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Managing large Ansible outputs

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The Ansible plugin automatically manages large playbook outputs through truncation and file export options. This ensures reliable telemetry while preserving access to full execution details.

View Ansible output​

Ansible execution results are available in multiple locations:

  • Pipeline Run: Execution logs and summary statistics
  • Playbook/Inventory Activity History: Historical execution data
  • Host View: Per-host task results and status
  • Custom Export: Full output to file. Go to Export full output to file to configure file-based output.
  • Output Variables: Export data for use in subsequent pipeline steps. Go to Output variables for Ansible to configure output variables.

Automatic truncation​

The Ansible plugin applies two levels of truncation to manage output size.

Message truncation (per-task)​

Applies to: Individual task msg and skip_reason fields exceeding 1000 characters

Action: Truncates to 1000 characters with " ... [truncated]" suffix

Configuration:

ANSIBLE_MAX_TASK_MSG_SIZE=1000  # Default: 1000 characters

Example:

{
  "name": "Install packages",
  "status": "ok",
  "msg": "Long command output... [truncated]",
  "duration_ms": 5432
}

Circuit breaker (payload size limit)​

Trigger: Final JSON payload exceeds 5 MB

Behavior:

  • Removes all tasks arrays from host results
  • Preserves host-level stats (changed, failures, ok, rescued, skipped, unreachable)
  • Preserves metadata (playbook, inventory, status, duration)

Example output:

⚠️  WARNING: Ansible payload exceeds maximum size limit:
    Payload size: 5.5 MB
    Limit: 5 MB
    Hosts: 100
    Sending summary-only payload to server for telemetry.

Summary payload size: 12.57 KB (original: 5.47 MB)

What's preserved:

{
  "playbook": "deploy-app",
  "inventory": "prod-inventory",
  "status": "success",
  "duration_ms": 45320,
  "hosts": {
    "web-01": {
      "address": "10.0.1.5",
      "stats": {
        "ok": 150,
        "changed": 20,
        "failures": 0,
        "skipped": 5
      }
    }
  }
}

Export full output to file​

When truncation occurs, detailed task information is removed from telemetry. Export full output to a file for debugging complex failures, compliance and audit requirements, or long-term archival.

Configure file export​

Set the ANSIBLE_OUTPUT_FILE environment variable to specify the output file path:

ANSIBLE_OUTPUT_FILE=ansible-output.json

File export behavior​

  1. Writes complete structured output before any truncation
  2. Includes all hosts, tasks, and messages in full
  3. Pretty-printed JSON format
  4. Truncation still applies to telemetry payload

Example output​

Writing full output to file: ansible-output.json
📝 Full ansible output written to: /harness/ansible-output.json (8.42 MB)
   Inventory: prod-inventory | Playbook: deploy-app

Upload output to object storage​

When ANSIBLE_OUTPUT_FILE is configured, the output file can be uploaded to cloud storage (S3, GCS, Azure Blob) as a subsequent pipeline step.

Go to Upload and download artifacts to review configuration options for uploading artifacts to object storage.

Log output examples​

No truncation:

Payload size: 2.34 MB (limit: 5 MB)

With truncation:

⚠️  WARNING: Ansible payload exceeds maximum size limit:
    Payload size: 25.8 MB
    Limit: 5 MB
    Hosts: 200
    Sending summary-only payload to server for telemetry.

Summary payload size: 82.45 KB (original: 25.80 MB)

Configuration reference​

VariableDefaultDescription
ANSIBLE_MAX_TASK_MSG_SIZE1000Maximum characters for task message fields
ANSIBLE_OUTPUT_FILE(unset)Path to write full output before truncation

FAQ​