"locale_gen" module fails on CentOS 6, CentOS 7 and RHEL 8 (Rocky)

[filviu]

Summary

When using module "locale_gen" for machines with CentOS 6 or CentOS 7 or Rocky Linux 8 get fail message "/etc/locale.gen and /var/lib/locales/supported.d/local are missing. Is the package locales installed ?"
But there is no such package for CentOS. I think this module can be worked for supporting RHEL, or there must be listing in module description with supported and not-supported OS.

Mostly migrating this original report that got closed without fix: ansible/ansible#44708

Issue Type

Bug Report

Component Name

locale_gen

Ansible Version

ansible [core 2.11.6] 
  config file = None
  configured module search path = ['/home/silviu/.ansible/plugins/modules', '/usr/share/ansible/plugins/modules']
  ansible python module location = /home/silviu/.local/lib/python3.10/site-packages/ansible
  ansible collection location = /home/silviu/.ansible/collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections
  executable location = /home/silviu/.local/bin/ansible
  python version = 3.10.2 (main, Jan 17 2022, 00:00:00) [GCC 11.2.1 20211203 (Red Hat 11.2.1-7)]
  jinja version = 3.0.2
  libyaml = True

Community.general Version

$ ansible-galaxy collection list community.general

Configuration

$ ansible-config dump --only-changed

OS / Environment

Rocky Linux 8 (RHEL 8)

Steps to Reproduce

locales:
  - en_GB.UTF-8
  - en_US.UTF-8

- name: Generate localisation files
  hosts: host.domain
  tasks:
    locale_gen:
      name: "{{ item }}"
      state: present
    loop: "{{ locales }}"

Expected Results

Successful task execution.
Module "locale_gen" must check ansible_os_family and ansible_distribution release and run accordingle right locale generations commands (localedef), supporting not only Debian-based OS, but RHEL-based also.

