SUMMARY

When role A includes role B as dependency, role B can access files & templates from role A's directories using a relative path if this path does not exists in its own directories. This works for nearly all builtin modules from Ansible (EDIT: found the documentation, see here). This also works for the copy module but not for synchronize.

I marked it as a feature request, because this feature is nowhere stated for synchronize itself.

ISSUE TYPE

• Feature Idea

COMPONENT NAME

ansible.posix.synchronize

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This feature helps to e.g. create a role managing a docker-compose project in general (upload repo with docker-compose.yml and Dockerfiles, build & launch compose, configure other stuff required, …), further called "role_b", which can be reused by multiple roles holding the repo with docker-compose.yml and Dockerfiles for certain services, further called "role_a".

The multi file example I describe below shows what works with copy and what I want to do with synchronize:

# run example locally
- hosts: localhost
  connection: local
  gather_facts: no
  roles:
    - role: role_a

# this role holds a repo in its files/ directory

dependencies:
  # include role with copy/synchronize
  - name: role_b

# Imagine a docker-compose.yml using multiple Dockerfiles …

# Imagine multiple Dockerfiles used by docker-compose.yml

# check_mode so nothing will be applied

# this works
- name: Copy temp
  check_mode: yes
  ansible.builtin.copy:
    src: repo/
    dest: /tmp

# this not
- name: Sync temp
  check_mode: yes
  ansible.posix.synchronize:
    mode: push
    src: repo/
    dest: /tmp
  ignore_errors: yes