From c760c2ab0f9e348d05cc91a73a5e2129feade5ae Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Miguel Jacq Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2026 16:18:14 +1000 Subject: [PATCH] Updates to reflect reality --- src/content/_index.html | 428 ++-------- src/content/docs.html | 736 ++++-------------- src/content/examples.html | 259 +++--- src/content/news/0-7-0.html | 203 ++--- src/content/news/_index.html | 15 +- src/content/schema.html | 54 +- src/content/security.html | 167 ++-- src/content/troubleshooting.html | 211 ++--- src/hugo.toml | 2 +- .../enroll-theme/layouts/partials/footer.html | 6 +- 10 files changed, 590 insertions(+), 1491 deletions(-) diff --git a/src/content/_index.html b/src/content/_index.html index 2e62fb4..c31bc8a 100644 --- a/src/content/_index.html +++ b/src/content/_index.html @@ -1,26 +1,26 @@ --- title: "Enroll" -html_title: "Enroll - Reverse-engineering servers into configuration management" -description: "Enroll inspects Debian-like and RedHat-like Linux hosts and generates Ansible, Puppet, or Salt manifests from what it finds. Harvest → Manifest → Manage." -og_title: "Enroll - Reverse-engineering servers into configuration management" -og_description: "Harvest a host's real configuration and turn it into Ansible, Puppet, or Salt code. Safe-by-default, with optional SOPS encryption." +html_title: "Enroll - Reverse-engineering Linux hosts into Ansible" +description: "Enroll inspects Debian-like and RedHat-like Linux hosts and generates Ansible configuration-management code from what it finds. Harvest → Manifest → Manage." +og_title: "Enroll - Reverse-engineering Linux hosts into Ansible" +og_description: "Harvest a host's real configuration and turn it into Ansible roles and playbooks. Safe-by-default, with optional SOPS encryption." og_type: "website" ---
-
Reverse-engineering servers into Ansible, Puppet, or Salt
-

Get an existing Linux host into configuration management in seconds.

-

Enroll inspects a Debian-like or RedHat-like system, harvests the state that matters, and generates Ansible roles, Puppet modules, or Salt states so you can bring snowflakes under management fast.

+
Reverse-engineering Linux hosts into Ansible
+

Get an existing server into configuration management without starting from a blank file.

+

Enroll inspects a Debian-like or RedHat-like Linux machine, harvests the state that matters, and generates Ansible roles and playbooks from the captured bundle.

- Super fast + Safe by default Optional SOPS encryption Remote over SSH
@@ -29,19 +29,17 @@ og_type: "website"
-
Config in the blink of an eye
-
harvest once → render to your CM tool
+
Harvest once, render Ansible
+
state.json + artifacts → roles/playbooks
$ enroll harvest --out ./harvest
-
$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target ansible --out ./ansible
-
$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target puppet --out ./puppet
-
$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target salt --out ./salt
-
./ansible  → playbook.yml, roles/, inventory/...
-./puppet   → manifests/site.pp, modules/, data/...
-./salt     → states/top.sls, states/roles/, pillar/...
+
$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --out ./ansible
+
$ ansible-galaxy collection install -r ./ansible/requirements.yml
+
./ansible → playbook.yml, roles/, requirements.yml
+./ansible + --fqdn → playbooks/<fqdn>.yml + inventory/host_vars/...
-
Tip: for multiple hosts, use --fqdn to generate target-native host data: Ansible inventory, Puppet Hiera, or Salt pillar.
+
Current Enroll output is Ansible-only. Older examples that mention --target puppet or --target salt are from an experimental branch and no longer match the CLI.
@@ -52,96 +50,24 @@ og_type: "website"
-

A simple mental model

-

Enroll is built around two phases, plus optional drift and reporting tools:

+

The mental model

+

Enroll is built around a small pipeline: capture first, render later, validate before you trust the output.

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Harvest
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Collect host facts + relevant files into a bundle.
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Manifest
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Render Ansible roles/playbooks, Puppet modules/Hiera data, or Salt states/pillar from the harvest.
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Diff
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Compare two harvests and notify via webhook/email.
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Explain
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Analyze what's included/excluded in the harvest and why.
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Validate
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Confirm that a harvest isn't corrupt or lacking artifacts.
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+
Harvest
Collect host facts and selected files into a bundle.
+
Manifest
Turn that bundle into an Ansible repository-style output tree.
+
Diff
Compare two harvests and optionally notify by webhook or email.
+
Explain
Summarise what was included or excluded and why.
+
Validate
Check schema and artifact consistency before using a bundle.
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Safe-by-default harvesting
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Enroll avoids likely secrets with a path denylist, content sniffing, and size caps - then lets you opt in to more aggressive collection when you're ready.
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Ansible, Puppet, or Salt
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The harvest bundle is renderer-neutral. Choose --target ansible, --target puppet, or --target salt at manifest time.
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Fewer roles/modules where possible
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By default, package/service snapshots are grouped by package Section or equivalent metadata to reduce role/module sprawl. Use --no-common-roles, or --fqdn, to keep output more host-specific.
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Multi-site without "shared role broke host2"
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In --fqdn mode, host-specific data moves into the target's native host-data layer: Ansible inventory, Puppet Hiera, or Salt pillar.
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Remote over SSH
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Harvest a remote host from your workstation, then render Ansible, Puppet, or Salt output locally.
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Encrypt bundles at rest
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Use --sops to store harvests/manifests as a single encrypted .tar.gz.sops file (GPG) for safer long-term storage as a DR strategy.
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+
Default secret avoidance
Likely private keys, credential assignments, tokens, secret paths, oversized files, and binary-looking files are avoided unless you opt into --dangerous.
+
Ansible output
Generated output includes roles, playbooks, requirements, defaults, templates, and host variables in --fqdn mode.
+
Grouped roles by default
Package/service snapshots are grouped by Debian Section or RPM Group where possible. Use --no-common-roles to keep one generated role per package or unit.
+
Multi-site mode
--fqdn moves host-specific state into Ansible inventory and implies --no-common-roles.
+
Remote over SSH
Run the harvest on another host through Paramiko/OpenSSH config support, then render the manifest locally.
+
SOPS bundles
--sops stores harvests and generated manifests as encrypted tarballs for safer at-rest storage.
@@ -151,272 +77,78 @@ og_type: "website"
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-

Quickstart

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Quickstart

Start with a local safe-mode harvest, inspect the generated output, then run Ansible when you are ready.

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- -
# Harvest once
-enroll harvest --out ./harvest
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-# Render and noop-test Ansible
-enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target ansible --out ./ansible
-ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local ./ansible/playbook.yml --check --diff
-
-# Render and noop-test Puppet
-enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target puppet --out ./puppet
-puppet apply --modulepath ./puppet/modules ./puppet/manifests/site.pp --noop
-
-# Render and noop-test Salt
-enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target salt --out ./salt
-salt-call --local --file-root ./salt/states state.apply test=True
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Good for
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Disaster recovery snapshots, "make this one host reproducible", and comparing how the same harvest looks in Ansible, Puppet, or Salt before you commit to a workflow.
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Using Ansible and want templates for structured configs? Install JinjaTurtle and use --jinjaturtle (or let it auto-detect).
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+
+
$ enroll harvest --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
+$ enroll validate /tmp/enroll-harvest
+$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --out /tmp/enroll-ansible
+$ cd /tmp/enroll-ansible
+$ ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml
+$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local playbook.yml --check
- -
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- -
# Remote harvest over SSH, then manifest locally
-enroll single-shot \
-  --remote-host myhost.example.com \
-  --remote-user myuser \
-  --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest \
-  --target ansible \
-  --out ./ansible \
-  --fqdn myhost.example.com
-
-
If you don't want/need sudo on the remote host, add --no-sudo (expect a less complete harvest). For remote sudo prompts use --ask-become-pass/-K. If your SSH private key is encrypted, use --ask-key-passphrase (interactive) or --ssh-key-passphrase-env ENV_VAR (non-interactive/CI).
+
+
$ enroll harvest \
+  --remote-host host.example.net \
+  --remote-user admin \
+  --remote-ssh-config ~/.ssh/config \
+  --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
+$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --out /tmp/enroll-ansible --fqdn host.example.net
- -
-
- -
# Multi-site mode: one harvest, target-native host data
-fqdn="$(hostname -f)"
-enroll harvest --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
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-# Ansible: inventory/host_vars and per-host playbook
-enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target ansible --out ./ansible --fqdn "$fqdn"
-ansible-playbook ./ansible/playbooks/${fqdn}.yml -i ./ansible/inventory/hosts.ini -c local --check --diff
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-# Puppet: Hiera node data, certname selects the host
-enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target puppet --out ./puppet --fqdn "$fqdn"
-puppet apply --modulepath ./puppet/modules --hiera_config ./puppet/hiera.yaml --certname "$fqdn" ./puppet/manifests/site.pp --noop
-
-# Salt: pillar node data, minion id selects the host
-enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target salt --out ./salt --fqdn "$fqdn"
-salt-call --local --id "$fqdn" --file-root ./salt/states --pillar-root ./salt/pillar state.apply test=True
-
-
Rule of thumb: single-site for "one server, easy-to-read roles/modules/states"; --fqdn for "many servers, host-specific data, fast adoption".
+
+
$ enroll harvest --out /srv/enroll/baseline
+$ enroll harvest --out /srv/enroll/current
+$ enroll diff --old /srv/enroll/baseline --new /srv/enroll/current --format markdown --ignore-package-versions
- -
-
- -
# Compare two harvests and get a human-friendly report (ignoring noise)
-enroll diff --old /path/to/harvestA --new /path/to/harvestB --format markdown \
-  --exclude-path /var/anacron \
-  --ignore-package-versions
-
-# Send a webhook when differences are detected
-enroll diff \
-  --old /path/to/harvestA \
-  --new /path/to/harvestB \
-  --webhook https://example.net/webhook \
-  --webhook-format json \
-  --webhook-header 'X-Enroll-Secret: ...' \
-  --ignore-package-versions \
-  --exit-code
-
-# Ignore a path and changes to package versions, and optionally
-# enforce the old state locally
-enroll diff --old /path/to/harvestA --new /path/to/harvestB \
-  --exclude-path /var/anacron \
-  --ignore-package-versions \
-  --enforce
-
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E-mail notifications are also supported. Run it on a systemd timer to alert to drift!
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- -
# Explain what's in a harvest
-enroll explain /path/to/harvest
-
-# JSON format, and using a SOPS-encrypted harvest
-enroll explain /path/to/harvest.sops \
-  --sops \
-  --format json
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'explain' tells you why something was included, but also why something was excluded.
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- -
# Validate a harvest is correct.
-enroll validate /path/to/harvest
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-# Check against the latest published version of the state schema specification
-enroll validate /path/to/harvest --schema https://enroll.sh/schema/state.schema.json
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-
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'validate' makes sure the harvest's state conforms to Enroll's state schema, doesn't contain orphaned artifacts and isn't missing any artifacts needed by the state. By default, it checks against the schema packaged with Enroll, but you can also check against the latest version on this site.
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+
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Demonstrations

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What Enroll tries to capture

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Harvest
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Collect state into a bundle.
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Manifest
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Render Ansible roles/playbooks, Puppet modules, or Salt states.
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+
Packages and services

Manual packages, service-linked packages, systemd enable/running state, and service-relevant changed or custom config.

+
Configuration files

Changed package conffiles, unowned service files, miscellaneous /etc, APT/DNF/YUM config, selected symlinks, and explicit include paths.

+
Runtime and user state

Non-system users, SSH public keys, Flatpak/Snap state, Docker/Podman images, writable sysctls, and fallback iptables/ipset state when persistent files are absent.

