design.md 1.5 KB
Context
The project previously added ansible_python_interpreter: auto in group_vars/all.yml to handle hosts where Python might not be at the default path. This works correctly — Ansible discovers the interpreter and uses it. However, auto mode logs a [WARNING] on every host about the discovered interpreter potentially changing in the future, cluttering playbook output.
Ansible provides two auto-discovery modes:
auto— discovers interpreter, logs a warning about future instabilityauto_silent— identical discovery logic, suppresses the warning
Goals / Non-Goals
Goals:
- Suppress the Python interpreter discovery warning on all hosts
- Maintain automatic interpreter discovery behavior
Non-Goals:
- Pinning to a specific Python path (would break portability across different OS versions)
- Changing Python version or installation method
Decisions
Use auto_silent instead of a hardcoded path.
auto_silent preserves the same discovery logic as auto but suppresses the warning. The alternative — hardcoding /usr/bin/python3 or /usr/bin/python3.13 — would break when hosts run different Python versions or when Python is upgraded.
Risks / Trade-offs
[Silenced warnings may hide a real interpreter change] → Acceptable. The bootstrap play already ensures Python 3 is installed. If a second interpreter appears, Ansible's discovery order is deterministic and well-documented. The warning is informational, not actionable.