# vars in inventory overwrite each other **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [July 28, 2014, 11:58am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/vars-in-inventory-overwrite-each-other/15789 "2014-07-28T11:58:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Christo\_Buschek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Christo\_Buschek](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Christo_Buschek)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 11:58am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/vars-in-inventory-overwrite-each-other/15789/1 "2014-07-28T11:58:22Z")
I’m fairly new to Ansible, so maybe what I’m trying to do is bad anyway. I use ansible to deploy all of our web applications. I use a special deploy playbook for every app. Now every app can be deployed to staging or production. For each of those environments I use a separate inventory such as `envs/staging’. Inside the inventory I use one group for every app and set certain environment specific variables in this way" ` [app1] [app.example.com](http://app.example.com) [app1:vars] app-port=3000 app\_domain=[sub1.example.com](http://sub1.example.com) [app2] [app.example.com](http://app.example.com) [app2:vars] app-port=3001 app\_domain=[sub2.example.com](http://sub2.example.com) ` I would deploy an app like that: ansible-playbook -i envs/staging deploys/app2.yml -K Now this doesn’t work unfortunately. In my example it always takes the configuration of app1, even if I deploy app2. In my playbook for app2 I do have the following line: hosts: app2. So my question would be, why is the playbook for app2 taking configuration options defined for app1? Do I use inventory variables wrong? Do otherpeople use ansible to deploy apps and how do they keep the environments separated? **UnlockYourBrain GmbH** c/o Smart Mobile Factory GmbH Französische Str. 24 10117 Berlin Germany **[www.unlockyourbrain.com](http://www.unlockyourbrain.com/)** Download at **[Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.unlockyourbrain&referrer=utm_source%3DMA%26utm_medium%3Demail%20footer%26utm_term%3Dgen%26utm_content%3Dgen%26utm_campaign%3Dgen)** Like us on **Facebook** Geschäftsführer: Felix Nienstädt, Simon Smend Unternehmenssitz: Berlin Eingetragen am Handelsgericht Charlottenburg unter HRB 149905 B ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan1)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/vars-in-inventory-overwrite-each-other/15789/2 "2014-07-28T14:11:53Z")
Groups at the same level of depth will definitely override each other. What you need to do is consider using role variables, or vars\_files, or “vars”, etc, or name the variable something like “app2\_port” There are some good tips on [http://docs.ansible.com/playbooks\_variables.html](http://docs.ansible.com/playbooks_variables.html) ---
**Author:** ![Christo\_Buschek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Christo\_Buschek](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Christo_Buschek)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:04pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/vars-in-inventory-overwrite-each-other/15789/3 "2014-07-29T13:04:02Z")
Okay, thanks for this info. I worked around it by creating a group\_var file for each environment and import it into the playbook using vars\_file. It works good enough for me. > I’m fairly new to Ansible, so maybe what I’m trying to do is bad anyway. > > I use ansible to deploy all of our web applications. I use a special deploy playbook for every app. Now every app can be deployed to staging or production. For each of those environments I use a separate inventory such as `envs/staging’. Inside the inventory I use one group for every app and set certain environment specific variables in this way" > > ` > [app1] > [app.example.com](http://app.example.com) > [app1:vars] > app-port=3000 > app\_domain=[sub1.example.com](http://sub1.example.com) > > [app2] > [app.example.com](http://app.example.com) > [app2:vars] > app-port=3001 > app\_domain=[sub2.example.com](http://sub2.example.com) > ` > > I would deploy an app like that: ansible-playbook -i envs/staging deploys/app2.yml -K > > Now this doesn’t work unfortunately. In my example it always takes the configuration of app1, even if I deploy app2. In my playbook for app2 I do have the following line: hosts: app2. > > So my question would be, why is the playbook for app2 taking configuration options defined for app1? Do I use inventory variables wrong? Do otherpeople use ansible to deploy apps and how do they keep the environments separated? > > **UnlockYourBrain GmbH** > c/o Smart Mobile Factory GmbH > > Französische Str. 24 > > 10117 Berlin > > Germany > > **[www.unlockyourbrain.com](http://www.unlockyourbrain.com/)** > > Download at **[Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.unlockyourbrain&referrer=utm_source%3DMA%26utm_medium%3Demail%20footer%26utm_term%3Dgen%26utm_content%3Dgen%26utm_campaign%3Dgen)** > > Like us on **Facebook** > > Geschäftsführer: Felix Nienstädt, Simon Smend > > Unternehmenssitz: Berlin > > Eingetragen am Handelsgericht Charlottenburg unter HRB 149905 B **UnlockYourBrain GmbH** c/o Smart Mobile Factory GmbH Französische Str. 24 10117 Berlin Germany **[www.unlockyourbrain.com](http://www.unlockyourbrain.com/)** Download at **[Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.unlockyourbrain&referrer=utm_source%3DMA%26utm_medium%3Demail%20footer%26utm_term%3Dgen%26utm_content%3Dgen%26utm_campaign%3Dgen)** Like us on **Facebook** Geschäftsführer: Felix Nienstädt, Simon Smend Unternehmenssitz: Berlin Eingetragen am Handelsgericht Charlottenburg unter HRB 149905 B ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan1)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/vars-in-inventory-overwrite-each-other/15789/4 "2014-07-29T13:33:37Z")
Definitely do not import things out of “group\_vars” with the vars\_files directive, it would be ok to keep it in a different directory, but you are going to find this would confuse most ansible users using the directory for two purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Christo\_Buschek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Christo\_Buschek](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Christo_Buschek)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/vars-in-inventory-overwrite-each-other/15789/5 "2014-07-29T13:50:14Z")
yeah, good point. Thanks.