+
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Commands

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Single-shot
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Harvest → Manifest in one command.
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Diff
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Drift report + webhook/email notifications, or optionally enforce the previous state!
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harvest

Collect host state into state.json and artifacts/.
Harvest docs
+

manifest

Validate a harvest and render Ansible output.
Manifest docs
+

single-shot

Run harvest and manifest in one command.
Single-shot docs
+

diff

Compare harvests and send reports.
Diff docs
+

explain

Explain what a harvest contains.
Explain docs
+

validate

Check schema and bundle consistency.
Validate docs
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News
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Enroll 0.7.0 adds Puppet and Salt rendering

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The same harvest bundle can now render Ansible, Puppet, or Salt output, with target-native multi-host layouts and package-section grouping where possible.

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Install

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Use your preferred packaging. An AppImage is also available.

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- - - -
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sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/keyrings
-curl -fsSL https://mig5.net/static/mig5.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/mig5.gpg
-echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mig5.gpg] https://apt.mig5.net $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mig5.list
-sudo apt update
-sudo apt install enroll
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- -
sudo rpm --import https://mig5.net/static/mig5.asc
-
-sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/mig5.repo > /dev/null << 'EOF'
-[mig5]
-name=mig5 Repository
-baseurl=https://rpm.mig5.net/$releasever/rpm/$basearch
-enabled=1
-gpgcheck=1
-repo_gpgcheck=1
-gpgkey=https://mig5.net/static/mig5.asc
-EOF
-
-sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
-sudo dnf install enroll
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-
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- -
pip install enroll
-# or: pipx install enroll
+
+
+

Safe by default, not magic

+

Enroll avoids obvious secrets by default, validates harvest structure, freezes directory bundles into private temp trees before manifesting, rejects unknown SSH host keys, and warns when a root PATH looks unsafe.

+

It cannot prove that a structurally valid harvest is semantically safe. Only apply manifests generated from harvests whose provenance you trust.

+
+
+
+
Dangerous mode means dangerous
+
Use --dangerous only when you intentionally want to bypass likely-secret checks. Pair it with --sops or another appropriate at-rest encryption workflow whenever there is any doubt.
diff --git a/src/content/docs.html b/src/content/docs.html index 69594c8..c8ad555 100644 --- a/src/content/docs.html +++ b/src/content/docs.html @@ -1,308 +1,182 @@ --- title: "Docs" -html_title: "Enroll Docs" -description: "How Enroll works: harvest, manifest, modes, and configuration." +html_title: "Enroll documentation - Ansible host harvesting and manifesting" +description: "Documentation for the current Enroll CLI: harvest Linux host state and generate Ansible configuration-management code." +og_title: "Enroll documentation" +og_description: "Current Enroll docs for harvest, manifest, single-shot, diff, explain, validate, security, SOPS, and Ansible output." +og_type: "article" --- -
-
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Documentation
-

How Enroll works

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The mental model, output modes, and the knobs you'll actually use day-to-day.

+
+
+
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Documentation
+

How Enroll works today

+

Enroll harvests selected Linux host state, validates it, and renders Ansible configuration-management output. This documentation reflects the current Ansible-only CLI.

+
+ +
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- +
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-

Mental model

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Enroll is intentionally simple: it collects facts first, then renders target-native configuration-management output from those facts.

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1) Harvest
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Snapshot state into a bundle
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  • Detect installed packages and services
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  • Collect config that deviates from packaged defaults (where possible)
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  • Grab relevant custom/unowned files in service dirs
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  • Capture non-system users, group memberships, SSH public keys, and dangerous-mode shell dotfiles when requested
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2) Manifest
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Generate Ansible, Puppet, or Salt output
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  • Ansible roles/playbooks, Puppet modules/Hiera data, or Salt states/pillar
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  • Noop-friendly output you can review before applying
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  • Optional target-native host data for multi-host runs
  • -
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Typical flow
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$ enroll harvest --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target ansible --out /tmp/enroll-ansible
-$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local /tmp/enroll-ansible/playbook.yml --check --diff
-
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target puppet --out /tmp/enroll-puppet
-$ puppet apply --modulepath /tmp/enroll-puppet/modules /tmp/enroll-puppet/manifests/site.pp --noop
-
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target salt --out /tmp/enroll-salt
-$ salt-call --local --file-root /tmp/enroll-salt/states state.apply test=True
+
+

Install

+

Install from your preferred channel. The Python package requires Python 3.10 or newer.

+
+

$ pip install enroll
+$ pipx install enroll
+

$ sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/keyrings
+$ curl -fsSL https://mig5.net/static/mig5.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/mig5.gpg
+$ echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mig5.gpg] https://apt.mig5.net $(lsb_release -cs) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mig5.list
+$ sudo apt update
+$ sudo apt install enroll
+

$ sudo rpm --import https://mig5.net/static/mig5.asc
+$ sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/mig5.repo > /dev/null << 'EOF'
+[mig5]
+name=mig5 Repository
+baseurl=https://rpm.mig5.net/$releasever/rpm/$basearch
+enabled=1
+gpgcheck=1
+repo_gpgcheck=1
+gpgkey=https://mig5.net/static/mig5.asc
+EOF
+$ sudo dnf upgrade --refresh
+$ sudo dnf install enroll
+

$ poetry install
+$ poetry run enroll --help
-
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Targets and grouping

-

The harvest bundle is the contract. Manifesting is a separate step, so the same harvest can be rendered into Ansible, Puppet, or Salt without re-probing the host.

+
+

Mental model

+

Enroll works in two main phases. Harvest collects host facts and relevant files into a bundle. Manifest turns that bundle into Ansible configuration-management code.

+
$ enroll harvest --out ./harvest
+$ enroll validate ./harvest
+$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --out ./ansible
+

diff, explain, and validate all operate on harvest bundles too.

+
+
+

Output modes: single-site and multi-site

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Ansible
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Generates playbooks, roles, defaults, files/templates, inventory, and host vars.

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$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target ansible --out ./ansible
-$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local ./ansible/playbook.yml --check --diff
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Puppet
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Generates a control-repo-style tree with manifests/site.pp, modules, files, and Hiera data in --fqdn mode.

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$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target puppet --out ./puppet
-$ puppet apply --modulepath ./puppet/modules ./puppet/manifests/site.pp --noop
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Salt
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Generates Salt state trees under states/, with pillar data under pillar/ in --fqdn mode.

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$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target salt --out ./salt
-$ salt-call --local --file-root ./salt/states state.apply test=True
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- -
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Reducing role/module/state sprawl
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When Enroll can see package metadata, it tries to combine related package/service snapshots by the package Section category, or equivalent backend metadata. On Debian-like systems this can turn many tiny package roles into broader groups such as admin, web, net, libs, or utils. On RPM-like systems it uses comparable package group metadata where available.

-

This grouping is enabled by default in single-site output. It is disabled by --no-common-roles when you want one role/module/state per discovered package/service, and it is also disabled by --fqdn because host-specific output should stay isolated in inventory/Hiera/pillar.

+

Single-site mode

Default mode. Use it for one server or for a golden role set. Raw files live in each role's files/, and template variables live in defaults/main.yml.

$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --out ./ansible
+

Multi-site mode

Enable with --fqdn. Roles are generic; host-specific state lives under Ansible inventory host_vars. This mode implies --no-common-roles.

$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --out ./ansible --fqdn host.example.net
-

How harvesting works

-

At a high level, this is what happens when enroll harvest runs on a host:

- -
    -
  • Detects the OS and its package backend (e.g dpkg vs rpm)
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  • Detects what packages are installed
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  • For each package, it tries to detect files in /etc that have been modified from the default that get shipped with the package.
  • -
  • It detects running/enabled services and timers via systemd. For each of these, it looks for the unit files, any 'drop-in' files, environment variable files, etc, as well as what executable it executes, and tries to map those systemd services to the packages it's already learned about earlier (that way, those 'packages' or future manifest output can also be associated with service handling in the selected target, to handle restart of the services if/when the configs change)
  • -
  • Aside from known packages already learned, it optimistically tries to capture extra system configuration in /etc that is common for config management. This is stuff like the apt or dnf configuration, crons, logrotate configs, networking settings, hosts files, etc.
  • -
  • For applications that commonly make use of symlinks (think Apache2 or Nginx's sites-enabled or mods-enabled), it notes what symlinks exist so that it can capture those in the generated manifest
  • -
  • It also looks for other snowflake stuff in /etc not associated with packages/services or other typical system config, and will put these into an etc_custom role.
  • -
  • Likewise, it looks in /usr/local for stuff, on the assumption that this is an area that custom apps/configs might've been placed in. These go into a usr_local_custom role.
  • -
  • It captures non-system user accounts, group memberships, and files such as .ssh/authorized_keys. In --dangerous mode it can also capture shell dotfiles such as .bashrc, .profile, .bash_aliases, and .bash_logout when they differ from the skel defaults.
  • -
  • It takes into account anything the user set with --exclude-path or --include-path. For anything extra that is included, it will put these into an 'extra_paths' role. The location could be anywhere e.g something in /opt, /srv, whatever you want.
  • -
  • It writes the state.json and captures the artifacts.
  • +

    enroll harvest

    +

    Harvest writes a bundle containing state.json and captured artifacts. It detects packages, services, changed config, unowned service files, non-system users and SSH public keys, miscellaneous /etc, selected symlinks, Flatpak/Snap state, Docker/Podman image metadata, /usr/local scripts/config, writable sysctls, and fallback iptables/ipset runtime state when persistent files are absent.

    +
    $ enroll harvest --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
    +$ enroll harvest --remote-host host.example.net --remote-user admin --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
    +$ enroll harvest --out /tmp/enroll-harvest --include-path '/home/*/.bashrc' --exclude-path '/usr/local/bin/docker-*'
    +

    Common flags

    +
      +
    • --remote-host, --remote-user, --remote-port, --remote-ssh-config for SSH harvesting.
    • +
    • --ask-become-pass / -K for remote sudo prompts.
    • +
    • --ask-key-passphrase or --ssh-key-passphrase-env ENV_VAR for encrypted SSH private keys.
    • +
    • --no-sudo for a less complete remote harvest without sudo.
    • +
    • --include-path and --exclude-path for plain paths, globs, glob:, re:, or regex: patterns. Excludes win over includes.
    • +
    • --dangerous disables likely-secret filtering.
    • +
    • --sops GPG_FINGERPRINT... writes an encrypted harvest.tar.gz.sops.
    • +
    • --assume-safe-path skips the root unsafe-PATH prompt in trusted automation.
    -
    -

    Other things to be aware of:

    -
      -
    • You can use multiple invocations of --exclude-path to skip the bits you don't want. You can also comment out or delete generated playbooks, classes, states, roles, or modules after enroll manifest if you want to trim the first pass.
    • -
    • In terms of safety measures: it doesn't traverse into symlinks, and it has an 'IgnorePolicy' that makes it ignore most binary files (except GPG binary keys used with apt) - though if you specify certain paths with --include-path and use --dangerous, it will skip some policy statements such as what types of content to ignore.
    • -
    • It will skip files that are too large, and it also currently has a hardcoded cap of the number of files that it will harvest (4000 for /etc, /usr/local/etc and /usr/local/bin, and 500 files per 'role'), to avoid unintentional 'runaway' situations.
    • -
    • If you are using the 'remote' mode to harvest, and your remote user requires a password for sudo, you can pass in --ask-become-pass (or -K) and it will prompt for the password. If you forget, and remote requires password for sudo, it'll still fall back to prompting for a password, but will be a bit slower to do so.
    • -
    • If your SSH private key is encrypted, use --ask-key-passphrase to prompt up-front, or --ssh-key-passphrase-env ENV_VAR for non-interactive/CI runs. If neither is provided and Enroll detects an encrypted key in an interactive session, it will prompt on-demand. (The two key-passphrase flags are mutually exclusive.)
    • +
+ +
+

enroll manifest

+

Manifest validates a harvest and renders Ansible output. It does not support --target; current Enroll has no Puppet or Salt renderer.

