# new Debconf module - please review / comment **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [March 25, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578 "2013-03-25T16:07:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Sebastien_Bocahu)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/1 "2013-03-25T16:07:17Z")
Hi, Debconf and its pair tools can be used to reconfigure a Debian package, or to preconfigure packages before they get installed. It can be really handy, especially for web application packages in Debian such as roundcube or phpmyadmin. Until recently, I used to transfert a subset of the output of debconf-get-selections in a file (copy) and pass its content to debconf-set-selections (shell), then call dpkg-reconfigure package (command)... I wrote a simple module that makes all these steps and checks the current configuration before calling debconf-set-selections, so that ansible reports whether there were changes or not. It requires debconf-utils on the target machine. For example:   - name: configure roundcube     debconf: pkg=roundcube keys='$TEMPLATE(roundcube)' reconfigure=no Use a template to feed debconf-set-selections with debconf keys/values. The format of 'keys' is the same as the output of debconf-get-selections, except the first column (the package name) is removed. For example:   roundcube/mysql/admin-pass password {{ mysql\_root\_password }}   roundcube/mysql/method select unix socket   roundcube/dbconfig-install boolean true   roundcube/db/dbname string roundcube   roundcube/dbconfig-upgrade boolean true   roundcube/mysql/admin-user string root   roundcube/pgsql/method select unix socket   roundcube/hosts string 127.0.0.1   roundcube/database-type select mysql   roundcube/db/app-user string roundcube   roundcube/language select fr\_FR.UTF-8    Using TEMPLATE or FILE macros are not required, but makes it easier to pass multiple debconf keys. 'reconfigure' defaults to yes and if so, calls 'dpkg-reconfigure $pkg'. So: \* Do you guys believe it would be useful ? \* Any comments on the debconf/feature side ? \* I'm not used to coding in python. Any comments on the style would be appreciated Source: [https://github.com/zecrazytux/ansible/blob/library/debconf/library/debconf](https://github.com/zecrazytux/ansible/blob/library/debconf/library/debconf) Pull request: [https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/2456](https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/2456) Michael: yup, I'll change the example part of the documentation to the new format 🙂 Thanks, ---
**Author:** ![seb.stark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@seb.stark](https://forum.ansible.com/u/seb.stark)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/2 "2013-03-27T15:02:08Z")
> Hi, > > Debconf and its pair tools can be used to reconfigure a Debian package, or to > preconfigure packages before they get installed. I would love to see a module that deals with debconf, because I think it’s a pain to do by hand. However, I see a problem with this: Once dpkg-reconfigure finds a value in a packages config file it will default to that value, no matter what you seed it with debconf-set-selections. Therefore, I have to change both, the value in the debconf database as well as the “real” config file for the package. Here’s an example for the package matlab-support: The preseed file looks like this: > matlab-support matlab-support/default-version select Matlab {{ matlab\_version }} @ {{ matlab\_instdir }}/{{ matlab\_version }} > matlab-support matlab-support/rename-libs boolean false > matlab-support matlab-support/matlab-install-glob string {{ matlab\_instdir }}/{{ matlab\_version }} > matlab-support matlab-support/mexbuild-user string And the related tasks: > - name: Preseed matlab-support > action: shell debconf-set-selections \ register: matlab\_selections > when\_boolean: ${matlab\_seed.changed} > tags: > - matlab > - name: Dpkg-reconfigure matlab-support > action: command dpkg-reconfigure -fnoninteractive matlab-support > when\_boolean: ${matlab\_selections.changed} > tags: > - matlab This _won’t_ change the setting I’m interested in because it is also set in /etc/matlab/debconf: > - name: Configure matlab-support > action: lineinfile dest=/etc/matlab/debconf regexp=“^MATLAB\_INSTALL\_GLOB=” line=“MATLAB\_INSTALL\_GLOB=${matlab\_instdir}/${matlab\_version}” > when\_boolean: ${matlab\_selections.changed} > tags: > - matlab This has been confusing some people including me (see also [http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2007/10/msg00480.html](http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2007/10/msg00480.html)). Given you find a solution to that problem (or show me that I’m wrong) I would really appreciate such a module! Sebastian ---
