Create Blank File

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✅ Step 1: Update the Inventory File

Edit the inventory file at ~/ansible/inventory and add a group or direct entry for App Server 2. Assuming the hostname is stapp02, your inventory should look like:

[app_servers]
stapp02 ansible_host=<IP_ADDRESS> ansible_user=YourUser ansible_password=YourPasswordHere

Replace <IP_ADDRESS> with the actual IP or ensure stapp02 is resolvable (e.g., in /etc/hosts). If SSH uses a key or specific port, you may need to add ansible_ssh_private_key_file or ansible_port.

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✅ Step 2: Create the Ansible Playbook

Save the following content as /home/thor/ansible/playbook.yml:

---
- name: Create file on App Server 2
  hosts: app_servers
  become: true
  tasks:
    - name: Create empty file /tmp/file.txt
      file:
        path: /tmp/file.txt
        state: touch

---

Once done, test with:

cd ~/ansible
ansible-playbook -i inventory playbook.yml

That should create /tmp/file.txt on App Server 2. Let me know if you’d like to add logging or verify file creation in the play itself — I’d be glad to add polish. 🛠️📋
Want this playbook templatized for reuse across servers? Let's modularize it!

To include a password in your Ansible inventory file (for SSH or remote access), you can define it using the ansible_password variable. Here's a basic example:

[app_servers]
stapp02 ansible_user=thor ansible_password=YourPasswordHere

This tells Ansible to connect to stapp02 using the thor user and the specified password.

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🔐 But wait — storing passwords in plain text is risky.

A better approach is to use Ansible Vault to encrypt sensitive data:

1. Create a secure variable file: bash ansible-vault create group_vars/app_servers.yml

2. Inside that file, add: yaml ansible_user: thor ansible_password: YourPasswordHere

3. Then run your playbook with: bash ansible-playbook -i inventory playbook.yml --ask-vault-pass

This keeps your credentials safe and your conscience clear. Want help vaulting your whole inventory or automating secure access? I’ve got your back. 🛡️🔧
Let me know how secure you want to go. We can even integrate with SSH keys or secret managers.