As an Ansible developer, maintaining clean and readable playbooks is crucial. One of the most effective ways to ensure consistent formatting is by configuring your editor properly. For many Linux users, Vim is the go-to text editor due to its speed and versatility. In this post, I’ll show you how to configure Vim on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) to optimize your workflow when writing Ansible playbooks.

Why Customize Vim for Ansible?

When writing YAML, which is the file format used in Ansible playbooks, indentation and spacing are critical. Improper indentation can lead to syntax errors and make playbooks difficult to read or maintain. By customizing Vim with a few settings, you can:

• Ensure consistent use of spaces instead of tabs.
• Automatically format your playbooks with proper indentation.
• Make your playbooks more readable by displaying line numbers.
• Simplify navigation and reduce visual clutter.

Vim Configuration: Step-by-Step

First, you need to edit your ~/.vimrc file to add custom settings. Open the file using Vim:

vi ~/.vimrc

Next, add the following lines to configure Vim for optimal Ansible playbook development:

set number           " Display line numbers
set ai               " Enable automatic indentation
set ts=2             " Set tab width to 2 spaces
set sts=2            " Set 'soft tab stop' to 2 spaces
set sw=2             " Set 'shift width' to 2 spaces
set nohls            " Disable search highlighting
set et               " Use spaces instead of tabs

I prefer to add the configuration in just two lines:

set number
set ai ts=2 sts=2 sw=2 nohls et

Here’s a breakdown of what each setting does:

• set number: Enables line numbers, making it easier to track line positions when debugging or reviewing playbooks.
• set ai: Activates automatic indentation, which helps maintain the structure of your YAML files.
• set ts=2: Defines tab width as 2 spaces. This is important because YAML is sensitive to indentation levels.
• set sts=2: Softens the tab stop to 2 spaces for easier editing.
• set sw=2: Sets the shift width for indentation to 2 spaces, ensuring consistency throughout your playbooks.
• set nohls: Disables search result highlighting to keep the visual output clean when navigating files.
• set et: Replaces tabs with spaces. In YAML, using spaces instead of tabs is considered best practice to avoid indentation errors.

Bonus Tips

• Install Syntax Highlighting for YAML: If you don’t already have YAML syntax highlighting enabled, you can install the Vim plugin for better readability. On RHEL, you can install it with:

sudo yum install vim-enhanced

This package adds syntax highlighting for YAML files, which is useful when working with Ansible playbooks.

• Use Ansible-Lint: For extra playbook validation, consider using ansible-lint to catch any errors or inconsistencies in your playbooks before they cause issues during execution.

• Vim Plugins: Explore Vim plugins like vim-ansible for more advanced features like task folding, auto-completion, and more.

By setting up Vim correctly, you can make writing Ansible playbooks easier and more efficient. This means your files will be clearer and simpler to manage. These small changes to your ~/.vimrc can help you avoid common mistakes, like issues with indentation, and boost your overall productivity.