**Author:** ![Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Sebastien_Bocahu)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2013, 5:59pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/3 "2013-03-27T17:59:56Z")
Hey Sebastian, Glad to see I'm not the only (Debian + Ansible) user 🙂 > I would love to see a module that deals with debconf, because I think it's > a pain to do by hand. > > However, I see a problem with this: Once dpkg-reconfigure finds a value in > a packages config file it will default to that value, no matter what you > seed it with debconf-set-selections. IMHO it's a bug. Devs who wrote the configure scripts haven't thought about unatended (re)configuration... There is no such problem with dovecot, for example (afaik). > Therefore, I have to change both, the value in the debconf database as well > as the "real" config file for the package. > This has been confusing some people including me (see also > [http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2007/10/msg00480.html](http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2007/10/msg00480.html)). I've run into similar issues as well. I've mentionned the tzdata issue on the pull request. I just had a look to how these debconf thingies work. For tzdata, the keys are initialised with values computed from /etc/timezone. I'll propose the following fix to Debian shortly:      /var/lib/dpkg/info/tzdata.config:      # Initializes debconf default values from the ones found in      # configuration files     -db\_set tzdata/Areas "$AREA"     -db\_set tzdata/Zones/$AREA "$ZONE"     +if [-z "$DEBCONF\_RECONFIGURE"]; then     + db\_set tzdata/Areas "$AREA"     + db\_set tzdata/Zones/$AREA "$ZONE"     +fi I haven't checked matlab, but it certainly has something like that which prevents non-interactive reconfiguration. Hints: \* check the configure (perhaps the postinst too) scripts (/var/lib/dpkg/info/) \* play with 'debconf-set-selections' and    'DEBCONF\_DEBUG=developer dpkg-reconfigure -fnoninteractive' > Given you find > a solution to that problem (or show me that I'm wrong) I would really > appreciate such a module! You are right but here is a solution 🙂 report problems (and if possible, provide a fix) to upstream 😉 Thanks, Sebastien ---
**Author:** ![seb.stark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@seb.stark](https://forum.ansible.com/u/seb.stark)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 7:18am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/4 "2013-03-28T07:18:56Z")
Hope you're not disappointed, but I use Ubuntu 🙂 I fear I have to disagree with you that this behavior is a bug:   [https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pam/+bug/682662](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pam/+bug/682662) Here it's clearly stated that   "by design of debconf that settings on the system take precedence over any values set in the debconf database" This won't-fix-bug-report also contains a proposal how to deal with this and answering debconf question via an EDITOR script, which seems like a workable approach for an ansible module to me. Sebastian ---
**Author:** ![Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Sebastien_Bocahu)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 9:59am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/5 "2013-03-29T09:59:45Z")
> Hope you're not disappointed, but I use Ubuntu 🙂 I fear I have to disagree with you that this behavior is a bug: > >   [https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pam/+bug/682662](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/pam/+bug/682662) > > Here it's clearly stated that > >   "by design of debconf that settings on the system take precedence over any values set in the debconf database" > > This won't-fix-bug-report also contains a proposal how to deal with this and answering debconf question via an EDITOR script, which seems like a workable approach for an ansible module to me. Hmm, good point. It's more like a cache than a configuration registry/database. I'll have a deeper look at this method. Thanks 🙂 Sebastien ---