Actual Results

<host.domain> ESTABLISH SSH CONNECTION FOR USER: None
<host.domain> SSH: EXEC ssh -vvv -C -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s -o KbdInteractiveAuthentication=no -o PreferredAuthentications=gssapi-with-mic,gssapi-keyex,hostbased,publickey -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ControlPath=/home/user/.ansible/cp/5a62727ccc host.domain '/bin/sh -c '"'"'echo ~ && sleep 0'"'"''
<host.domain> (0, '/home/user\n', 'OpenSSH_7.6p1 Ubuntu-4, OpenSSL 1.0.2n  7 Dec 2017\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /home/user/.ssh/config\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config\r\ndebug1: /etc/ssh/ssh_config line 19: Applying options for *\r\ndebug1: auto-mux: Trying existing master\r\ndebug2: fd 3 setting O_NONBLOCK\r\ndebug2: mux_client_hello_exchange: master version 4\r\ndebug3: mux_client_forwards: request forwardings: 0 local, 0 remote\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: done pid = 2991\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: session request sent\r\ndebug1: mux_client_request_session: master session id: 2\r\ndebug3: mux_client_read_packet: read header failed: Broken pipe\r\ndebug2: Received exit status from master 0\r\n')
<host.domain> ESTABLISH SSH CONNECTION FOR USER: None
<host.domain> SSH: EXEC ssh -vvv -C -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s -o KbdInteractiveAuthentication=no -o PreferredAuthentications=gssapi-with-mic,gssapi-keyex,hostbased,publickey -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ControlPath=/home/user/.ansible/cp/5a62727ccc host.domain '/bin/sh -c '"'"'( umask 77 && mkdir -p "` echo /home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910 `" && echo ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910="` echo /home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910 `" ) && sleep 0'"'"''
<host.domain> (0, 'ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910=/home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910\n', 'OpenSSH_7.6p1 Ubuntu-4, OpenSSL 1.0.2n  7 Dec 2017\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /home/user/.ssh/config\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config\r\ndebug1: /etc/ssh/ssh_config line 19: Applying options for *\r\ndebug1: auto-mux: Trying existing master\r\ndebug2: fd 3 setting O_NONBLOCK\r\ndebug2: mux_client_hello_exchange: master version 4\r\ndebug3: mux_client_forwards: request forwardings: 0 local, 0 remote\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: done pid = 2991\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: session request sent\r\ndebug1: mux_client_request_session: master session id: 2\r\ndebug3: mux_client_read_packet: read header failed: Brokenpipe\r\ndebug2: Received exit status from master 0\r\n')
Using module file /usr/lib/python2.7/dist-packages/ansible/modules/system/locale_gen.py
<host.domain> PUT /home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-local-2958jky98t/tmpAmb995 TO /home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910/locale_gen.py
<host.domain> SSH: EXEC sftp -b - -vvv -C -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s -o KbdInteractiveAuthentication=no -o PreferredAuthentications=gssapi-with-mic,gssapi-keyex,hostbased,publickey -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ControlPath=/home/user/.ansible/cp/5a62727ccc '[host.domain]'
<host.domain> (0, 'sftp> put /home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-local-2958jky98t/tmpAmb995 /home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910/locale_gen.py\n', 'OpenSSH_7.6p1 Ubuntu-4, OpenSSL 1.0.2n  7 Dec 2017\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /home/user/.ssh/config\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config\r\ndebug1: /etc/ssh/ssh_config line 19: Applying options for *\r\ndebug1: auto-mux: Trying existing master\r\ndebug2: fd 3 setting O_NONBLOCK\r\ndebug2: mux_client_hello_exchange: master version 4\r\ndebug3: mux_client_forwards: request forwardings: 0 local, 0 remote\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: done pid = 2991\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: session request sent\r\ndebug1: mux_client_request_session: master session id: 2\r\ndebug2: Remote version: 3\r\ndebug2: Server supports extension "[email protected]" revision 1\r\ndebug2: Server supports extension "[email protected]" revision 2\r\ndebug2: Server supports extension "[email protected]" revision 2\r\ndebug3: Sent message fd 5 T:16 I:1\r\ndebug3: SSH_FXP_REALPATH . -> /home/user size 0\r\ndebug3: Looking up /home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-local-2958jky98t/tmpAmb995\r\ndebug3: Sent message fd 5 T:17 I:2\r\ndebug3: Received stat reply T:101 I:2\r\ndebug1: Couldn\'t stat remote file: No such file or directory\r\ndebug3: Sent message SSH2_FXP_OPEN I:3 P:/home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910/locale_gen.py\r\ndebug3: Sent message SSH2_FXP_WRITE I:4 O:0 S:32768\r\ndebug3: SSH2_FXP_STATUS 0\r\ndebug3: In write loop, ack for 4 32768 bytes at 0\r\ndebug3: Sent message SSH2_FXP_WRITE I:5 O:32768 S:32768\r\ndebug3: Sent message SSH2_FXP_WRITE I:6 O:65536 S:2459\r\ndebug3: SSH2_FXP_STATUS 0\r\ndebug3: In write loop, ack for 5 32768 bytes at 32768\r\ndebug3: SSH2_FXP_STATUS 0\r\ndebug3: In write loop, ack for 6 2459 bytes at 65536\r\ndebug3: Sent message SSH2_FXP_CLOSE I:4\r\ndebug3: SSH2_FXP_STATUS 0\r\ndebug3: mux_client_read_packet: read header failed: Broken pipe\r\ndebug2: Received exit statusfrom master 0\r\n')
<host.domain> ESTABLISH SSH CONNECTION FOR USER: None
<host.domain> SSH: EXEC ssh -vvv -C -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s -o KbdInteractiveAuthentication=no -o PreferredAuthentications=gssapi-with-mic,gssapi-keyex,hostbased,publickey -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ControlPath=/home/user/.ansible/cp/5a62727ccc host.domain '/bin/sh -c '"'"'chmod u+x /home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910/ /home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910/locale_gen.py && sleep 0'"'"''
<host.domain> (0, '', 'OpenSSH_7.6p1 Ubuntu-4, OpenSSL 1.0.2n  7 Dec 2017\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /home/user/.ssh/config\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config\r\ndebug1: /etc/ssh/ssh_config line 19: Applying options for *\r\ndebug1: auto-mux: Trying existing master\r\ndebug2: fd 3 setting O_NONBLOCK\r\ndebug2: mux_client_hello_exchange: master version 4\r\ndebug3: mux_client_forwards: request forwardings: 0 local, 0 remote\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: done pid = 2991\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: session request sent\r\ndebug1: mux_client_request_session: master session id: 2\r\ndebug3: mux_client_read_packet: read header failed: Broken pipe\r\ndebug2: Received exit status from master 0\r\n')
<host.domain> ESTABLISH SSH CONNECTION FOR USER: None
<host.domain> SSH: EXEC ssh -vvv -C -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s -o KbdInteractiveAuthentication=no -o PreferredAuthentications=gssapi-with-mic,gssapi-keyex,hostbased,publickey -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ControlPath=/home/user/.ansible/cp/5a62727ccc -tt host.domain '/bin/sh -c '"'"'sudo -H -S  -p "[sudo via ansible, key=piwtilauojopifgeaxgceplobgdzgioq] password: " -u root /bin/sh -c '"'"'"'"'"'"'"'"'echo BECOME-SUCCESS-piwtilauojopifgeaxgceplobgdzgioq; /usr/bin/python /home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910/locale_gen.py'"'"'"'"'"'"'"'"' && sleep 0'"'"''
Escalation succeeded
<host.domain> (1, '\r\n\r\n{"msg": "/etc/locale.gen and /var/lib/locales/supported.d/local are missing. Is the package \\"locales\\" installed?", "failed": true, "invocation": {"module_args": {"state": "present", "name": "en_US.UTF-8"}}}\r\n', 'OpenSSH_7.6p1 Ubuntu-4, OpenSSL 1.0.2n  7 Dec 2017\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /home/user/.ssh/config\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config\r\ndebug1: /etc/ssh/ssh_config line 19: Applying options for *\r\ndebug1: auto-mux: Trying existing master\r\ndebug2: fd 3 setting O_NONBLOCK\r\ndebug2: mux_client_hello_exchange: master version 4\r\ndebug3: mux_client_forwards: request forwardings: 0 local, 0 remote\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: done pid = 2991\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: session request sent\r\ndebug1: mux_client_request_session: master session id: 2\r\ndebug3: mux_client_read_packet: read header failed: Broken pipe\r\ndebug2: Received exit status from master 1\r\nShared connection to host.domain closed.\r\n')
<host.domain> ESTABLISH SSH CONNECTION FOR USER: None
<host.domain> SSH: EXEC ssh -vvv -C -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s -o KbdInteractiveAuthentication=no -o PreferredAuthentications=gssapi-with-mic,gssapi-keyex,hostbased,publickey -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ControlPath=/home/user/.ansible/cp/5a62727ccc host.domain '/bin/sh -c '"'"'rm -f -r /home/user/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1535354913.52-175980622514910/ > /dev/null 2>&1 && sleep 0'"'"''
<host.domain> (0, '', 'OpenSSH_7.6p1 Ubuntu-4, OpenSSL 1.0.2n  7 Dec 2017\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /home/user/.ssh/config\r\ndebug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config\r\ndebug1: /etc/ssh/ssh_config line 19: Applying options for *\r\ndebug1: auto-mux: Trying existing master\r\ndebug2: fd 3 setting O_NONBLOCK\r\ndebug2: mux_client_hello_exchange: master version 4\r\ndebug3: mux_client_forwards: request forwardings: 0 local, 0 remote\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: entering\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_alive: done pid = 2991\r\ndebug3: mux_client_request_session: session request sent\r\ndebug1: mux_client_request_session: master session id: 2\r\ndebug3: mux_client_read_packet: read header failed: Broken pipe\r\ndebug2: Received exit status from master 0\r\n')
failed: [host.domain] (item=en_US.UTF-8) => {
    "changed": false,
    "invocation": {
        "module_args": {
            "name": "en_US.UTF-8",
            "state": "present"
        }
    },
    "item": "en_US.UTF-8",
    "msg": "/etc/locale.gen and /var/lib/locales/supported.d/local are missing. Is the package \"locales\" installed?"
}

