   • Sign in using the Accounts menu:

     1. From the VS Code activity bar, click the Accounts menu.

     2. Sign in with Ansible Lightspeed to use Ansible or sign in with Red Hat to use Ansible, depending on the sign-in option you are presented with.

        Note
        • The sign-in options are displayed when the VS Code extension is in an active state. The extension is activated after you open the Ansible side panel or after you open an Ansible file in the VS Code editor. If you do not see this option, use the Connect button to link to the Ansible Lightspeed service.
        • If you are using a cloud development environment at a domain unknown by Ansible Lightspeed, such as on-premise Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces, your Accounts sign-in menu provides the option Sign-in with Red Hat to use Ansible. This option uses a device code flow to successfully complete the sign-in process and requires the Red Hat Authentication extension v0.2.0 or later. If you require this authentication flow but don’t see the Sign-in with Red Hat to use Ansible option, ensure you are using the Ansible VS Code extension v24.5.2 or later.
     3. Follow the on-screen prompts to sign in to Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed.

   On successful authentication, the login screen is displayed along with your username and your assigned user role.

Procedure

1. Log in to VS Code with your Red Hat account.

2. Create a new YAML file or use an existing YAML file:

   • Create a YAML file:

     1. Select File New Text File.
     2. From the lower right of the screen, click Plain Text, and in the language mode, select Ansible.
     3. Save the file as a YAML file format extension (.yml or .yaml).

   • Use an existing YAML file:

     1. On the bottom right of the screen, click the existing language mode, and in the language mode settings, select Ansible.

        Note

        If you do not see the language mode section in your VS Code editor, from the Command Palette, select Configure Language Mode Ansible.

3. Verify that you see an entry for Lightspeed on the status bar at the lower right of VS Code.

   If Ansible is already selected as the desired language but the Lightspeed entry is not displayed, re-select Ansible as the language mode. The following illustration shows Lightspeed and Ansible entries on the VS Code status bar.

   Figure 5.1. Ansible and Lightspeed set as selected language mode

   

4. Optional: If you see an error message about missing Ansible lint, you can install the missing module or disable it. Perform any one of the following tasks:

   • Install Ansible lint: For installation information, see the Installing section of the Ansible Lint documentation.

   • Disable Ansible lint:

     1. From the Activity bar, click the Extensions icon .
     2. From the Installed extensions list, select Ansible.
     3. From the Ansible extension page, click the Settings icon and select Extension Settings.
     4. Clear the Ansible › Validation › Lint: Enabled checkbox.

5. Create a playbook or use an existing playbook.

   For more information, see the Getting started with playbooks guide.

6. In the playbook, provide the following information to request code recommendations for a single task:

   1. Add a new Ansible task by starting a new line with - name: at the correct indentation.
   2. Add a detailed natural language prompt in the task description after - name: on the same line. For example, you can specify the following single task prompt: - name: Install postgresql-server

   3. Press Enter directly after the task description. Keep the cursor at the same location in your file, and wait for the code recommendation results to populate.

      The Ansible Lightspeed service is engaged, and it starts generating code recommendations for a single task.

      Important

      Ansible Lightspeed service takes around 5 seconds per task to populate the code recommendations. If you are using a multitask prompt, the Ansible Lightspeed service takes a bit longer (number of tasks times 5 seconds) to populate the results. Do not move your cursor or press any key while the code recommendation is being generated. If you change the cursor location or press any key, Ansible VS Code extension cancels the request and the Ansible Lightspeed service does not process your request.

      When the Ansible Lightspeed service is engaged, a Lightspeed processing status indicator is displayed in the lower right of the screen to denote that your code recommendation is being generated.

      

7. View your code recommendations and ensure that the recommendations match your task intent.

   The following illustration shows the code recommendations generated by the Ansible Lightspeed service for the single task Install postgresql-server:

   

8. Accept or reject the code recommendations:

   • To accept a code recommendation, press Tab.

   • To reject a code recommendation, press Esc.

     Note

     If you reject a recommendation, you can modify the prompt and review the generated code recommendations once again to match your task intent.

9. After you accept the code recommendation, click the ANSIBLE tab to see the content source matching results.

   For each generated code recommendation, Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed lists content source matches, including details such as potential source, content author, and relevant licenses. You can use this data to gain insight into potential training data sources used to generate the code recommendations.