+
$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --out /tmp/enroll-ansible
+$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --out /tmp/enroll-ansible --fqdn host.example.net
+$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --out /tmp/enroll-ansible --no-common-roles
+
Trust warning: Enroll validates structure, but it cannot prove the desired state is safe. Only apply manifests generated from harvests whose provenance you trust.
+

Ansible output

+
    +
  • Single-site output contains playbook.yml, roles/, role files, defaults, templates, and requirements.yml.
  • +
  • Multi-site output uses host-specific inventory under inventory/host_vars/<fqdn>/... and playbooks under playbooks/.
  • +
  • Playbooks tag roles as role_<role_name>, such as role_users or role_services.
- -
-
Does Enroll use community roles/modules?
-
When using Ansible and any Docker/Podman images, Flatpak or Snaps are 'harvested' by the system, the manifested ansible playbooks will expect to use some of those community collections, but otherwise, everything is 'core' Ansible. Enroll generates a requirements.yml you can use with ansible-galaxy to install it, if needed, but many community collections may already be on your system, depending on your installation. For Puppet and Salt, no third-party extensions or modules are used. If you see Ansible errors about unsupported podman_image parameters or Flatpak from_url, see the Troubleshooting page.
-
- -
-

State schema

-

Enroll writes a state.json file describing what was harvested. The canonical definition of that file format is the JSON Schema below.

-

You can also validate a harvest state file against the schema by using enroll validate /path/to/harvest.

- - +
+

enroll single-shot

+

Single-shot runs harvest then manifest in one command. It supports the relevant harvest and manifest flags, including remote SSH, include/exclude paths, --dangerous, --sops, --fqdn, --no-common-roles, and JinjaTurtle flags.

+
$ enroll single-shot --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --out /tmp/enroll-ansible --fqdn "$(hostname -f)"
+$ enroll single-shot --remote-host host.example.net --remote-user admin --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --out /tmp/enroll-ansible --fqdn host.example.net
-
-

Single-site vs multi-site

-

Manifest output has two styles. The exact files differ by target, but the intent is the same.

- -
-
-
-
Single-site (default)
-

Best when you are enrolling one host, or producing a reusable baseline that you will review and refine.

-
    -
  • Ansible: self-contained roles and playbook.yml
  • -
  • Puppet: manifests/site.pp plus modules under modules/
  • -
  • Salt: states/top.sls plus states under states/roles/
  • -
  • Common role grouping is enabled unless --no-common-roles is passed
  • -
-
-
-
-
-
Multi-site (--fqdn)
-

Best when you want to enroll several existing servers quickly, especially if they differ.

-
    -
  • Ansible: host-specific state in inventory/host_vars/<fqdn>/
  • -
  • Puppet: host-specific data in Hiera under data/nodes/<fqdn>.yaml
  • -
  • Salt: host-specific data in pillar under pillar/nodes/
  • -
  • Common grouping is disabled so each host's harvested state remains isolated
  • -
-
-
-
- -
-
Multi-site noop examples
-
$ fqdn="$(hostname -f)"
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target ansible --out /tmp/enroll-ansible --fqdn "$fqdn"
-$ ansible-playbook /tmp/enroll-ansible/playbooks/${fqdn}.yml -i /tmp/enroll-ansible/inventory/hosts.ini -c local --check --diff
-
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target puppet --out /tmp/enroll-puppet --fqdn "$fqdn"
-$ puppet apply --modulepath /tmp/enroll-puppet/modules --hiera_config /tmp/enroll-puppet/hiera.yaml --certname "$fqdn" /tmp/enroll-puppet/manifests/site.pp --noop
-
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target salt --out /tmp/enroll-salt --fqdn "$fqdn"
-$ salt-call --local --id "$fqdn" --file-root /tmp/enroll-salt/states --pillar-root /tmp/enroll-salt/pillar state.apply test=True
-
- -
-
Tip: targeting subsets
-
Ansible playbooks tag each role as role_<name>. Puppet and Salt output can be trimmed by editing generated class/state inclusion data. In every target, treat the first generated manifest as a reviewable bootstrap rather than magic.
-
+
+

enroll diff

+

Diff compares two harvest bundles and reports package, service, user, and managed-file drift. Inputs can be bundle directories, state.json paths, tarballs, or SOPS bundles when --sops is enabled.

+
$ enroll diff --old ./baseline --new ./current --format markdown
+$ enroll diff --old ./baseline --new ./current --ignore-package-versions --exclude-path /var/anacron
+$ enroll diff --old ./baseline --new ./current --webhook https://example.net/hook --webhook-format json --webhook-header 'Authorization: Bearer ...'
+

Use --exit-code to return status 2 when differences exist. Use --notify-always to send webhook/email even when there are no differences.

-
-

Remote harvesting over SSH

-

Run Enroll on your workstation, harvest a remote host over SSH. The harvest is pulled locally.

-
-
$ enroll harvest --remote-host myhost.example.com --remote-user myuser --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target ansible --out /tmp/enroll-ansible
-
-# Alternatively, run both commands combined together with the 'single-shot' mode:
-
-$ enroll single-shot --remote-host myhost.example.com --remote-user myuser \
-  --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target ansible --out /tmp/enroll-ansible \
-  --fqdn myhost.example.com
-
-# Encrypted SSH key examples:
-$ enroll harvest --remote-host myhost.example.com --remote-user myuser \
-  --ask-key-passphrase --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
-
-$ export ENROLL_SSH_KEY_PASSPHRASE='correct horse battery staple'
-$ enroll harvest --remote-host myhost.example.com --remote-user myuser \
-  --ssh-key-passphrase-env ENROLL_SSH_KEY_PASSPHRASE --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
-
-
-
Tip
-
If you don't want/need sudo on the remote side, add --no-sudo. However, be aware that you may get a more limited harvest depending on permissions.
-
-
If your remote user requires a password for sudo, pass --ask-become-pass or -K and you'll be prompted to enter the password. If you forget, Enroll will still prompt for the password if it detects it's needed, but will be slightly slower to do so.
-
-
If your SSH private key is encrypted, use --ask-key-passphrase to prompt up-front. For non-interactive/CI runs, use --ssh-key-passphrase-env ENV_VAR. If neither is set and Enroll detects an encrypted key in an interactive session, it'll still prompt on-demand.
-
-
If your remote host requires additional SSH configuration that you've defined in your ~/.ssh/config, pass --remote-ssh-config ~/.ssh/config. Enroll will understand how to translate the Host alias, IdentityFile, ProxyCommand, ConnectTimeout and AddressFamily values. You must still pass a value for --remote-host that matches the Host value of the entry in the SSH config file.
-
+
+

enroll explain

+

Explain produces a human or JSON summary of a harvest: package counts, roles, included reasons, excluded reasons, and example paths.

+
$ enroll explain ./harvest
+$ enroll explain ./harvest --format json --max-examples 25
+$ enroll explain ./harvest.tar.gz.sops --sops
-
+
+

enroll validate

+

Validate checks that state.json exists, is valid JSON, matches the vendored JSON Schema unless skipped, and references artifacts that actually exist. It also reports unreferenced files in artifacts/.

+
$ enroll validate ./harvest
+$ enroll validate ./harvest --format json --out validate.json
+$ enroll validate ./harvest --fail-on-warnings
+$ enroll validate ./harvest --schema ./state.schema.json
+$ enroll validate ./harvest --schema https://enroll.sh/schema/state.schema.json --allow-remote-schema
+

Remote schemas are not fetched unless --allow-remote-schema is explicitly supplied. Use --no-schema to skip schema checks while keeping consistency checks.

+
+ +
+

Sensitive data

+

By default, Enroll tries not to harvest likely secrets. It denies known sensitive paths, private key material, common certificate/private-key locations, credential-looking assignments, credential-bearing URIs, authorization headers, service account key names, and other obvious sensitive values.

+
--dangerous disables those checks. It may copy private keys, API tokens, TLS key material, database passwords, and other secrets into the harvest output in plaintext. Use it only intentionally, and strongly consider --sops.
+

Value-less comment mentions such as # token are tolerated so stock config files do not become impossible to harvest. A commented-out populated credential assignment is still treated as sensitive.

+
+ +

JinjaTurtle integration

-

If JinjaTurtle (one of my other projects) is installed, Enroll can also produce Jinja2 templates for ini/json/xml/toml-style config files (as well as SSH configs), and extract variables cleanly into Ansible and Salt, and even erb files for Puppet (as of version 0.5.5).

-

When Enroll cannot turn a config file into a template, it copies the raw file instead.

-
-
-
-
Modes
-
    -
  • --jinjaturtle to force on
  • -
  • --no-jinjaturtle to force off
  • -
  • Default is auto
  • -
-
-
-
-
-
Where variables land
-
    -
  • Ansible single-site: roles/<role>/defaults/main.yml
  • -
  • Ansible multi-site (--fqdn): inventory/host_vars/<fqdn>/<role>.yml
  • -
  • Puppet single-site: modules/<role>/manifests/init.pp as generated class parameter defaults
  • -
  • Puppet multi-site: data/nodes/<fqdn>.yaml as Hiera class parameter data
  • -
  • Salt single-site: inline in states/roles/<role>/init.sls as file.managed context: data
  • -
  • Salt multi-site: pillar/nodes/<fqdn>.sls under enroll:roles:<role>:files:<path>:context
  • -
-
-
-
+

If the jinjaturtle executable is on PATH, Enroll can turn supported config files into Ansible templates. The default mode uses JinjaTurtle when available. --jinjaturtle makes it required; --no-jinjaturtle disables it.

+
$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --out ./ansible --jinjaturtle
+$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --out ./ansible --no-jinjaturtle
+

Supported suffixes include INI, CFG, JSON, TOML, YAML, XML, repo files, and common systemd unit file suffixes. Templates live in role templates/; variables live in role defaults or host vars depending on output mode.

-
-

INI config file

-

If you're repeating flags (include/exclude patterns, SOPS settings, etc.), store defaults in enroll.ini and keep your muscle memory intact.

- -
-
Discovery order
-
You can pass -c/--config, set ENROLL_CONFIG, or let Enroll auto-discover ./enroll.ini, ./.enroll.ini, or ~/.config/enroll/enroll.ini.
-
- -
- -
[enroll]
-# (future global flags may live here)
+        
+

Configuration file

+

Enroll can load INI-style defaults from --config, ENROLL_CONFIG, $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/enroll/enroll.ini, or ~/.config/enroll/enroll.ini. Current-directory config files are not auto-loaded; pass them explicitly.

+
[enroll]
+assume_safe_path = false
 
 [harvest]
 dangerous = false
@@ -310,326 +184,36 @@ include_path =
   /home/*/.bashrc
   /home/*/.profile
 exclude_path = /usr/local/bin/docker-*, /usr/local/bin/some-tool
-# remote_host = yourserver.example.com
-# remote_user = you
-# remote_port = 2222
+# remote_host = host.example.net
+# remote_user = admin
 
 [manifest]
 no_jinjaturtle = true
-sops = 54A91143AE0AB4F7743B01FE888ED1B423A3BC99
-target = ansible # is the default, otherwise salt, or puppet
+# sops = 54A91143AE0AB4F7743B01FE888ED1B423A3BC99
 
 [diff]
-# ignore noisy drift
 exclude_path = /var/anacron
 ignore_package_versions = true
-# enforce = true
-# target = ansible # to run ansible-playbook to enforce the old harvest, else puppet, salt
-
-
-
Note
-
In INI sections, option names use underscores (e.g. include_path) even when the CLI flag uses hyphens (e.g. --include-path).
-
+[single-shot] +include_path = re:^/home/[^/]+/\.config/myapp/.*$
+

Precedence is explicit CLI flags, then INI config, then argparse defaults. For hyphenated flags, use underscores in the INI file.

