Ansible
Agentless open-source automation tool for configuration management, provisioning and deployment using YAML playbooks.
HN commenters use it to script reproducible server setups,123 from homelabs to work deployments,4567 and some find it simpler to live with than Kubernetes.89 The most common complaint is that it is painful to use, with YAML and testing singled out,101112 and some see it as outdated next to immutable, container-based infrastructure.1314
Why people recommend it
Versatile automation · 3
Used for a wide range of jobs, from Oracle patching and Visual Studio on CI machines to Route53 records and GitLab runners.
“I’ve been using Ansible for Oracle database patching for a while now”
“We manage Visual Studio on our CI machines using Ansible.”
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“Simple Ansible script to deploy the runner and register it.”
Works with AI agents · 3
Commenters have AI agents write and run their playbooks, and one notes LLMs likely know Ansible well.
“I used claude to manage an ansible playbook for managing the mikrotik router. That way I can see the changes being done.”
“I managed the whole migration via Codex orchestrating my Ansible scripts.”
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“I imagine LLMs are probably a little more proficient at ansible just due to volume of training data”
Reproducible rebuilds · 3
Scripted setups let commenters rebuild a server from a fresh OS in minutes.
“look into scriping your server setup with tools like Ansible or PyInfra.”
“deployed via ansible to a cluster of physical servers”
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“My “dumb” solution is a little Ansible job that just runs a git pull on the server.”
Homelab automation · 3
Homelab users automate their Proxmox containers and services with it.
“I use Ansible to automate everything.”
“Ansible makes everything like a walk in the park.”
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“enough Ansible that I understand the fundamentals”
Simpler than Kubernetes · 2
Commenters who left Kubernetes report spending less time on infrastructure with Ansible.
“I spend much less time on infrastructure, sleeping betterat night and handling things like databases is much simpler”
“Ansible with some custom Linux tools fits better for Me.”
Reusable roles · 2
Existing roles, such as Jeff Geerling's and a Quadlet role, are described as pleasant and working well.
“many of the existing roles out there are a lot more pleasant/easier to read (especially Jeff Geerling's). I still use those myself day to day.”
“Ansible has a dedicated Quadlet role that works pretty well”
Caveats and dissent
Painful to use · 3
Some find it frustrating to use, citing YAML, testing that is not straightforward, and a 'dirty' feel.
“I really like the idea and popularity of ansible but find it so painful to use. YAML sucks, and testing is not straightforward”
“Ansible. Same reasons but 100x worse.”
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“I spend much less time on infrastructure, sleeping betterat night and handling things like databases is much simpler”
Hard docs · 1
One commenter found the docs, syntax and usage patterns harder than PyInfra's.
“Compared to Ansible, I found the docs, syntax and usage patterns much easier to get on with.”
Scaling limits · 1
On large, fast-changing fleets, deploy time is bound by network round trips and node count, and Python must be present on managed nodes.
“Peekl is an alternative to Ansible, but would probably not be as good as an alternative for small individuals/companies”
Seen as outdated · 2
Some argue immutable images and Kubernetes have made mutable configuration management obsolete.
“Ansible is obsolete because we moved from creating a machine and changing it to instantiating it with the changes we wanted.”
“Seeing Ansible+Kubernetes+K* stuff in their jobs offering does not inspire confidence”
Slow full rebuilds · 1
Rebuilding systems from a playbook is too slow compared with restoring backups at scale.
“kickstarting a new one and applying an ansible playbook”
Often compared with
2 moved from Kubernetes to Ansible
2 moved from Ansible to pyinfra
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Migrating from Proxmox to NixOS and Incus 3 mentions
- PyInfra 3.8.0 Is Out 3 mentions
- Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (October 2026) 2 mentions
- Tailscale SSH: Investigation and remediation update 1 mention
- Docker is weird 1 mention
- Getting Banned from r/java 1 mention
Data: ansible.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 46
“we provision ssh keys on a box with ansible”
“building with terraform \ ansible”
“enough Ansible that I understand the fundamentals”
“I ended up going with Ansible to set things up”
“Making changes is done via a mix of one off tooling, ansible and terraform.”
“also Ansible to configure live machines”
“TypeScript, Ansible, Postgres, Supabase/Neon/Render”
“I run Proxmox LXC containers at home managed via Ansible.”
“kickstarting a new one and applying an ansible playbook”
“I've built Ansible automation for provisioning and maintenance”
“Seeing Ansible+Kubernetes+K* stuff in their jobs offering does not inspire confidence”
“Peekl is an alternative to Ansible, but would probably not be as good as an alternative for small individuals/companies”
“Ansible is obsolete because we moved from creating a machine and changing it to instantiating it with the changes we wanted.”
“Simple Ansible script to deploy the runner and register it.”
“maybe use ansible for scripting the provisioning and deploy”
“Ansible.”
“I use Ansible or Pyinfra more recently to accomplish these sorts of tasks.”
“I used claude to manage an ansible playbook for managing the mikrotik router. That way I can see the changes being done.”
“I completely automated the setup via Ansible, Docker containers”
“I've used Ansible and Puppet at previous jobs.”
“Ansible makes everything like a walk in the park.”
“inherits a lot of policy from FreeIPA and/or Ansible config”
“let another tool like Ansible take over the rest of the provisioning”
“then tried Ansible”
“I spend much less time on infrastructure, sleeping betterat night and handling things like databases is much simpler”
“which I manage using Terraform and Ansible (I am happy with these)”
“our normal ansible automation”
“I currently have a simple Ansible playbook for it on RHEL.”
“all of my ansible-deployed cron jobs”
“I use a lot of ansible for several of our deployments.”
“Ansible has a dedicated Quadlet role that works pretty well”
“I used ansible for years”
“I imagine LLMs are probably a little more proficient at ansible just due to volume of training data”
“Compared to Ansible, I found the docs, syntax and usage patterns much easier to get on with.”
“Ansible with some custom Linux tools fits better for Me.”
“I managed the whole migration via Codex orchestrating my Ansible scripts.”
“I’ve been using Ansible for Oracle database patching for a while now”
“If a tool supports scripted credential providers (e.g. aws-cli or Ansible), I use that feature.”
“I use Ansible to automate everything.”
“I use monitoring and automation tools like Zabbix, Grafana, Ansible, and Terraform”
“We manage Visual Studio on our CI machines using Ansible.”
“look into scriping your server setup with tools like Ansible or PyInfra.”
“Ansible. Same reasons but 100x worse.”
“I really like the idea and popularity of ansible but find it so painful to use. YAML sucks, and testing is not straightforward”
“My “dumb” solution is a little Ansible job that just runs a git pull on the server.”
“deployed via ansible to a cluster of physical servers”