10. Click Save to save the code recommendation changes in your Ansible YAML file.

Procedure

1. Log in to VS Code with your Red Hat account.

2. Create a new YAML file or use an existing YAML file.

   • Create a YAML file:

     1. Select File New Text File.
     2. From the lower right of the screen, click Plain Text, and in the language mode, select Ansible.
     3. Save the file as a YAML file format extension (.yml or .yaml).

   • Use an existing YAML file:

     1. On the bottom right of the screen, click the existing language mode, and in the language mode settings, select Ansible.

        Note

        If you do not see the language mode section in your VS Code editor, from the Command Palette, select Configure Language Mode Ansible.

3. Verify that you see an entry for Lightspeed on the status bar at the lower right of VS Code.

   If Ansible is already selected as the desired language but the Lightspeed entry is not displayed, re-select Ansible as the language mode. The following illustration shows Lightspeed entry on the VS Code status bar.

   Figure 5.2. Ansible and Lightspeed set as selected language mode

   

4. Optional: If you see an error message about missing Ansible lint, you can install the missing module or disable it. Perform any one of the following tasks:

   • Install Ansible lint: For installation information, see the Installing section of the Ansible Lint documentation.

   • Disable Ansible lint:

     1. From the Activity bar, click the Extensions icon .
     2. From the Installed extensions list, select Ansible.
     3. From the Ansible extension page, click the Settings icon and select Extension Settings.
     4. Clear the Ansible › Validation › Lint: Enabled checkbox.

5. Create a playbook or use an existing playbook.

   For more information, see the Getting started with playbooks guide.

6. In the playbook, provide the following information to request multitask code recommendations:

   1. Start a new YAML file comment by entering a pound symbol (#) at the correct indentation.

   2. Add a detailed natural language prompt in a sequence, separating each task by using the ampersand symbol (&).

      Example of a multitask prompt

      # Install postgresql-server & run postgresql-setup command

      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

      For better readability, split your multitask inline prompts over multiple lines. To achieve this, end your current line with an ampersand symbol (&) and start the next line with the hash symbol (#).

      Example of a multitask prompt split over multiple lines

      # Create a keypair called lightspeed-keypair & create a vpc & create vpc_id var &
      # create a security group that allows SSH & create subnet with 10.0.1.0/24 cidr &
      # create an internet gateway & create a route table

      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

   3. Press Enter directly after the task description. Keep the cursor at the same location in your file, and wait for the code recommendation results to populate.

      The Ansible Lightspeed service is engaged, and it starts generating code recommendations for multiple tasks.

      Important

      Ansible Lightspeed service takes around 5 seconds per task to populate the code recommendations. If you are using a multitask prompt, the Ansible Lightspeed service takes a bit longer (number of tasks times 5 seconds) to populate the results. Do not move your cursor or press any key while the code recommendation is being generated. If you change the cursor location or press any key, Ansible VS Code extension cancels the request and the Ansible Lightspeed service does not process your request.

      When the Ansible Lightspeed service is engaged, a Lightspeed processing status indicator is displayed in the lower right of the screen to denote that your code recommendation is being generated.

      

7. Optional: If multitask code recommendations are not being generated, log out of VS Code and log in again using your Red Hat account.

8. View your code recommendations and ensure that the recommendations match your task intent.

   The following illustration shows the code recommendations generated by the Ansible Lightspeed service for the multitask prompt Install postgresql-server & run postgresql-setup command: :

   

9. Accept or reject the code recommendations:

   • To accept a code recommendation, press Tab.

   • To reject a code recommendation, press Esc.

     Note

     If you reject a recommendation, you can modify the prompt and review the generated code recommendations once again to match your task intent.

10. After you accept the code recommendation, click the ANSIBLE tab to see the content source matching results.

    For each generated code recommendation, Red Hat Ansible Lightspeed lists content source matches, including details such as potential source, content author, and relevant licenses. You can use this data to gain insight into potential training data sources used to generate the code recommendations.