+
+

Run generated Ansible

+

Install generated collection requirements first, then run in check mode before applying for real.

+
$ cd /tmp/enroll-ansible
+$ ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml
+$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local playbook.yml --check
+$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local playbook.yml
 
-        
-

Drift detection with enroll diff

-

One of the things I miss from my Puppet days, was the way the Puppet 'agent' would check in with the server and realign itself to the declared desired state. With any configuration-management system, it is easy for systems to fall out of date if someone changes things on-the-fly instead of via the desired-state workflow.

-

The purpose of enroll diff is to compare two 'harvests' and detect what has changed - be it adding/removing of programs, change to systemd unit state, modifications, addition or removal of files, and so on.

- -
-
Notifications for diff
-
The enroll diff feature supports sending the difference to a webhook of your choosing, or by e-mail. The payload can be sent in json, plain text, or markdown.
-
- -
-
Noise suppression
-
Use --exclude-path to ignore file/dir drift under specific paths (e.g. /var/anacron). Use --ignore-package-versions to ignore routine package upgrades/downgrades while still reporting added/removed packages.
-
- -
-
$ enroll diff \
---old /path/to/harvestA \
---new /path/to/harvestB \
---exclude-path /var/spool/anacron \
---ignore-package-versions
-
- -
-
Optional: enforce the old harvest state (--enforce)
-
If drift exists and your desired config manager is on $PATH, Enroll can generate a manifest from the old harvest and apply it locally to restore expected state, if you pass the --enforce argument to enroll diff. By default, it will try to use Ansible for that, but you can pass --target [puppet|sops] just like with enroll manifest.
-
- -
-
$ enroll diff \
---old /path/to/harvestA \
---new /path/to/harvestB \
---enforce
-
-
- -

How to run enroll diff automatically on a timer

-

A great way to use enroll diff is to run it periodically (e.g via cron or a systemd timer). Below is an example.

-

Store the below file at /usr/local/bin/enroll-harvest-diff.sh and make it executable.

-
- -
#!/usr/bin/env bash
-set -euo pipefail
-
-# Required env
-: "${WEBHOOK_URL:?Set WEBHOOK_URL in /etc/enroll/enroll-harvest-diff}"
-: "${ENROLL_SECRET:?Set ENROLL_SECRET in /etc/enroll/enroll-harvest-diff}"
-
-# Optional env
-STATE_DIR="${ENROLL_STATE_DIR:-/var/lib/enroll}"
-GOLDEN_DIR="${STATE_DIR}/golden"
-PROMOTE_NEW="${PROMOTE_NEW:-1}"          # 1=promote new->golden; 0=keep golden fixed
-KEEP_BACKUPS="${KEEP_BACKUPS:-7}"        # only used if PROMOTE_NEW=1
-LOCKFILE="${STATE_DIR}/.enroll-harvest-diff.lock"
-
-mkdir -p "${STATE_DIR}"
-chmod 700 "${STATE_DIR}" || true
-
-# single-instance lock (avoid overlapping timer runs)
-exec 9>"${LOCKFILE}"
-flock -n 9 || exit 0
-
-tmp_new=""
-cleanup() {
-  if [[ -n "${tmp_new}" && -d "${tmp_new}" ]]; then
-    rm -rf "${tmp_new}"
-  fi
-}
-trap cleanup EXIT
-
-make_tmp_dir() {
-  mktemp -d "${STATE_DIR}/.harvest.XXXXXX"
-}
-
-run_harvest() {
-  local out_dir="$1"
-  rm -rf "${out_dir}"
-  mkdir -p "${out_dir}"
-  chmod 700 "${out_dir}" || true
-  enroll harvest --out "${out_dir}" >/dev/null
-}
-
-# A) create golden if missing
-if [[ ! -f "${GOLDEN_DIR}/state.json" ]]; then
-  tmp="$(make_tmp_dir)"
-  run_harvest "${tmp}"
-  rm -rf "${GOLDEN_DIR}"
-  mv "${tmp}" "${GOLDEN_DIR}"
-  echo "Golden harvest created at ${GOLDEN_DIR}"
-  exit 0
-fi
-
-# B) create new harvest
-tmp_new="$(make_tmp_dir)"
-run_harvest "${tmp_new}"
-
-# C) diff + webhook notify
-enroll diff \
-  --old "${GOLDEN_DIR}" \
-  --new "${tmp_new}" \
-  --webhook "${WEBHOOK_URL}" \
-  --webhook-format json \
-  --webhook-header "X-Enroll-Secret: ${ENROLL_SECRET}" # You can send multiple --webhook-header params as you need
-
-# Promote or discard new harvest
-if [[ "${PROMOTE_NEW}" == "1" || "${PROMOTE_NEW,,}" == "true" || "${PROMOTE_NEW}" == "yes" ]]; then
-  ts="$(date -u +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)"
-  backup="${STATE_DIR}/golden.prev.${ts}"
-  mv "${GOLDEN_DIR}" "${backup}"
-  mv "${tmp_new}" "${GOLDEN_DIR}"
-  tmp_new=""  # don't delete it in trap
-
-  # Keep only latest N backups
-  if [[ "${KEEP_BACKUPS}" =~ ^[0-9]+$ ]] && (( KEEP_BACKUPS > 0 )); then
-    ls -1dt "${STATE_DIR}"/golden.prev.* 2>/dev/null | tail -n +"$((KEEP_BACKUPS+1))" | xargs -r rm -rf
-  fi
-
-  echo "Diff complete; baseline updated."
-else
-  # tmp_new will be deleted by trap
-  echo "Diff complete; baseline unchanged (PROMOTE_NEW=${PROMOTE_NEW})."
-fi
-
-
-
-

Save these environment variables in /etc/enroll/enroll-harvest-diff

-
- -

-# Where to store golden + temp harvests
-ENROLL_STATE_DIR=/var/lib/enroll
-
-# 1 = each run becomes new baseline ("since last harvest")
-# 0 = compare against a fixed baseline ("since golden")
-PROMOTE_NEW=1
-
-# If PROMOTE_NEW=1, keep this many old baselines
-KEEP_BACKUPS=7
-
-WEBHOOK_URL=https://example.com/webhook/xxxxxxxx
-ENROLL_SECRET=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-
-
- -
-
-
Webhook headers
-
The --webhook-header parameter can be used multiple times. You can, for example, send X-Enroll-Secret and a secret value of your choice, to help secure your webhook endpoint.
-
- -

Save this systemd unit file to /etc/systemd/system/enroll-harvest-diff.service

-
- -

-[Unit]
-Description=Enroll harvest + diff + webhook notify
-Wants=network-online.target
-After=network-online.target
-ConditionPathExists=/etc/enroll/enroll-harvest-diff
-
-[Service]
-Type=oneshot
-EnvironmentFile=/etc/enroll/enroll-harvest-diff
-Environment=PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
-UMask=0077
-
-# Create /var/lib/enroll automatically
-StateDirectory=enroll
-
-ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/enroll-harvest-diff.sh
-
-
- -
-

Save this systemd timer to /etc/systemd/system/enroll-harvest-diff.timer

-
- -

-[Unit]
-Description=Run Enroll harvest diff hourly
-
-[Timer]
-OnCalendar=hourly
-RandomizedDelaySec=10m
-Persistent=true
-
-[Install]
-WantedBy=timers.target
-
-
- -
-

Now you can enable and test it!

-
- -

-sudo systemctl daemon-reload
-sudo systemctl enable --now enroll-harvest-diff.timer
-
-# run once now
-sudo systemctl start enroll-harvest-diff.service
-# watch it in the logs
-sudo journalctl -u enroll-harvest-diff.service -n 200 --no-pager
-
-
- -
-
-
Need help with writing webhooks?
-
I use Node-RED. Here's a sample Node-RED flow that might help run your webhook, pre-configured to parse the enroll diff JSON payload!
-
+# multi-site +$ ansible-playbook playbooks/host.example.net.yml --check +# targeted role tags +$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local playbook.yml --tags role_users,role_services
- - -
-

Why did Enroll include/exclude something? enroll explain

-

When you run enroll harvest, Enroll records why it chose to include or exclude each path in state.json. The enroll explain subcommand summarizes that data so you can quickly sanity-check a harvest, tune include/exclude rules, and understand where packages/services came from.

- -
-
What can it read?
-
enroll explain accepts a harvest bundle directory, a direct path to state.json, a .tar.gz/.tgz bundle, or an encrypted .tar.gz.sops bundle.
-
- -
- -
$ enroll explain /tmp/enroll-harvest
-
-# or point at the state.json path directly
-$ enroll explain /tmp/enroll-harvest/state.json
-
- -
-

The default output is human-readable text. For scripting or deeper inspection, use JSON output:

-
- -
$ enroll explain /tmp/enroll-harvest --format json | jq .
-
-# show more example paths per reason
-$ enroll explain /tmp/enroll-harvest --max-examples 10
-
- -
-

If you stored a harvest as a single SOPS-encrypted bundle, enroll explain can decrypt it on the fly (it will also auto-detect files ending with .sops):

-
- -
$ enroll explain /var/lib/enroll/harvest.tar.gz.sops --sops
-
- -
-

What you get back:

-
    -
  • A summary of what roles were collected (users, services, package snapshots, etc_custom, usr_local_custom, etc.).
  • -
  • Why packages ended up in inventory (observed_via), e.g. user-installed vs referenced by a harvested systemd unit.
  • -
  • Breakdowns of managed_files.reason, managed_dirs.reason, and excluded.reason, with a few example paths for each reason.
  • -
- -
-
Tip
-
Use enroll explain after a first harvest to decide what to exclude (noise) and what to include (snowflake app/config under /opt, /srv, etc.) before you generate a manifest.
-
-
Security note: enroll explain doesn't print file contents, but it can print path names and unit/package names. Treat the output as sensitive if your environment uses revealing path conventions (and especially if you harvested with --dangerous).
-
-
- - -
-

Tips

-
-
-
-
Start safe
-

Default harvesting tries to avoid likely secrets via path rules, content sniffing, and size caps. Use --dangerous only when you've planned where the output will live.

-
-
-
-
-
Encrypt at rest
-

If you plan to keep harvests/manifests long term (especially in git), use --sops to produce a single encrypted bundle file. Note: enroll diff can be passed --sops to decrypt and compare two harvests on-the-fly!

-
-
-
-
-
Multi-host safety
-

For fleets, prefer multi-site output so target-native host data controls what is applied per host - reducing "shared role/module/state breaks another host" surprises.

-
-
-
-
-
Keep it reproducible
-

Commit the manifest output, run it in CI, and use enroll diff as a drift alarm (webhook/email).

-
-
-
-
-
diff --git a/src/content/examples.html b/src/content/examples.html index 58e5ca5..123042d 100644 --- a/src/content/examples.html +++ b/src/content/examples.html @@ -1,174 +1,165 @@ --- title: "Examples" -html_title: "Enroll Examples" -description: "Copy/paste recipes for Enroll: Ansible, Puppet, Salt, fleets, drift detection, and safe storage." +html_title: "Enroll examples - Ansible harvest and manifest recipes" +description: "Copy/paste recipes for current Enroll: Ansible output, remote harvests, drift detection, SOPS, and validation." +og_title: "Enroll examples" +og_description: "Practical Enroll recipes for local and remote harvests, Ansible manifesting, SOPS bundles, drift reports, and validation." +og_type: "article" --- -
-
+
+
Examples
-

Copy/paste recipes

-

Practical flows you can adapt to Ansible, Puppet, Salt, or all three.

