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Some templates support parameters that influence their output. Parameters customize template behavior without requiring custom template files.

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Specifying Parameters

Use the -p or --params option with comma-separated key=value pairs: 
ansible-cmdb -t html_fancy -p local_js=1,collapsed=1 out/ > overview.html
Parameters must not contain spaces. Use commas to separate multiple parameters.

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Examples

ansible-cmdb -p local_js=1 out/ > overview.html

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html_fancy Parameters

The default html_fancy template supports these parameters:

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local_js

Values: 0 (default) or 1 Load JavaScript libraries from local disk instead of CDN: 
ansible-cmdb -p local_js=1 out/ > overview.html
When to use:
  • Offline environments without internet access
  • Security policies prohibit external resources
  • Faster loading in air-gapped networks
Requirements: Local copies of required libraries must be present in the same directory as the generated HTML.

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collapsed

Values: 0 (default) or 1 Collapse all host details by default: 
ansible-cmdb -p collapsed=1 out/ > overview.html
When to use:
  • Large numbers of hosts (>100)
  • Overview table is more important than details
  • Faster initial page load
Users can still expand individual hosts by clicking.

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host_details

Values: 1 (default) or 0 Control whether host details are rendered at all: 
ansible-cmdb -p host_details=0 out/ > overview.html
When to use:
  • Only need the overview table
  • Significantly reduce file size
  • Faster rendering for large environments (>500 hosts)
With host_details=0, clicking host names in the table has no effect.

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skip_empty

Values: 0 (default) or 1 Skip hosts for which no facts were gathered: 
ansible-cmdb -p skip_empty=1 out/ > overview.html
When to use:
  • Filter out unreachable hosts
  • Only show hosts with complete information
  • Clean up output after failed fact gathering
What gets skipped:
  • Hosts without ansible_facts key
  • Hosts with gathering errors
  • Manually added hosts without facts

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html_fancy_split Parameters

The html_fancy_split template accepts the same parameters as html_fancy: 
ansible-cmdb -t html_fancy_split -p local_js=1,collapsed=1 -i hosts out/
Note: This template generates a cmdb/ directory instead of a single file.

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Common Parameter Combinations

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Offline Environment

ansible-cmdb -p local_js=1 out/ > overview.html
Use local resources for air-gapped environments.

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Large Environment Optimization

ansible-cmdb -p collapsed=1,skip_empty=1 out/ > overview.html
Collapse details and skip unreachable hosts for faster loading.

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Overview Only

ansible-cmdb -p host_details=0,skip_empty=1 out/ > overview.html
Generate only the table without detailed host information.

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Production Report

ansible-cmdb -t html_fancy \
  -p local_js=1,skip_empty=1 \
  -i hosts \
  --limit production \
  out/ > prod-report.html
Combine parameters with other options for comprehensive filtering.

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Using Parameters in Custom Templates

Access parameters in custom templates via the params dictionary: 
<%! from ansiblecmdb.util import to_bool %>

<%
  # Get parameter with default value
  local_js = to_bool(params.get('local_js', False))
  collapsed = to_bool(params.get('collapsed', False))
  skip_empty = to_bool(params.get('skip_empty', False))
%>

% if local_js:
  <script src="local/jquery.min.js"></script>
% else:
  <script src="https://code.jquery.com/jquery-3.6.0.min.js"></script>
% endif

% if collapsed:
  <% collapsed_class = "collapsed" %>
% else:
  <% collapsed_class = "" %>
% endif

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Boolean Parameters

Use the to_bool() utility to convert parameter strings: 
<%! from ansiblecmdb.util import to_bool %>

<%
  my_param = to_bool(params.get('my_param', False))
%>

% if my_param:
  <p>Parameter is enabled</p>
% endif
Accepted boolean values:
  • True: 1, true, True, yes, Yes
  • False: 0, false, False, no, No

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String Parameters

<%
  title = params.get('title', 'Ansible CMDB')
  theme = params.get('theme', 'default')
%>

<title>${title}</title>
<body class="theme-${theme}">
Use with: 
ansible-cmdb -p title="Production Hosts",theme=dark -t ./my_template.tpl out/

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Numeric Parameters

<%
  max_hosts = int(params.get('max_hosts', 100))
  port = int(params.get('port', 8080))
%>

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Parameter Validation

Validate parameters in your templates: 
<%
  theme = params.get('theme', 'light')
  valid_themes = ['light', 'dark', 'blue']
  
  if theme not in valid_themes:
    theme = 'light'
%>

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Built-in Template Parameters Reference

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html_fancy & html_fancy_split

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
local_jsBoolean0Load resources from local disk
collapsedBoolean0Collapse host details by default
host_detailsBoolean1Render host details sections
skip_emptyBoolean0Skip hosts without facts

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Other Templates

Most other templates (txt_table, csv, json, markdown, sql) do not currently support parameters. They generate output in a fixed format.

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Combining with Other Options

Parameters work with all other ansible-cmdb options: 
# Parameters + inventory + columns + limit
ansible-cmdb \
  -t html_fancy \
  -p local_js=1,collapsed=1 \
  -i hosts \
  --columns name,fqdn,os,ip,vcpus,ram \
  --limit webservers \
  out/ > webservers.html

# Parameters + custom columns + fact cache
ansible-cmdb \
  -p skip_empty=1 \
  -C custom_cols.conf \
  -f /var/cache/ansible/facts \
  > cmdb.html

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See Also

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