docker-compose: Adds double quotes around single quote, if using "{{variable}}" on a playbook

[linuxmail]

SUMMARY

I have an issue with variables and added quotes, which I don't need. I use the docker-compose module to add environment variables with a playbook. For one of them .. I have a JSON string .. with database configuration and password, so I want to have it in a Ansible-vault file. If I run then the playbook .. I get DATABASES='"{ ....}"' instead of DATABASES='{...}'. The only way to avoid it .. is to add the string direct into the playbook with:

...
environment:
                DATABASES: |-
  { .... }
....

ISSUE TYPE

• Bug Report

COMPONENT NAME

• community.docker.docker_compose:

ANSIBLE VERSION

ansible 2.9.27
  config file = /var/lib/rundeck/ansible/ansible_rundeck.cfg
  configured module search path = [u'/var/lib/rundeck/ansible/modules']
  ansible python module location = /usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/ansible
  executable location = /usr/bin/ansible
  python version = 2.7.16 (default, Oct 10 2019, 22:02:15) [GCC 8.3.0]

COLLECTION VERSION

# /home/dfuchs/git/ansible/collections/ansible_collections
Collection       Version
---------------- -------
community.docker 3.1.0  

OS / ENVIRONMENT

• Debian Buster

STEPS TO REPRODUCE

---
- name: Manage backoffice container
  hosts: "{{inventory}}"
  gather_facts: no
  vars_files:
    - "{{ inventory_dir }}/group_vars/docker_secrets.yml"
    - "{{ inventory_dir }}/group_vars/container_deploy.yaml"
  tasks:
    - name: "Login into harbor"
      docker_login:
        registry: "{{docker_registry}}"
        username: "{{docker_username}}"
        password: "{{docker_password}}"
    - name: "Create docker-compose file"
      community.docker.docker_compose:
        project_name: backoffice
        remove_orphans: true
        pull: true
        definition:
          version: "3.9"
          services:
            backoffice_nginx:
              image: "{{BACKOFFICE_NGINX_IMAGE}}"
              hostname: localhost
              restart: always
              container_name: backoffice_nginx
              volumes:
                - backoffice-gunicorn_data:/home/app/static/
                - certs:/cert
              networks:
                - app-backoffice
              environment:
                API: backoffice:8000
                NGINX_SSL_PORT: 443
              ports:
                - 9001:443
              depends_on:
                - backoffice_gunicorn
          
            backoffice_gunicorn:
              image: "{{BACKOFFICE_IMAGE}}"
              restart: always
              container_name: backoffice_gunicorn
              hostname: backoffice
              environment:
                DATABASES:  "{{ BACKOFFICE_DATABASES }}"
              volumes:
                - backoffice-gunicorn_data:/app/static/
              networks:
                - app-backoffice
                - config_service_config-service
....

• On the Vault file: inventories/test/group_vars/docker_secrets.yml

BACKOFFICE_DATABASES: !unsafe |-
 { "default": {}, "users_db": {"ENGINE":"django.db.backends.mysql", "NAME":"backoffice_users", "USER":"user", "PASSWORD":"secret", "HOST":"fra-test-mdb", "PORT":"3306"}, "findb": {"NAME":"financial_db", "ENGINE":"django.db.backends.mysql", "USER":"foo", "PASSWORD":"secret", "HOST":"fra-dev-srv-db.example.local","PORT":"3306"}}

EXPECTED RESULTS

Same like I use with adding the string direct:

DATABASES='{ "default": {}, "users_db": {"ENGINE":"django.db.backends.mysql", "NAME":"backoffice_users", "USER":"user", "PASSWORD":"secret", "HOST":"fra-test-mdb", "PORT":"3306"}, "findb": {"NAME":"financial_db", "ENGINE":"django.db.backends.mysql", "USER":"foo", "PASSWORD":"secret", "HOST":"fra-dev-srv-db.example.local","PORT":"3306"}}'

ACTUAL RESULTS

Double quotes around:

DATABASES="'{ "default": {}, "users_db": {"ENGINE":"django.db.backends.mysql", "NAME":"backoffice_users", "USER":"user", "PASSWORD":"secret", "HOST":"fra-test-mdb", "PORT":"3306"}, "findb": {"NAME":"financial_db", "ENGINE":"django.db.backends.mysql", "USER":"foo", "PASSWORD":"secret", "HOST":"fra-dev-srv-db.example.local","PORT":"3306"}}'"

[felixfontein]

Have you tried running ansible-playbook with -vvv to actually see what was passed on to the docker_compose module? Because this sounds a lot like Ansible is doing some internal conversion, and the data gets passed wrongly to the module. Which is nothing this collection has any influence on.

[felixfontein]

Duplicate of https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ansible-project/4de5000c-e086-4f61-ba79-0c06f4f0778fn%40googlegroups.com

[linuxmail]

Hi,

the debug (-vvv) shows the same, like I see on the container itself:

...
changed: [fra-test-docker-01.example.local] => changed=true 
  invocation:
    module_args:
      api_version: auto
      build: false
      ca_cert: null
      client_cert: null
      client_key: null
      debug: false
      definition:
        networks:
          app-backoffice:
            driver: bridge
          config_service_config-service:
            external: true
        services:
          backoffice_gunicorn:
            container_name: backoffice_gunicorn
            environment:
              ALLOWED_HOSTS: '*'
              DATABASES: |-
                "'{ "default": {}, "users_db": {...}}'"

From a user on Matrix Ansible User help, he asks me to add to the playbook some debugs (before docker_compose module), so I've added:

    - name: ------------------ Pint databases for debug ------------------
     ansible.builtin.debug:
       msg: "{{BACKOFFICE_DATABASES}}"
   - debug:
       msg: "{{ BACKOFFICE_DATABASES | type_debug}}"

and got

TASK [------------------ Pint databases for debug ------------------] *****************************************************************************************************
ok: [fra-test-docker-01.example.local] => 
  msg: '''{ "default": {}, ..."}}'''


TASK [debug] **************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [fra-test-docker-01.example.local] => 
  msg: AnsibleUnsafeText

I'm sure, that the extra " " came from the variable definition "{{ FOO}}" as it is otherwise invalid (yaml) syntax

I've upgraded also to 2.10.7 and it does not change anything :-)

[felixfontein]

Your -vvv output confirms that the quotes are passed to the module from ansible-core's side, so there's nothing this module (or this collection) can do about the problem.

I've upgraded also to 2.10.7 and it does not change anything :-)

FYI, both 2.9.x and 2.10.x are EOL and basically dead.