+

Copy/paste Enroll recipes

+

Current examples for Ansible output, remote harvests, safe storage, drift reports, and troubleshooting-friendly validation.

-
-
-
Harvest once, try each renderer locally
-
- -
$ enroll harvest --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
-
-# Ansible noop
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target ansible --out /tmp/enroll-ansible
-$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local /tmp/enroll-ansible/playbook.yml --diff --check
-
-# Puppet noop
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target puppet --out /tmp/enroll-puppet
-$ puppet apply --modulepath /tmp/enroll-puppet/modules /tmp/enroll-puppet/manifests/site.pp --noop
-
-# Salt noop
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target salt --out /tmp/enroll-salt
-$ salt-call --local --file-root /tmp/enroll-salt/states state.apply test=True
-
-

Great for “make this box reproducible”, testing renderer output, or building a golden baseline you will refine.

-
+
+

Local safe-mode baseline

+

Harvest the current host, validate the bundle, generate Ansible, install requirements, and run a check-mode playbook.

+
$ enroll harvest --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
+$ enroll validate /tmp/enroll-harvest
+$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --out /tmp/enroll-ansible
+$ cd /tmp/enroll-ansible
+$ ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml
+$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local playbook.yml --check
+
-
-
Enroll a remote host over SSH
-
- -
$ enroll harvest \
-  --remote-host myhost.example.com \
-  --remote-user myuser \
-  --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
+        
+

Remote host through SSH config

+

Use an OpenSSH config alias while still passing --remote-host. The harvested bundle lands locally.

+
$ enroll harvest \
+  --remote-host production-web-1 \
+  --remote-ssh-config ~/.ssh/config \
+  --out /tmp/enroll-web-1
+$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-web-1 --out /tmp/enroll-web-1-ansible --fqdn web-1.example.net
+
+
-$ enroll manifest \ +
+
+

Encrypted SSH key in CI

+

Provide a key passphrase through an environment variable for non-interactive remote harvesting.

+
$ export ENROLL_SSH_KEY_PASSPHRASE='correct horse battery staple'
+$ enroll single-shot \
+  --remote-host host.example.net \
+  --remote-user admin \
+  --ssh-key-passphrase-env ENROLL_SSH_KEY_PASSPHRASE \
   --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest \
-  --target puppet \
-  --out /tmp/enroll-puppet
-
-

The bundle lands locally. Change --target puppet to ansible or salt without re-harvesting. For remote sudo prompts use --ask-become-pass/-K; use --no-sudo for a less complete non-root harvest.

-
+ --out /tmp/enroll-ansible \ + --fqdn host.example.net
+
-
-
Fleets: --fqdn output
-
- -
$ fqdn="$(hostname -f)"
-$ enroll harvest --out /tmp/enroll-harvest
-
-# Ansible: inventory/host_vars and a per-host playbook
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target ansible --out /tmp/enroll-ansible --fqdn "$fqdn"
-$ ansible-playbook /tmp/enroll-ansible/playbooks/${fqdn}.yml -i /tmp/enroll-ansible/inventory/hosts.ini -c local --check --diff
-
-# Puppet: Hiera data keyed by certname
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target puppet --out /tmp/enroll-puppet --fqdn "$fqdn"
-$ puppet apply --modulepath /tmp/enroll-puppet/modules --hiera_config /tmp/enroll-puppet/hiera.yaml --certname "$fqdn" /tmp/enroll-puppet/manifests/site.pp --noop
-
-# Salt: pillar data keyed by minion id
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target salt --out /tmp/enroll-salt --fqdn "$fqdn"
-$ salt-call --local --id "$fqdn" --file-root /tmp/enroll-salt/states --pillar-root /tmp/enroll-salt/pillar state.apply test=True
-
-

--fqdn disables common grouping and moves host-specific state into the target’s native host-data layer: inventory, Hiera, or pillar.

-
+
+

Include and exclude paths

+

Add targeted files outside the standard scan paths while keeping safe-mode secret checks enabled.

+
$ enroll harvest --out /tmp/enroll-harvest \
+  --include-path '/home/*/.bashrc' \
+  --include-path 're:^/home/[^/]+/\.config/myapp/.*$' \
+  --exclude-path '/home/*/.config/myapp/cache/**'
+
-
-
Control role/module/state grouping
-
- -
# Default single-site mode: combine packages/services by package Section where possible
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target ansible --out /tmp/enroll-ansible
-
-# Keep output split more literally by discovered package/service role
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target ansible --out /tmp/enroll-ansible-raw --no-common-roles
-
-# --fqdn also disables common grouping because host data must remain isolated
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --target salt --out /tmp/enroll-salt --fqdn "$(hostname -f)"
-
-

Grouping keeps first-pass output manageable. Use --no-common-roles when you prefer more direct one-role-per-package/service output.

-
+
+

Dangerous harvest, encrypted at rest

+

When you deliberately need aggressive capture, encrypt the harvest bundle immediately.

+
$ enroll harvest \
+  --out /srv/enroll/host-1 \
+  --dangerous \
+  --sops 54A91143AE0AB4F7743B01FE888ED1B423A3BC99
+

This writes an encrypted harvest.tar.gz.sops rather than a plaintext bundle directory.

+
-
-
Drift detection with enroll diff
-
- -
$ enroll diff --old /path/to/harvestA --new /path/to/harvestB \
-  --format markdown \
-  --exclude-path /var/anacron \
-  --ignore-package-versions
+        
+

Encrypted manifest bundle

+

Generate Ansible into a temporary directory, tar it, and encrypt it as one SOPS file.

+
$ enroll manifest \
+  --harvest /srv/enroll/host-1/harvest.tar.gz.sops \
+  --out /srv/enroll/host-1-manifest \
+  --sops 54A91143AE0AB4F7743B01FE888ED1B423A3BC99
 
-$ enroll diff --old /path/to/golden --new /path/to/current \
-  --webhook https://example.net/webhook \
-  --webhook-format json \
-  --webhook-header 'X-Enroll-Secret: ...' \
+$ cd /srv/enroll/host-1-manifest
+$ sops -d manifest.tar.gz.sops | tar -xzvf -
+$ cd manifest
+
+
+ +
+
+

Multi-site output

+

Use --fqdn when enrolling multiple already-running servers. Host-specific data goes to inventory host vars.

+
$ fqdn="$(hostname -f)"
+$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/enroll-harvest --out /tmp/enroll-ansible --fqdn "$fqdn"
+$ ansible-playbook /tmp/enroll-ansible/playbooks/"$fqdn".yml --check
+
+
+ +
+
+

Targeted Ansible role runs

+

Generated playbooks tag roles as role_<name>, so you can run only a subset.

+
$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local /tmp/enroll-ansible/playbook.yml --tags role_users,role_services
+
+
+ +
+
+

Drift report for cron or CI

+

Ignore routine version churn while still catching package additions/removals, service changes, user changes, and file drift.

+
$ enroll diff \
+  --old /srv/enroll/baseline \
+  --new /srv/enroll/current \
+  --format json \
   --ignore-package-versions \
-  --exit-code
-
-

Use it in cron, systemd timers, or CI to alert on change.

-
+ --exclude-path /var/anacron \ + --exit-code
+
-
-
Explain a harvest with enroll explain
-
- -
$ enroll explain /tmp/enroll-harvest
-
-# machine-readable reasons, examples, and inventory breakdown
-$ enroll explain /tmp/enroll-harvest --format json | jq .
-
-# encrypted bundle
-$ enroll explain /var/lib/enroll/harvest.tar.gz.sops --sops
-
-

Great for answering “why did it include/exclude that file?” before you generate a manifest.

-
+
+

Webhook notification

+

Send the diff report when changes are detected. Use --notify-always when a heartbeat is useful.

+
$ enroll diff \
+  --old /srv/enroll/baseline \
+  --new /srv/enroll/current \
+  --webhook https://example.net/hooks/enroll \
+  --webhook-format json \
+  --webhook-header 'X-Enroll-Secret: xxxx'
+
-
-
Enforce the previous state with enroll diff --enforce
-
- -
$ enroll diff \
-  --old /path/to/harvestA \
-  --new /path/to/harvestB \
-  --enforce \
-  --format json
-
-

Enforcement currently uses generated Ansible and ansible-playbook on PATH, even if you also use Puppet or Salt for normal manifest output.

-
+
+

Explain a harvest

+

Use explain when you want to understand why Enroll included or skipped things.

+
$ enroll explain /tmp/enroll-harvest
+$ enroll explain /tmp/enroll-harvest --format json --max-examples 25
+
-
-
Encrypt bundles at rest with SOPS
-
- -
$ enroll harvest --dangerous --out /tmp/harvest \
-  --sops <FINGERPRINT>
-
-$ enroll manifest --harvest /tmp/harvest/harvest.tar.gz.sops \
-  --target salt \
-  --out /tmp/enroll-salt \
-  --sops <FINGERPRINT>
-
-

Use this if you intend to store harvests/manifests long term or if you harvested with --dangerous.

-
+
+

Validate with a pinned schema

+

CI can validate a harvested bundle against a local schema file and fail on warnings.

+
$ enroll validate /srv/enroll/current \
+  --schema ./state.schema.json \
+  --format json \
+  --out validate.json \
+  --fail-on-warnings
+
-
diff --git a/src/content/news/0-7-0.html b/src/content/news/0-7-0.html index 9fbb66f..2f9ea69 100644 --- a/src/content/news/0-7-0.html +++ b/src/content/news/0-7-0.html @@ -1,172 +1,61 @@ --- -title: "Enroll 0.7.0: Puppet and Salt renderer support, Flatpak/Snap, and more" -html_title: "Enroll 0.7.0 News" -description: "Enroll 0.7.0 adds first-class Puppet and Salt manifest rendering alongside Ansible, along with other improvements." -date: 2026-06-17 -summary: "Enroll can now render Puppet and Salt manifests alongside Ansible, detect Flatpak and Snap packages, other obscure runtime state, and produce better organised roles/modules." +title: "Enroll 0.7.0 beta: Ansible-only again, with stronger safety tooling" +date: "2026-06-30" +description: "Current Enroll 0.7.0 beta notes: the Puppet and Salt experiment has been removed; Enroll now documents Ansible-only output and stronger safety tooling." +summary: "The current beta focuses Enroll back on Ansible-only output, removes stale Puppet/Salt documentation, and clarifies safety and provenance guidance." +html_title: "Enroll 0.7.0 beta - Ansible-only current documentation" +og_title: "Enroll 0.7.0 beta: Ansible-only current documentation" +og_description: "The current Enroll beta removes the old Puppet/Salt experiment from the docs and focuses on Ansible output, validation, SOPS, and safety." +og_type: "article" --- -
-
-
Release notes
-

Enroll 0.7.0: Puppet and Salt join Ansible

-

A single harvest can now be rendered into Ansible, Puppet, or Salt output.

+
+
+
News
+

Enroll 0.7.0 beta: Ansible-only again, with stronger safety tooling

+

The current beta focuses Enroll back on one supported output path: harvest Linux hosts and render Ansible.

-
-
-
-

Welcome to the first of Enroll's new, erm, news section! To celebrate, Enroll 0.7.0 has been released, and makes manifest rendering target-selectable based on your preferred config management tool! Ansible remains the default, but Puppet and Salt are now possible too.

+
+

Earlier 0.7.0 development builds experimented with Puppet and Salt renderers. That experiment has been removed from the current codebase. The supported flow today is simpler and more honest: harvest a Linux host, validate the bundle, and generate Ansible roles and playbooks.

