home/Projects/kompose/auto

🤖 Auto Stack - Your Ansible Automation Wingman

"Automating the boring stuff since... well, today!" - Semaphore UI

What's This All About?

This is your command center for Ansible automation! Semaphore UI is like having a beautiful, web-based control panel for all your infrastructure automation tasks. No more SSH-ing into servers at 2 AM - just click a button and watch the magic happen!

The Dream Team

🎯 Semaphore UI

Container: auto_app
Image: semaphoreui/semaphore:v2.16.18
Port: 3000
Home: http://localhost:3000 (Traefik labels commented out - local access only for now!)

Semaphore is the fancy GUI wrapper around Ansible that makes you look like a DevOps wizard:

• 📋 Project Management: Organize your playbooks like a boss
• 🎮 Job Execution: Run Ansible tasks with a click
• 📊 Task Monitoring: Watch your automation in real-time
• 📧 Email Alerts: Get notified when things succeed (or explode)
• 🔐 User Management: Team collaboration without the chaos
• 📜 Audit Logs: Know who deployed what and when

🏃‍♂️ Semaphore Runner

Container: auto_runner
Image: public.ecr.aws/semaphore/pro/runner:v2.16.18

This is the actual workhorse that executes your Ansible tasks. The UI is the pretty face, but the runner does the heavy lifting!

How They Work Together

You → Semaphore UI → Queue Task → Runner Picks It Up → Ansible Magic Happens
                       ↓
                  PostgreSQL
                 (Stores Everything)

Configuration Breakdown

Database Connection

All your projects, tasks, and secrets (encrypted!) live in PostgreSQL:

Database: semaphore
Host: Shared data stack

Admin Credentials

Username: admin
Password: changeme (please actually change this one!)
Email: Set in root .env file

Email Notifications

Configured to send alerts via SMTP when tasks complete. Perfect for those "deploy and go to lunch" moments!

Environment Variables Explained

Variable	What It Does	Why You Care
SEMAPHORE_DB_*	PostgreSQL connection	🐘 Where memories live
SEMAPHORE_ADMIN	Admin username	👑 The supreme commander
SEMAPHORE_EMAIL_*	SMTP settings	📧 "Your deploy finished!"
SEMAPHORE_RUNNER_REGISTRATION_TOKEN	Runner auth token	🎫 Runner's VIP pass

Ports & Networking

• UI Port: 3000 (exposed directly - Traefik labels commented out)
• Network: kompose (playing nice with other containers)
• Runner: Internal only, talks to UI via network

Persistent Storage

Three volumes keep your data safe:

• semaphore_data: Your precious projects and keys
• semaphore_config: Configuration files
• semaphore_tmp: Temporary execution files

Health Checks

Semaphore UI

Every 30 seconds: "Hey, you still awake?"

curl -f http://localhost:3000/api/ping

Runner

Checks if its private key exists (without it, it can't work)

Getting Started

First Time Setup

1. Start the stack:

   docker compose up -d
   

2. Access the UI:

   URL: http://localhost:3000
   Username: admin
   Password: changeme (then change it!)
   

3. Create your first project:

   • Click "New Project"
   • Add your Git repository
   • Configure SSH keys if needed
   • Add inventory (your servers)
   • Create your first template (playbook reference)

4. Run a task:

   • Select your template
   • Hit "Run"
   • Watch the logs in real-time
   • Feel like a hacker in a movie 😎

Adding SSH Keys

For connecting to your servers:

1. Go to Key Store
2. Add new Key
3. Type: SSH
4. Paste your private key
5. Save and use in your projects

Common Use Cases

Server Provisioning

# playbook.yml
- hosts: webservers
  tasks:
    - name: Install nginx
      apt:
        name: nginx
        state: present

Configuration Management

Keep your servers in sync with desired state. Change config → Run playbook → All servers updated!

Deployment Automation

Push code to production without the sweaty palms:

1. Pull latest code
2. Run database migrations
3. Restart services
4. Clear caches
5. Sleep peacefully

Troubleshooting

Q: Runner not connecting?
A: Check the JWT_TOKEN matches in both UI settings and runner env

Q: Tasks failing immediately?
A: Verify SSH keys are correctly configured and servers are reachable

Q: Email notifications not working?
A: Double-check SMTP settings in .env file

Q: Can't log in?
A: Default is admin/changeme - check if you changed it and forgot!

Security Tips 🔒

• 🔑 Store SSH keys properly (private keys in Semaphore, never in repos)
• 🔐 Use Ansible Vault for sensitive variables
• 👥 Create individual user accounts (don't share the admin account)
• 📝 Review audit logs regularly
• 🚫 Don't store passwords in plain text in playbooks

Pro Tips 💡

1. Use Surveys: Create web forms for playbook variables (great for non-technical users)
2. Schedule Tasks: Set up cron-like scheduling for regular maintenance
3. Task Notifications: Enable Slack/Discord webhooks for team notifications
4. Parallel Execution: Run tasks on multiple servers simultaneously
5. Dry Run Mode: Test playbooks with --check flag before real execution

Integration Ideas

• CI/CD: Trigger Semaphore tasks from GitHub Actions or GitLab CI
• Monitoring: Deploy monitoring agents to all servers
• Backup: Scheduled backup automation
• Security: Regular security updates across infrastructure
• Scaling: Auto-provision new servers when needed

Why Semaphore is Awesome

• ✨ Makes Ansible actually fun to use
• 🎨 Beautiful, modern interface
• 🔄 Task history and versioning
• 👁️ Real-time execution logs
• 🎯 RBAC (Role-Based Access Control)
• 🆓 Open source and free

Resources

• Semaphore Documentation
• Ansible Documentation
• Example Playbooks

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"Automation is not about replacing humans, it's about freeing them to do more interesting things. Like browsing memes while your servers configure themselves." 🤖✨