**Author:** ![Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Sebastien_Bocahu)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2013, 1:07pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/6 "2013-04-10T13:07:38Z")
Hi, > \> Here it's clearly stated that > \> > \> "by design of debconf that settings on the system take precedence over any values set in the debconf database" > \> > \> This won't-fix-bug-report also contains a proposal how to deal with this and answering debconf question via an EDITOR script, which seems like a workable approach for an ansible module to me. I've reworked my debconf module, and actually renamed it to 'dpkg-reconfigure'. [https://github.com/zecrazytux/ansible/commit/8717044b6ecdbd65b842d778a22c48a81153c0f4](https://github.com/zecrazytux/ansible/commit/8717044b6ecdbd65b842d778a22c48a81153c0f4) It can't be used for preseed package installation anymore (not sure if it would have made sense anyway), and the format of keys/values has changed a bit. The good news is it's shorter and cleaner (no need for the entry type (password, select, multiselect...) Example:   - name: Set default locale to fr\_FR.UTF-8 and generate en\_US.UTF-8 as well     dpkg-reconfigure: pkg=locales keys="locales/default\_environment\_locale fr\_FR.UTF-8\n                              locales/locales\_to\_be\_generated en\_US.UTF-8 UTF-8, fr\_FR.UTF-8 UTF" Some keys have to be answered for dpkg-reconfigure to be happy (for the above example, locales\_to\_be\_generated is mandatory. you can't change the default locale only, even if the locale was previously available). For finding keys/values that are interesting:   DEBIAN\_FRONTED=editor dpkg-reconfigure $pkg in your tested. Then use the simple format:   debconf\_key debconf\_value as the 'keys' option. (multiple (key/value)s separated by \n or stored in a file ($FILE macro)) As usual, tests, review & comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, ---
**Author:** ![GW1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c89c15/32.png) [@GW1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/GW1)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/7 "2013-04-21T20:34:25Z")
Hi, I tested your module and it seems to work, although it is sad that there isn’t a better way to implement this. Some suggested improvements: - rename it to `dpkg_reconfigure`, because other modules also use underscores in their names - parameter `keys` could also accept a list (eg. keys={{ var\_with\_list }} or keys=[“locales/default\_environment\_locale fr\_FR.UTF-8”, “locales/locales\_to\_be\_generated en\_US.UTF-8 UTF-8, fr\_FR.UTF-8 UTF”], if it works?) - parameter `keys` could also accept a dict (eg. keys={“locales/default\_environment\_locale”: “fr\_FR.UTF-8”, “locales/locales\_to\_be\_generated”: “en\_US.UTF-8 UTF-8, fr\_FR.UTF-8 UTF”], if it works?) - parameter `keys` could be renamed to `values` or `answers`, because debconf man pages refer to this as being values (not keys) - maybe `debconf-shows` could be used instead of `debconf-get-selections`, because it is part of the standard `debconf` package and there is no need to install additional packages for `debconf-utils` Greetings, gw ---
**Author:** ![Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Sebastien_Bocahu)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/8 "2013-04-22T16:43:07Z")
Hi, > I tested your module and it seems to work, although it is sad > that there isn't a better way to implement this. > > Some suggested > improvements: Thanks ! > - rename it to `dpkg_reconfigure`, because other modules > also use underscores in their names Agreed. > - parameter `keys` could also > accept a list (eg. keys={{ var\_with\_list }} or > keys=["locales/default\_environment\_locale fr\_FR.UTF-8", > "locales/locales\_to\_be\_generated en\_US.UTF-8 UTF-8, fr\_FR.UTF-8 UTF"], > if it works?) > > - parameter `keys` could also accept a dict (eg. > keys={"locales/default\_environment\_locale": "fr\_FR.UTF-8", > "locales/locales\_to\_be\_generated": "en\_US.UTF-8 UTF-8, fr\_FR.UTF-8 > UTF"], if it works?) Great suggestion. I'ld rather use either a dict or a list, not both. > - parameter `keys` could be renamed to `values` > or `answers`, because debconf man pages refer to this as being values > (not keys) Right, I used 'keys' as it sounded familiar to me but 'answers' is definitely more debconf-compliant 😉 > - maybe `debconf-shows` could be used instead of > `debconf-get-selections`, because it is part of the standard `debconf` > package and there is no need to install additional packages for > `debconf-utils` Totally agreed ! Thank you very much, Gw. I'll update soon. Cheers, Sebastien ---