-

Highlights in 0.7.0

-
    -
  • Puppet support! --target puppet renders Puppet module/control-repo style output., and in --fqdn mode, renders per-host Hiera data.
  • -
  • Salt Stack support! --target salt renders Salt state trees and, in --fqdn mode, Salt pillar data.
  • -
  • Single-site output tries to combine package/service data by their package manager's Section category, to reduce role sprawl and speed up execution.
  • -
  • Flatpak and Snap detection!
  • -
  • Docker image detection!
  • -
+
Documentation note: if you find an old command using --target ansible, --target puppet, or --target salt, it is stale. Current enroll manifest has no --target option.
-

Dry-run examples: choose your own config management adventure!

-

Feels too good to be true, but it isn't:

-
- -
$ enroll harvest --out ./harvest
+      

What remains

+
    +
  • Harvest bundles with state.json and captured artifacts.
  • +
  • Ansible manifesting in single-site mode or --fqdn multi-site mode.
  • +
  • Role grouping by package section/group where possible, with --no-common-roles available when you prefer one generated role per package or unit.
  • +
  • Remote harvesting over SSH, including OpenSSH config support, sudo prompts, and encrypted key passphrase handling.
  • +
  • Diff, explain, and validate workflows for drift reporting and bundle inspection.
  • +
  • SOPS at-rest encryption for harvest and manifest bundles.
  • +
  • JinjaTurtle integration for supported Ansible templates when the executable is available.
  • +
-$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target ansible --out ./ansible -$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local ./ansible/playbook.yml --check --diff +

A current workflow

+
$ enroll harvest --out ./harvest
+$ enroll validate ./harvest
+$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --out ./ansible
+$ cd ./ansible
+$ ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml
+$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local playbook.yml --check
-$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target puppet --out ./puppet -$ puppet apply --modulepath ./puppet/modules ./puppet/manifests/site.pp --noop +

Security and provenance changes

+

The current documentation is also more explicit about trust boundaries. Enroll validates structure and tries to avoid accidental secret capture, symlink traversal, unsafe artifact paths, unsafe root output paths, and root PATH foot-guns. It still cannot prove that a harvested desired state is semantically safe to apply.

+
This harvest is structurally valid, but Enroll cannot prove it is semantically safe. Only apply manifests generated from harvests whose provenance you trust.
-$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target salt --out ./salt -$ salt-call --local --file-root ./salt/states state.apply test=True
-
+

Other notable current behavior

+
    +
  • Safe-mode content scanning tolerates value-less credential words in comments, but populated credential assignments are still treated as sensitive even if commented out.
  • +
  • Automatic per-user shell dotfile harvesting is only enabled in --dangerous mode.
  • +
  • Plain directory harvests are frozen into a private temp tree before manifesting, reducing TOCTOU exposure between validation and rendering.
  • +
  • Remote harvests reject unknown SSH host keys by default.
  • +
  • Root runs refuse unsafe non-interactive PATH setups unless --assume-safe-path is supplied.
  • +
-
- -

I recommend using Salt 3008.1 - on Debian 13 I encountered annoying noisy Python errors with version 3007, which are unrelated to Enroll.

- -

Since Salt uses Jinja2 templates, it will take advantage of my other tool JinjaTurtle, if it's on your PATH, just like Ansible does.

- -

And because I didn't want Puppet users to feel left out, version 0.5.5 of JinjaTurtle (despite its name) also supports erb templates as well. This means Puppet templates will be generated if you have JinjaTurtle and there are viable config files for it, too!

- -

Have you used enroll diff --enforce to enforce reverting a system to an older harvest state via Ansible? Well, that works too for Puppet or Salt - just add --target [salt|puppet] to that command.

- -

New grouping behaviour in roles/modules

-

Did you find the number of manifested roles overwhelming?

-

Previously, Enroll created an Ansible role (or, now, a Puppet module or Salt role) for pretty much every 'package' it found. In some cases this could result in hundreds of roles.

-

Technically fine, but overwhelming to look at! It also made the playbooks a bit slow to run. If you have fewer roles for the same harvest, Ansible gets faster.

- -

As of 0.7.0, Enroll groups related package and service snapshots by the package manager's Section category (or comparable backend metadata).

-

For example, network-related packages and config files might end up in a role called net. Meanwhile, vim, nano might both appear in editors, and mutt and Thunderbird may be in mail. It's easier on the eye, and it's quicker to run!

- -

If you don't like this new layout, you can pass --no-common-roles to enforce the previous behaviour. Also, if you use --fqdn for host-specific data-driven output, 'common' roles are disabled automatically, to avoid 'bleed in' of unnecessary packages on other hosts that might share that role later.

- -

Flatpak and Snap detection

-

Enroll now attempts to detect Flatpak and Snaps present on the system. For Flatpaks, this includes user-specific Flatpaks as well as system-wide ones. Manifesting in Ansible will attempt to use the community.general collection to create Flatpak and Snap tasks to enforce the presence of those packages.

-

Flatpak/Snap manifesting is also available for Puppet and Snap, but it's slightly cruder through the use of guarded cmd/exec statements - I found this keeps things simpler than having to add third party modules/extensions (and the state of extensions in Salt Stack right now, is a bit of a mess, IMO).

- -
-
$ sudo ansible-playbook playbook.yml -i localhost, -c local --tags role_snap --diff
-
-PLAY [Apply all roles on all hosts] *******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
-
-TASK [Gathering Facts] ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
-ok: [localhost]
-
-TASK [snap : Install system-wide snaps with full detected attributes] *********************************************************************************************************************************************
-ok: [localhost] => (item={'channel': 'latest/stable', 'classic': False, 'dangerous': False, 'devmode': False, 'install_revision': False, 'name': 'bare', 'notes': ['base'], 'revision': 5, 'source': 'snap-list'})
-ok: [localhost] => (item={'channel': 'latest/stable', 'classic': False, 'dangerous': False, 'devmode': False, 'install_revision': False, 'name': 'core24', 'notes': ['base'], 'revision': 1643, 'source': 'snap-list'})
-ok: [localhost] => (item={'channel': 'latest/stable', 'classic': False, 'dangerous': False, 'devmode': False, 'install_revision': False, 'name': 'gnome-46-2404', 'notes': [], 'revision': 153, 'source': 'snap-list'})
-ok: [localhost] => (item={'channel': 'latest/stable', 'classic': False, 'dangerous': False, 'devmode': False, 'install_revision': False, 'name': 'gtk-common-themes', 'notes': [], 'revision': 1535, 'source': 'snap-list'})
-ok: [localhost] => (item={'channel': 'latest/stable', 'classic': False, 'dangerous': False, 'devmode': False, 'install_revision': False, 'name': 'mesa-2404', 'notes': [], 'revision': 1165, 'source': 'snap-list'})
-ok: [localhost] => (item={'channel': 'latest/stable', 'classic': False, 'dangerous': False, 'devmode': False, 'install_revision': False, 'name': 'onionshare', 'notes': [], 'revision': 212, 'source': 'snap-list'})
-ok: [localhost] => (item={'channel': 'latest/stable', 'classic': False, 'dangerous': False, 'devmode': False, 'install_revision': False, 'name': 'snapd', 'notes': ['snapd'], 'revision': 26865, 'source': 'snap-list'})
-            
-
- -

Docker/Podman image detection

-

The harvest now detects the presence of container images, if the user has permission to call Docker or Podman. In particular, it detects the SHA256 of the image instead of relying on floating tags.

-

All three renderers (Ansible, Salt and Puppet) will attempt to enforce the presence of those Docker images per their precise SHA256 hash, if they were present in the harvest but not on the machine upon applying a manifest.

-

For Ansible, you may need the community.docker collection, but on Debian 13 I found that it was already present by default in the official ansible Debian packages.

-

For Ansible, if using Podman, you'll need 1.20.0 or later of the community.podman collection. Enroll creates a requirements.yml to make it easy for you: its README.md will guide you to run ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml before running the playbook.

- -
-
$ ansible-playbook -i localhost, -c local playbook.yml --check --diff --tags role_container_images
-PLAY [Apply all roles on all hosts] *******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
-
-TASK [Gathering Facts] ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
-ok: [localhost]
-
-TASK [container_images : Pull Docker images by immutable registry digest] *****************************************************************************************************************************************
-ok: [localhost] => (item={'architecture': 'amd64', 'created': '2026-06-17T22:44:41.625799723Z', 'engine': 'docker', 'home': None, 'image_id': 'sha256:eaf6f386053efdf0ad30236a394b4460e3669006afc9eb1220ae2047f330cc9c', 'notes': [], 'os': 'linux', 'platform': 'linux/amd64', 'pull_ref': 'nginx@sha256:42f2d24ae18df9b5251d1cc45548085656d2335e9338fd150a24e415462d151f', 'repo_digests': ['nginx@sha256:42f2d24ae18df9b5251d1cc45548085656d2335e9338fd150a24e415462d151f'], 'repo_tags': ['nginx:latest'], 'scope': 'system', 'size': 161308134, 'source': 'docker image inspect', 'tag_aliases': [{'ref': 'nginx:latest', 'repository': 'nginx', 'tag': 'latest'}], 'user': None, 'variant': None})
-
-TASK [container_images : Tag Docker images with harvested tag aliases] ********************************************************************************************************************************************
-ok: [localhost] => (item=[{'architecture': 'amd64', 'created': '2026-06-17T22:44:41.625799723Z', 'engine': 'docker', 'home': None, 'image_id': 'sha256:eaf6f386053efdf0ad30236a394b4460e3669006afc9eb1220ae2047f330cc9c', 'notes': [], 'os': 'linux', 'platform': 'linux/amd64', 'pull_ref': 'nginx@sha256:42f2d24ae18df9b5251d1cc45548085656d2335e9338fd150a24e415462d151f', 'repo_digests': ['nginx@sha256:42f2d24ae18df9b5251d1cc45548085656d2335e9338fd150a24e415462d151f'], 'repo_tags': ['nginx:latest'], 'scope': 'system', 'size': 161308134, 'source': 'docker image inspect', 'user': None, 'variant': None}, {'ref': 'nginx:latest', 'repository': 'nginx', 'tag': 'latest'}])
-
-TASK [container_images : Pull system Podman images by immutable registry digest] **********************************************************************************************************************************
-ok: [localhost] => (item={'architecture': 'amd64', 'created': '2026-06-16T00:01:29.967161902Z', 'engine': 'podman', 'home': None, 'image_id': 'sha256:d529dd0c6e5597ac7e4a3e2dea65c3fcc6173f4cae713c409265c1dd9914a11b', 'notes': [], 'os': 'linux', 'platform': 'linux/amd64', 'pull_ref': 'docker.io/library/alpine@sha256:28bd5fe8b56d1bd048e5babf5b10710ebe0bae67db86916198a6eec434943f8b', 'repo_digests': ['docker.io/library/alpine@sha256:28bd5fe8b56d1bd048e5babf5b10710ebe0bae67db86916198a6eec434943f8b', 'docker.io/library/alpine@sha256:79ff19e9084a00eece421b2523fb93e22d730e2c0e525905de047e848e56d95f'], 'repo_tags': ['docker.io/library/alpine:latest'], 'scope': 'system', 'size': 8709729, 'source': 'podman image inspect', 'tag_aliases': [{'ref': 'docker.io/library/alpine:latest', 'repository': 'docker.io/library/alpine', 'tag': 'latest'}], 'user': None, 'variant': None})
-
-TASK [container_images : Tag system Podman images with harvested tag aliases] *************************************************************************************************************************************
-ok: [localhost] => (item=[{'architecture': 'amd64', 'created': '2026-06-16T00:01:29.967161902Z', 'engine': 'podman', 'home': None, 'image_id': 'sha256:d529dd0c6e5597ac7e4a3e2dea65c3fcc6173f4cae713c409265c1dd9914a11b', 'notes': [], 'os': 'linux', 'platform': 'linux/amd64', 'pull_ref': 'docker.io/library/alpine@sha256:28bd5fe8b56d1bd048e5babf5b10710ebe0bae67db86916198a6eec434943f8b', 'repo_digests': ['docker.io/library/alpine@sha256:28bd5fe8b56d1bd048e5babf5b10710ebe0bae67db86916198a6eec434943f8b', 'docker.io/library/alpine@sha256:79ff19e9084a00eece421b2523fb93e22d730e2c0e525905de047e848e56d95f'], 'repo_tags': ['docker.io/library/alpine:latest'], 'scope': 'system', 'size': 8709729, 'source': 'podman image inspect', 'user': None, 'variant': None}, {'ref': 'docker.io/library/alpine:latest', 'repository': 'docker.io/library/alpine', 'tag': 'latest'}])
-
-TASK [container_images : Pull user Podman images by immutable registry digest] ************************************************************************************************************************************
-skipping: [localhost]
-
-TASK [container_images : Tag user Podman images with harvested tag aliases] ***************************************************************************************************************************************
-skipping: [localhost]
-
-PLAY RECAP ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
-localhost                  : ok=5    changed=0    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=2    rescued=0    ignored=0   
-            
-
-

-

I did not use community extensions/modules for Docker in the Salt and Puppet renderers, because, well, they are god-awful (the Salt one simply doesn't work in 3008.1, and the Puppet one is non-idempotent and I would argue cruder in its approach to image management than a guarded Exec call can be (and is).