11. Click Save to save the code recommendation changes in your Ansible YAML file.

Procedure

1. Log in to VS Code with your Red Hat account.
2. From the Activity bar, click the Ansible icon.

3. Under Ansible Creator, click Get started. The Ansible Content Creator page is displayed.

   The following illustration displays the Ansible Content Creator page:

   Figure 5.4. Settings to create Ansible playbooks

   
4. Select the Playbook with Ansible Lightspeed tile. The Create a playbook page is displayed.

5. In the What do you want the playbook to accomplish? field, enter the prompts to create a playbook and click Analyze.

   After a few seconds, the recommended steps for your playbook intent are displayed in the Review the suggested steps for your playbook and modify as needed field.

6. Perform one of the following tasks:

   • If the steps match your intent: Click Generate Playbook.
   • If any modifications are required: Click the editor and update the tasks or steps to suit your intent.
   • If the task suggestions do not match your intent: Click Back to change the original prompt and start over.
   • If you want to restore the original task suggestions: Click Reset and proceed to the next step.

7. After you verify the steps, click Generate playbook.

   It takes a few seconds for the playbook to generate, and The following playbook was generated for you field displays the newly generated playbook.

8. Click Open editor. The generated playbook opens as an untitled YAML file in the VS Code editor.
9. Save the untitled YAML file.

Procedure

1. Log in to VS Code with your Red Hat account.
2. Open an Ansible playbook YAML file in VS Code.

3. Use one of the following methods to view the playbook explanation:

   • From an active playbook YAML file:

     1. Place your cursor anywhere within the playbook file.
     2. Right-click and select Explain the playbook with Ansible Lightspeed.

   • From the Ansible panel:

     1. From the navigation menu, click the Ansible icon.

     2. Select Explain the current playbook.

        The playbook explanation is displayed on the right panel of the VS Code screen.

        The following illustration shows an example of a playbook explanation:

        Figure 5.5. Example of a playbook explanation

        

Procedure

1. Log in to VS Code with your Red Hat account.
2. From the Activity bar, click the Ansible icon.

3. Use one of the following methods to create a role:

   • From the Ansible panel:

     1. From the navigation menu, click the Ansible icon.
     2. Click Generate a role.
   • From the Command Palette:

   • From the Command Palette of the VS Code editor, click View Command Palette, and then enter > Ansible Lightspeed: Role generation.

     The Create a role with Ansible Lightspeed page is displayed on the right panel of the VS Code screen.

4. From the Select the collection to create role in list, choose the collection where you want to create the role. You must have a collection inside your workspace to create a role.

   If you do not have a collection, you must create it by using one of the following methods:

   • By using the following command:

     ansible-creator init collection myns.mycollection my_directory

     After you run the command, open the new directory with VS Code.

   • By using the Ansible VS Code extension

     For more information, see the topic About content collections in the Getting started with Ansible Automation Platform guide.

5. In the Describe what you want to achieve in natural language field, enter the prompts to create a role and then click Analyze.

   After a few seconds, the recommended steps for your role intent are displayed in the Review the suggested steps for your role and modify as needed field.

6. Perform the following tasks:

   1. Review and optionally change the role name.
   2. Review the collection where the role will be created.

   3. Verify that the suggested steps match your intent and then click Continue.

      It takes a few seconds for the role to generate, and the newly generated role is displayed along with the list of files where the role was generated.

      Note
      • If you want to modify the steps: Click the editor field, update the prompts or steps to suit your intent, and then click Continue.
      • If the role suggestions do not match your intent: Click Back to change the original prompt and start over.
      • If you want to restore to the original suggested steps: Click Reset and then click Continue to proceed to the next step.
7. Click Save files. A list of files is displayed that includes the new role.
8. Click the files to open them in the VS Code editor directly.

Procedure

1. Log in to VS Code with your Red Hat account.
2. Open an Ansible role YAML file within the roles directory in VS Code.

3. Use one of the following methods to view the playbook explanation:

   • From an active role YAML file:

     1. Place your cursor anywhere within the playbook file.
     2. Right-click and select Explain the role with Ansible Lightspeed.

   • From the Ansible panel:

     1. From the navigation menu, click the Ansible icon.
     2. Select Explain the current playbook.

   • From the Command Palette:

     • From the Command Palette of the VS Code editor, enter Explain the role with Ansible Lightspeed.

       The role explanation is displayed on the right panel of the VS Code screen.

       The following illustration shows an example of a role explanation:

       Figure 5.6. Example of a role explanation