How to create and access host_vars variables inside the playbook?

Create a ansible config file as ansible.cfg file in your project directory:

[defaults]
inventory = hosts 

Create a hosts file as hosts in the project directory


[webservers]
ansnode1 ansible_ssh_host=192.168.56.202 ansible_python_interpreter=/usr/bin/python
ansnode2 ansible_ssh_host=192.168.56.203 ansible_python_interpreter=/usr/bin/python

[webservers:vars]
ansible_port=22
http_port=8080

[dbservers]
ansnode3 ansible_ssh_host=192.168.56.204 ansible_python_interpreter=/usr/bin/python
ansnode4 ansible_ssh_host=192.168.56.205 ansible_python_interpreter=/usr/bin/python

[dev:children]
webservers
dbservers


---
# YAML documents begin with the document separator ---
# The minus in YAML this indicates a list item. The Playbook contains a list
# of plays, with each play being a dictionary

– name: ‘create and access variables inside the playbook’

# Target: where our play will run and options it will run with
hosts: ansnodes
gather_facts: true

# Task: the list of tasks that will be executed within the playbook
tasks:
– name: Displaying hostvars with an ansible fact and collect ansible port value with dot notation
debug:
msg: “{{ hostvars[ansible_hostname].ansible_port }}”
– name: Displaying hostvars with an ansible fact and collect ansible port with dict notation
debug:
msg: “{{ hostvars[ansible_hostname][‘ansible_port’] }}”
# Three dots indicate the end of a YAML document
…

Full Source Code Also Available in : https://github.com/tamiltutera/example-ansible-variables