Code of Conduct

• I agree to follow the Ansible Code of Conduct

[ansibullbot]

Files identified in the description:

• plugins/modules/system/locale_gen.py

If these files are incorrect, please update the component name section of the description or use the !component bot command.

click here for bot help

[ansibullbot]

cc @AugustusKling
click here for bot help

[felixfontein]

This comment from the linked issue seems to explain the situation pretty well: ansible/ansible#44708 (comment)

[filviu]

I agree but I still think that there is room for improvement.

• updating documentation could be an option - I have loads of debian/rhel (the curse of mixed infra :) ) playbooks and this is the only module that is not compatible with both (besides the apt / yum ones of course). If agreed I could try my hand opening a PR for this
• or the error message needs updating - it could check and if on a rhel distro it should let the user know it's unsupported instead of recommending an nonexistent package.

[felixfontein]

Updating the documentation tends to be a lot easier than adding a distribution check (also there are lots of other distributions, some might have this and some might not).

[ansibullbot]

Files identified in the description:

• plugins/modules/locale_gen.py

If these files are incorrect, please update the component name section of the description or use the !component bot command.

click here for bot help

[ziegenberg]

I want to update the documentation. Any ideas about what exactly to write? I would have gone with an additional note:

This module is not supported on RHEL-based systems.

[felixfontein]

I would rather formulate this as This module does not support RHEL-based systems. But then, I'm not a native English speaker, so... :) @samccann @oraNod, which formulation (@ziegenberg's or mine) do you think is better?

[ziegenberg]

Hi @felixfontein, I take from your comment, that the general direction of my proposed change is right. :)

[ziegenberg]

And I like your version more than mine, because you use active voice and mine has passive voice. I'll prepare a PR.