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Athreya aka Maneshwar
Athreya aka Maneshwar

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Installing PostgreSQL with Ansible (The Simple Way)

#programming #webdev #beginners #devops

Hello, I'm Maneshwar. I'm working on FreeDevTools online currently building **one place for all dev tools, cheat codes, and TLDRs* — a free, open-source hub where developers can quickly find and use tools without any hassle of searching all over the internet.

When you're automating infrastructure, a clean fol
der structure and roles make your Ansible setup scalable.

Here's how to install PostgreSQL the right way—with a proper Ansible layout and custom role.

Folder Structure

Start by generating a role using:

ansible-galaxy init roles/db --offline
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This gives you a reusable structure inside your Ansible project:

ansible/
├── ansible.cfg
├── hosts.ini
├── install-db.yml
├── install_ansible.sh
├── requirements.yml
├── README.md
├── roles/
│   └── db/
│       ├── tasks/
│       │   └── main.yml          # Actual installation steps
│       ├── defaults/             # Default vars if needed
│       ├── handlers/             # For service restart triggers
│       ├── meta/                 # Role metadata
│       ├── templates/            # Jinja templates (unused here)
│       ├── files/                # Static files (unused here)
│       ├── vars/                 # Hardcoded vars (unused here)
│       ├── tests/                # Smoke tests for the role
│       └── README.md
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install-db.yml

This is your playbook entrypoint:

- name: Install PostgreSQL
  hosts: all
  become: true
  roles:
    - db
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Run it using:

ansible-playbook -i hosts.ini install-db.yml
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roles/db/tasks/main.yml

Here’s the PostgreSQL installation broken down into Ansible tasks:

- name: Update apt cache
  apt:
    update_cache: yes

- name: Install postgresql-common
  apt:
    name: postgresql-common
    state: present

- name: Run PGDG setup script
  command: /usr/share/postgresql-common/pgdg/apt.postgresql.org.sh
  args:
    creates: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pgdg.list

- name: Update apt cache after PGDG script
  apt:
    update_cache: yes

- name: Install PostgreSQL and contrib
  apt:
    name:
      - postgresql
      - postgresql-contrib
    state: present
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Other Files (Optional)

  • ansible.cfg: Set your default inventory and SSH options.
  • hosts.ini: Define target servers like so: 
  [db]
  node1 ansible_host=192.168.1.10 ansible_user=ubuntu
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  • install_ansible.sh: If you want a script to bootstrap Ansible on your local.
  • requirements.yml: If you plan to use Galaxy roles (not used here).

Testing (optional)

Inside roles/db/tests/test.yml, you could write a basic test to ensure PostgreSQL is installed.

- name: Test PostgreSQL installation
  hosts: all
  tasks:
    - name: Check if postgres is installed
      command: psql --version
      register: pg_version
      changed_when: false
      failed_when: pg_version.rc != 0

    - debug:
        var: pg_version.stdout
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Done

Now you've got:

  • A structured Ansible project
  • A reusable role (db) for PostgreSQL
  • Aneasy way to install and test PostgreSQL on any server

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