**Author:** ![Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Sebastien_Bocahu)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/9 "2013-04-29T13:24:49Z")
Hi, > \> - rename it to `dpkg_reconfigure`, because other modules > \> also use underscores in their names > > Agreed. > \> - parameter `keys` could be renamed to `values` > \> or `answers`, because debconf man pages refer to this as being values > \> (not keys) > > Right, I used 'keys' as it sounded familiar to me but 'answers' is definitely > more debconf-compliant 😉 > \> - maybe `debconf-shows` could be used instead of > \> `debconf-get-selections`, because it is part of the standard `debconf` > \> package and there is no need to install additional packages for > \> `debconf-utils` > > Totally agreed ! Done. [https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/2805](https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/2805) > \> - parameter `keys` could also > \> accept a list (eg. keys={{ var\_with\_list }} or > \> keys=["locales/default\_environment\_locale fr\_FR.UTF-8", > \> "locales/locales\_to\_be\_generated en\_US.UTF-8 UTF-8, fr\_FR.UTF-8 UTF"], > \> if it works?) > \> > \> - parameter `keys` could also accept a dict (eg. > \> keys={"locales/default\_environment\_locale": "fr\_FR.UTF-8", > \> "locales/locales\_to\_be\_generated": "en\_US.UTF-8 UTF-8, fr\_FR.UTF-8 > \> UTF"], if it works?) > > Great suggestion. I'ld rather use either a dict or a list, not both. It seems to me that it is not supported by the module boilerplate, and I'm not going to dig too much into this. I want it to not be intrusive, to be mainstream, while still useable. I hope that's good enough as is. Thanks, Sebastien ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan2](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan2)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/10 "2013-05-01T03:08:21Z")
“It seems to me that it is not supported by the module boilerplate, and I’m not going to dig too much into this. I want it to not be intrusive, to be mainstream, while still useable. I hope that’s good enough as is.” Complex args do support passing lists and arrays, and these things “just work” in modules. - action: blarg args: some\_variable: key1: [1,2,3,4] etc ---
**Author:** ![Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Sebastien_Bocahu)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/11 "2013-05-02T16:35:17Z")
> "It seems to me that it is not supported by the module boilerplate, and I'm > not > going to dig too much into this. I want it to not be intrusive, to be > mainstream, while still useable. I hope that's good enough as is." > > Complex args do support passing lists and arrays, and these things "just > work" in modules. > > - action: blarg >   args: >      some\_variable: >         key1: [1,2,3,4] Sweet ! I did not catch this change yet ! I commited support for the extended arguments so that we can do now: - name: test    dpkg\_reconfigure:       pkg: locales       answers:           locales/default\_environment\_locale: fr\_FR.UTF-8           locales/locales\_to\_be\_generated: en\_US.UTF-8 UTF-8, fr\_FR.UTF-8 UTF-8 Thanks ! ---
**Author:** ![Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Sebastien_Bocahu)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 8:55am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/12 "2013-05-03T08:55:14Z")
> This is great! I had the idea for this module a couple of weeks ago and > noticed you were already working on it. I was playing around with it last > night to setup ldap and it worked well. Only a couple of annoyances I ran > into: Great "I'm not the only one" 🙂 > It hanging if you did not supply all of the right arguments Ok. A few extra checks could probably prevent that... But have you got a simple testcase (LDAP is probably not :p) ? I couldn't get any hang while testing myself. > The state always showing up as changed (I think this is a result of passwords > not getting stored in debconf-shows for obvious security reasons. Not sure > if there would be anyway around this). Yup, that's the reason. Passwords are stored in the password db but removed as soon as possible (and if not, that's a bug in the packaging), so asking to read the password database (debconf-show only look at the 'config', default database) won't help. ---
**Author:** ![Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sebastien\_Bocahu](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Sebastien_Bocahu)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2013, 1:43pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/new-debconf-module-please-review-comment/12578/13 "2013-05-06T13:43:56Z")
For whose (about to rock) who are interested by this module: Michael does not like this module so I'm hosting it in an extra repository: [https://github.com/zecrazytux/ansible-library-extra](https://github.com/zecrazytux/ansible-library-extra) Cheers,