- -

Other smaller changes

-
    -
  • sysctl runtime parameters are now detected and would be written to /etc/sysctl.d/99-enroll.conf. Not all runtime parameters are supported.
  • -
  • .bashrc and similar files are now only harvested from user directories when --dangerous is used, since this is a common place for sensitive environment variables to be set. As always, remember that --dangerous gives better harvest coverage, but you should use --sops or some other means of your own to encrypt the harvested data at rest safely!
  • -
  • Some output during an Ansible play is hidden with no_log to avoid potentially sensitive output, particularly of systemd unit state.
  • -
  • In case you missed it in version 0.6.0: Enroll now harvests runtime iptables and ipset rules!
  • -
- -

More coverage

-

With these changes comes a lot of new 'variance' and argument input to the app. Pytest coverage is now at about 86%, and there is a big suite unit tests for Ansible, Puppet and Salt too, in CI. I'm continuing to try and automate testing all the ways you can use this tool.

- -
-

Thanks to everyone who has reached out with suggestions, constructive criticism, and bug reports!

-

If you think you know someone who would like Enroll, please tell them about it!

-
-
- -
-
-
Target your preferred config manager
-
    -
  • --target ansible (default)
  • -
  • --target puppet
  • -
  • --target salt
  • -
-
-
-
Useful links
- -
-
-
There's more to Enroll!
- -
-
-
+

The News and Troubleshooting sections are retained on the website, but they now document the current tool rather than the removed Puppet/Salt experiment.

+
diff --git a/src/content/news/_index.html b/src/content/news/_index.html index 82b6ad3..c3ff9a7 100644 --- a/src/content/news/_index.html +++ b/src/content/news/_index.html @@ -1,12 +1,15 @@ --- title: "News" -html_title: "Enroll News" -description: "Release notes and project updates for Enroll." +html_title: "Enroll news" +description: "News and release notes for Enroll." +og_title: "Enroll news" +og_description: "News and release notes for Enroll." +og_type: "website" --- -
-
+
+
News
-

What's new in Enroll

-

Release notes, important changes, tips and tricks.

+

Enroll news

+

Release notes and project notes for the current Enroll CLI.

diff --git a/src/content/schema.html b/src/content/schema.html index 49f4a8f..fd3c265 100644 --- a/src/content/schema.html +++ b/src/content/schema.html @@ -1,14 +1,17 @@ --- title: "Schema" -html_title: "Enroll State Schema" -description: "JSON Schema describing the Enroll harvest state.json format." layout: "schema" +html_title: "Enroll state.json schema" +description: "The current JSON Schema for Enroll harvest state.json bundles." +og_title: "Enroll state.json schema" +og_description: "View the current Enroll JSON Schema and use it to validate harvest bundles." +og_type: "article" --- -
-
-
Schema
-

Harvest state.json schema

-

enroll harvest generates a state file. This is its structure.

+
+
+
Harvest schema
+

Current state.json schema

+

Enroll validates harvest bundles against the vendored JSON Schema unless you pass --no-schema. The same schema is published here for inspection and CI pinning.

@@ -16,35 +19,20 @@ layout: "schema"
-
-
Tips
-
-

You can validate a harvest against the schema by running enroll validate /path/to/harvest .

-
-
-
-
Links
- -
+
+

Validate with the vendored schema

+
$ enroll validate ./harvest
+

Validate with this hosted schema

+
$ enroll validate ./harvest \
+  --schema https://enroll.sh/schema/state.schema.json \
+  --allow-remote-schema
+

Remote schema fetching is disabled by default and must be explicitly allowed.

-
-
-
-

state.schema.json

- Open raw -
- -
- -
Loading…
-
- -
Tip: you can validate a harvest with python -m jsonschema -i state.json schema/state.schema.json
+
+ +
Loading schema...
diff --git a/src/content/security.html b/src/content/security.html index 2218f29..7c6ed8e 100644 --- a/src/content/security.html +++ b/src/content/security.html @@ -1,110 +1,91 @@ --- title: "Security Design" -html_title: "Enroll Security" -description: "Security posture and safe workflows for Enroll outputs." +html_title: "Enroll security design and threat model" +description: "Threat model and security scope for Enroll, a privileged Linux host harvesting CLI that generates Ansible output." +og_title: "Enroll security design" +og_description: "Enroll threat model, trusted harvest guidance, in-scope hardening, and vulnerability report guidance." +og_type: "article" --- -
-
-
Security
-

Safe by default. Powerful when you opt in.

-

Enroll can touch sensitive files. This page helps you use it confidently.

+
+
+
Security design
+

Threat model and security scope

+

Enroll is a privileged systems-administration CLI, not a sandbox. It tries to protect careful administrators from common mistakes, while assuming the operator controls the environment they run it in.

-
-
-
-

Default behavior

-

In normal mode, Enroll attempts to avoid harvesting likely secrets using a combination of path deny-lists, content sniffing, and size caps. This means you may see some files intentionally skipped.

-
- -
-
-
-
-

The --dangerous flag

-

This disables secret-safety checks. It can copy private keys, API tokens, DB passwords, TLS key material, etc.

-

Rule: if you use --dangerous, treat the output as sensitive data and plan secure storage before you run it. Don't store secrets in plaintext in a public place!

-
+
- -
-
-
Recommended workflow
-
    -
  1. Start with default mode (no --dangerous).
  2. -
  3. Add --include-path for a small set of extra files you genuinely want managed.
  4. -
  5. If you must capture secrets, use --dangerous and --sops.
  6. -
  7. Keep outputs out of public repos; review before committing.
  8. -
  9. Rotate credentials if you ever suspect they were captured or exposed.
  10. -
-
- -
-
Storage ideas
-
    -
  • Encrypted SOPS bundle stored in a password manager vault
  • -
  • Private git repo with additional encryption at rest
  • -
  • Offline backup in an encrypted volume
  • + +
    +
    +

    Core assumptions

    +

    Enroll is designed to be executed intentionally by a system administrator, often as root, to inspect a host and generate Ansible output. If an attacker controls the administrator's command line, environment, config file, working directory, PATH, SSH config, SOPS binary, Ansible installation, or harvested input bundle, they may influence what Enroll does. That is considered a local trust-boundary failure outside Enroll's intended security model.

    +
      +
    • The operator understands options such as --dangerous, --assume-safe-path, --sops, --remote-host, and --remote-ssh-config.
    • +
    • Configuration files loaded from enroll.ini are selected and trusted by the operator.
    • +
    • Harvest bundles used for manifest or diff come from a trusted source unless the operator is deliberately inspecting untrusted input without applying it.
    • +
    • External tools invoked by Enroll, including Ansible, SOPS, SSH, sudo, Docker, Podman, Flatpak, Snap, package managers, and system utilities, are the trusted tools the operator intended to use.
    -
    + -
    -
    Scope control
    -

    You can explicitly include or exclude paths. Excludes take precedence over includes.

    -
    $ enroll harvest \
    -  --out /tmp/enroll-harvest \
    -  --include-path '/home/*/.profile' \
    -  --exclude-path '/home/*/.ssh/**'
    -
    +
    +

    What Enroll tries to defend against

    +
    +
    Accidental secret capture

    Default mode avoids obvious sensitive paths, private keys, token/password assignments, authorization headers, credential URIs, and similar material.

    +
    Unsafe filesystem behavior

    Enroll avoids symlink traversal, hardlinks, device nodes, tar path traversal, unsafe artifact paths, and common TOCTOU issues when copying and consuming artifacts.

    +
    Unsafe generated Ansible

    Harvested values are serialized as Ansible data, template-looking values are tagged !unsafe, and raw task scaffold identifiers are allowlisted.

    +
    Risky privileged automation

    Plain harvest outputs are private by default. Root-run output paths and unsafe root PATH entries are checked. Remote harvest rejects unknown SSH host keys by default.

    +
    +
    + +
    +

    What is out of scope

    +

    The following are normally operator trust failures, not Enroll vulnerabilities by themselves:

    +
      +
    • A malicious local user already controlling root's shell, environment, config files, PATH, binaries, SSH config, or working directory.
    • +
    • A root user intentionally loading a config file or passing options that request dangerous behavior.
    • +
    • Using --dangerous and observing that Enroll may collect sensitive information.
    • +
    • Using --assume-safe-path and observing that Enroll does not prompt about PATH.
    • +
    • Applying generated Ansible from an untrusted harvest.
    • +
    • Trusting an untrusted webhook, email target, SSH proxy command, SOPS binary, package manager, or Ansible toolchain.
    • +
    +
    + +
    +

    Trusted harvests

    +

    Harvest bundles are sensitive administrative artifacts. They may contain hostnames, usernames, package lists, service state, filesystem metadata, configuration files, firewall snapshots, container image references, Flatpak/Snap state, and other operational details. In --dangerous mode they may contain much more sensitive material.

    +
    Important: Enroll validates harvest structure and artifact safety. It cannot prove that the desired state represented by a harvest is safe to apply. Before running manifest, diff, or Ansible, be confident the harvest came from a trusted source and has not been tampered with.
    +
    $ enroll validate ./harvest
    +$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --out ./ansible
    +
    + +
    +

    Useful security reports

    +

    Useful reports show Enroll behaving unsafely despite the documented trust model. Examples include:

    +
      +
    • Capturing a clearly sensitive default-denied file without --dangerous.
    • +
    • Following a symlink or hardlink in a way that causes privileged file disclosure or overwrite.
    • +
    • Extracting a tar member outside the intended harvest directory.
    • +
    • Accepting a malicious harvest artifact that escapes the artifact root.
    • +
    • Generating Ansible where ordinary harvested data can cause command injection or YAML/template structure injection.
    • +
    • Writing root-run output into an unsafe attacker-controlled path despite safety checks.
    • +
    • Accepting an unknown SSH host key unexpectedly.
    • +
    +

    Less useful reports are variations of “root deliberately asked Enroll to do dangerous things”. Those are expected consequences of running a privileged administration tool with trusted operator-controlled input.

