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Self-Hosting Semaphore: Ansible UI and CI/CD

Semaphore provides a web UI for running Ansible playbooks. Schedule tasks, manage inventories, and track execution history.

semaphoreansibleautomationci-cd

What Is Semaphore?


Semaphore is a web-based UI for Ansible. Instead of running ansible-playbook from the command line, you use a clean web interface.


Features


Task Management

  • Run Ansible playbooks from the UI
  • Schedule recurring tasks
  • View execution history and logs
  • Track success/failure

    • Inventory Management

  • Define and manage server inventories
  • Group servers by role
  • Store SSH keys securely

    • Credential Store

  • SSH keys
  • Passwords
  • Vault passwords
  • Cloud provider credentials

    • Templates

  • Pre-configured task templates
  • Reusable across projects
  • Version controlled

    • Notifications

  • Email on task completion
  • Slack/Telegram alerts
  • Webhook triggers

    • Use Cases


    Server Configuration

    Schedule daily Ansible runs to ensure servers stay in desired state.


    Application Deployment

    Deploy applications via Ansible playbooks triggered from the UI.


    Maintenance Tasks

    Schedule package updates, certificate renewals, and cleanup tasks.


    Team Access

    Give team members access to run predefined tasks without SSH access to servers.


    Deployment


    1. Deploy Semaphore on TinyPod

    2. Add your server inventory

    3. Upload SSH keys

    4. Create task templates

    5. Run or schedule tasks


    Resources: 1 CPU, 512 MB RAM.


    Why Use Semaphore?


  • Non-technical team members can trigger deployments
  • Audit trail of who ran what and when
  • Scheduled automation without cron complexity
  • Clean logs accessible from anywhere
    • Self-Host Semaphore: Ansible UI | TinyPod | TinyPod