Override hosts variable of Ansible playbook from the command line

Question

This is a fragment of a playbook that I\'m using (server.yml):

- name: Determine Remote User
  hosts: web
  gather_facts: false
  roles:
    - {         


        

Answer 1

I'm using another approach that doesn't need any inventory and works with this simple command:

ansible-playbook site.yml -e working_host=myhost

To perform that, you need a playbook with two plays:

• first play runs on localhost and add a host (from given variable) in a known group in inmemory inventory
• second play runs on this known group

A working example (copy it and runs it with previous command):

- hosts: localhost
  connection: local
  tasks:
  - add_host:
      name: "{{ working_host }}"
      groups: working_group
    changed_when: false

- hosts: working_group
  gather_facts: false
  tasks:
  - debug:
      msg: "I'm on {{ ansible_host }}"

I'm using ansible 2.4.3 and 2.3.3