Ansible is software, and software breaks. It's not a matter of if, but when. Invalid input, improper assumptions, unexpected environments—all things that can lead to a frustrating situation when tasks and plays are just not performing as expected. Introspection and debugging are troubleshooting techniques that can quickly turn frustration into elation when a root cause is discovered.

In our last chapter, we will learn how to extend the functionality of Ansible by writing our own modules, plugins, and inventory sources.