    +
- -
- -
-

Threat model

-
-
-
What Enroll tries to prevent
-
    -
  • Accidentally copying obvious secrets in default mode
  • -
  • Harvesting huge/unbounded file sets by mistake
  • -
  • One host's difference causing problems for other hosts by keeping multi-site data in inventory, Hiera, or pillar
  • -
-
-
-
What you still need to think about
-
    -
  • Where outputs are stored and who can access them
  • -
  • Reviewing what was captured before committing/sharing
  • -
  • Choosing encryption and secret-management strategy
  • -
-
-
-
-
diff --git a/src/content/troubleshooting.html b/src/content/troubleshooting.html index aa68499..c1538b2 100644 --- a/src/content/troubleshooting.html +++ b/src/content/troubleshooting.html @@ -1,187 +1,118 @@ --- title: "Troubleshooting" -html_title: "Enroll Troubleshooting" -description: "Common Enroll errors and fixes for generated Ansible, Puppet, and Salt manifests." +html_title: "Enroll troubleshooting - current Ansible CLI" +description: "Common Enroll errors and fixes for the current Ansible-only CLI." +og_title: "Enroll troubleshooting" +og_description: "Fix stale --target examples, unsafe root PATH, missing Ansible collections, JinjaTurtle, remote SSH auth, validation, and SOPS extraction." +og_type: "article" --- -
-
-
Troubleshooting
-

Common errors and how to fix them

-

Most first-run problems are either missing runtime tools, old Ansible community collections, or files that Enroll intentionally skipped for safety.

+
+
+
Troubleshooting
+

Common Enroll problems and fixes

+

Current fixes for the Ansible-only Enroll CLI, including stale old examples, unsafe root PATH, JinjaTurtle, remote SSH, SOPS, and generated collection requirements.

-
-
- +
-
-
-
-
-
-

Start here for Ansible module errors

-

Generated Ansible manifests may use community collections when a harvest contains Docker/Podman images, Flatpaks, or Snaps. Enroll writes a requirements.yml beside playbook.yml, and the generated manifest README.md shows the install command.

-
- -
$ cd /path/to/generated/ansible-manifest
-$ ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml
-
-

Run this in the same Python virtualenv, container, CI job, or user account that will run ansible-playbook. If an older collection is already installed and Ansible keeps finding it first, retry with --force or adjust ANSIBLE_COLLECTIONS_PATH.

-
-
+
+

Error: unrecognized arguments: --target

+

You are following old documentation from a temporary version that experimented with Puppet and Salt renderers. Current Enroll only generates Ansible output, so there is no --target flag.

+
+
Old command
$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target ansible --out ./ansible
+
Current command
$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --out ./ansible
-
-

Podman error: unsupported platform parameter

-

If the host has an older containers.podman / community.podman Galaxy collection, an Ansible run may fail with a message like this:

-
-
[ERROR]: Task failed: Module failed: Unsupported parameters for (containers.podman.podman_image) module: platform. Supported parameters include: arch, auth_file, build, ca_cert_dir, executable, force, name, password, path, pull, pull_extra_args, push, push_args, quadlet_dir, quadlet_file_mode, quadlet_filename, quadlet_options, state, tag, username, validate_certs (authfile, build_args, buildargs, tls_verify, tlsverify).
-
-
-
Cause
-

The generated task is using a newer module interface than the collection currently installed on the machine running Ansible.

-
-
-
Fix
-

Install the collection versions constrained by the generated manifest:

-
- -
$ cd /path/to/generated/ansible-manifest
-$ ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml
-
-

Then re-run the playbook from the same environment. If Ansible still reports the older module, check ansible-galaxy collection list and remove or override the stale collection path.

-
-
- -
-

Flatpak error: unsupported from_url parameter

-

Flatpak tasks can fail in the same way when the installed community.general collection is too old for the generated role.

+
+

Root run refuses to continue because PATH is unsafe

+

When running as root, Enroll refuses non-interactive execution if PATH contains ., an empty entry, a relative entry, a non-root-owned directory, or group/world-writable directories/parents that could let an untrusted binary be executed.

-
Fix
-

Use the generated Ansible requirements file before applying the manifest:

-
- -
$ cd /path/to/generated/ansible-manifest
-$ ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml
-
+
Fix the environment, or explicitly accept it
+
$ export PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
+$ enroll harvest --out ./harvest
+
+# only for trusted CI environments where the PATH is intentional
+$ enroll harvest --out ./harvest --assume-safe-path
-

The same advice applies when Snap, Docker, Podman, or Flatpak roles complain about unknown module parameters: install from requirements.yml first, because Enroll generated that file for the manifest it just wrote.

-
-

Salt error: Failed to import utils pycrypto

-

You run the salt-call command and see an error Failed to import utils pycrypto, this is due most likely to a syntax error with a Traceback that includes AttributeError: module 'crypt' has no attribute 'methods'.

-
-
Fix
-

It's not an Enroll bug. Upgrade to Salt Stack 3008.1, in their Debian packages they use Python 3.14 and have solved the problem. The problem occurs with older Python, and is described in this upstream bug report.

-
+
+

Ansible complains about missing modules or unsupported parameters

+

Generated roles can use collections for Docker, Podman, Flatpak, Snap, or other resources. Install the generated requirements from the manifest output directory before running the playbook.

+
$ cd /tmp/enroll-ansible
+$ ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml
+$ ansible-galaxy collection list
+

If Ansible still uses an older collection, check your configured collection paths and remove or override stale copies.

-

JinjaTurtle is not found, or template generation was skipped

-

When --jinjaturtle auto is used, Enroll only templates recognised config files if the jinjaturtle executable is available on PATH. If it is missing, Enroll safely falls back to copying raw files. When --jinjaturtle on is used, missing JinjaTurtle is a hard error.

+

JinjaTurtle is missing or template generation was skipped

+

By default, Enroll uses JinjaTurtle if the jinjaturtle executable exists on PATH; otherwise it safely copies raw files. --jinjaturtle makes missing JinjaTurtle a hard error, and --no-jinjaturtle disables templating entirely.

-
-
-
Make templating optional (this is the default already)
-
$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target ansible --out ./ansible --jinjaturtle auto
-
-
-
-
-
Disable templating entirely
-
$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --target puppet --out ./puppet --jinjaturtle off # or --no-jinjaturtle
-
-
+
Require JinjaTurtle
$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --out ./ansible --jinjaturtle
+
Disable templating
$ enroll manifest --harvest ./harvest --out ./ansible --no-jinjaturtle
-

If a generated template would reference missing variables, Enroll should fall back to a raw file copy rather than producing a broken manifest.

A file I expected was not harvested

-

The default harvest is intentionally conservative. A file may be skipped because it matched an exclude pattern, looked sensitive, looked binary, was too large, was already captured by another role, or was outside Enroll's standard scan paths.

+

Default harvesting is conservative. A file may be skipped because it matched an exclude pattern, looked sensitive, looked binary, was too large, was already captured elsewhere, was unreadable, or was outside standard scan paths.

-
-
-
Explicitly include a path
-
$ enroll harvest --out ./harvest --include-path /opt/myapp/config.yml
-
-
-
-
-
Inspect what happened
-
$ enroll explain ./harvest
-$ enroll validate ./harvest
-
-
-
-
-
Be careful with --dangerous
-
Use --dangerous only when you understand that it can harvest secrets such as private keys, tokens, credentials, and application config containing passwords.
+
Explicitly include a path
$ enroll harvest --out ./harvest --include-path /opt/myapp/config.yml
+
Inspect the result
$ enroll explain ./harvest
+$ enroll validate ./harvest
+
Be careful with --dangerous: it can harvest secrets such as private keys, tokens, credentials, and application config containing passwords.
-

Generated manifest references a missing artifact

-

If a manifest task points at a missing source file, validate the original harvest first. Validation checks state.json, referenced artifacts, generated firewall/sysctl files, and unreferenced artifact warnings.

-
- -
$ enroll validate /path/to/harvest
-
-

If validation passes, check whether you moved, edited, or partially copied the generated manifest after rendering it.

+

Validation fails, or a manifest references a missing artifact

+

Validate the original harvest. Validation checks the schema, referenced artifacts, artifact safety, and unreferenced artifact warnings.

+
$ enroll validate /path/to/harvest
+$ enroll validate /path/to/harvest --format json --out validate.json
+$ enroll validate /path/to/harvest --fail-on-warnings
+

If validation passes but Ansible cannot find a file, check whether the generated output was partially copied, edited, or moved after rendering.

Remote harvest cannot sudo or cannot unlock an SSH key

-

Remote mode can prompt for sudo and private-key passphrases, but CI and non-interactive shells should pass the required information up front. You can set the ENROLL_SSH_KEY_PASSPHRASE environment variable if needed, and then pass --ssh-key-passphrase-env ENROLL_SSH_KEY_PASSPHRASE.

+

Remote mode can prompt for sudo and private-key passphrases. In non-interactive shells, provide the required inputs explicitly.

-
-
-
Prompt for sudo
-
$ enroll harvest --remote-host host.example.net --ask-become-pass --out ./harvest
-
-
-
-
-
Prompt for encrypted SSH key
-
$ enroll harvest --remote-host host.example.net --ask-key-passphrase --out ./harvest
-
-
+
Prompt for sudo
$ enroll harvest --remote-host host.example.net --ask-become-pass --out ./harvest
+
Prompt for SSH key
$ enroll harvest --remote-host host.example.net --ask-key-passphrase --out ./harvest
+
CI key passphrase
$ export ENROLL_SSH_KEY_PASSPHRASE='...'
+$ enroll harvest --remote-host host.example.net --ssh-key-passphrase-env ENROLL_SSH_KEY_PASSPHRASE --out ./harvest
-

If host key verification fails, connect with normal ssh first so the expected key is in known_hosts, or use your normal SSH config with Enroll's remote SSH config support.

+

If host key verification fails, connect with normal ssh first so the expected key is in known_hosts, or use --remote-ssh-config.

-
-

enroll diff --enforce did not change everything

-

Enforcement is best-effort drift correction from the old harvest. It is intentionally conservative and does not try to do risky things such as arbitrary package downgrades.

-
-
Choose the enforcement target explicitly
-

By default, enforcement uses Ansible. You can choose Puppet or Salt when those tools are available on the host running enforcement:

-
- -
$ enroll diff --old ./golden --new ./current --enforce --target ansible
-$ enroll diff --old ./golden --new ./current --enforce --target puppet
-$ enroll diff --old ./golden --new ./current --enforce --target salt
-
-
-

For non-Ansible targets, make sure puppet or salt-call is installed and on PATH before running enforcement.

+
+

I have a SOPS manifest bundle. How do I run it?

+

manifest --sops produces one encrypted manifest.tar.gz.sops file. It is an at-rest storage format, not something Ansible runs directly. Decrypt and extract it first.

+
$ cd /path/to/output
+$ sops -d manifest.tar.gz.sops | tar -xzvf -
+$ cd manifest
+$ ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml
+$ ansible-playbook -i "localhost," -c local playbook.yml --check
diff --git a/src/hugo.toml b/src/hugo.toml index 4172e70..81d7d83 100644 --- a/src/hugo.toml +++ b/src/hugo.toml @@ -6,4 +6,4 @@ uglyURLs = true disableKinds = ["taxonomy", "term", "RSS", "sitemap"] [params] - description = "Enroll inspects Debian-like and RedHat-like Linux hosts and generates Ansible, Puppet, or Salt manifests from what it finds. Harvest → Manifest → Manage." + description = "Enroll inspects Debian-like and RedHat-like Linux hosts and generates Ansible configuration-management code from what it finds. Harvest → Manifest → Manage." diff --git a/src/themes/enroll-theme/layouts/partials/footer.html b/src/themes/enroll-theme/layouts/partials/footer.html index 1d378c2..c7e4d7e 100644 --- a/src/themes/enroll-theme/layouts/partials/footer.html +++ b/src/themes/enroll-theme/layouts/partials/footer.html @@ -7,10 +7,9 @@
Enroll (a mig5 project)
CLI Ansible - Puppet - Salt + SSH
-
Reverse-engineering servers into Ansible, Puppet, or Salt.
+
Reverse-engineering Linux hosts into Ansible.