OpenShift Dev Spaces Automation

This repository contains an Ansible playbook to automate the installation of Red Hat OpenShift Dev Spaces.

The playbook handles the full deployment lifecycle:

• Cleanup: Removes stale CRDs and Subscriptions to prevent webhook conversion/validation errors from previous attempts.
• Operator Installation: Sets up the Namespace, OperatorGroup (Cluster-wide), and Subscription.
• Readiness Checks: Waits for the Operator pod and Webhook service to be fully healthy.
• Cluster Deployment: Configures a default CheCluster instance.
• URL Extraction: Retrieves the final Dev Spaces Dashboard URL once the instance is Active.

Prerequisites

• OpenShift Cluster: Version 4.20+ recommended.
• Tools: oc CLI tool and ansible installed locally.
• Ansible Collection:

  ansible-galaxy collection install -r collections/requirements.yml

Configuration

Provide values for the vars section in install_devspaces.yml to suit your environment. Best practice is to store any credentials in a separate file that is NOT committed to this repository. Something like secrets.yml. For details on all the variables see the role readme.

Here is a sample that can be used to install on a fresh cluster:

secrets.yml

---
devspaces_ocp_install_connection:
  host: "https://api.example.com:6443/"
  username: "kubeadmin"
  password:
  validate_certs: false
devspaces_ocp_install_namespace: openshift-devspaces
devspaces_ocp_install_operator:
  channel: stable
devspaces_ocp_install_instance:
  instance_name: devspaces
  storage_pvc_strategy: per-user
...

Usage

. Run the playbook:

ansible-playbook install_devspaces.yml -e @secrets.yml

Access Dev Spaces

After successful installation, you'll see a message like:

TASK [devspaces_ocp_install : Display Dev Spaces URL]
ok: [localhost] => {
    "msg": "Dev Spaces is ready! Access the dashboard at: https://devspaces-openshift-devspaces.apps.your-cluster.example.com"
}

You can also access it from the OpenShift Console:

• Navigate to the Applications menu (9-square grid icon)
• Look for "Dev Spaces (devspaces)" under "Red Hat Applications"

Troubleshooting

Check Operator Installation Status

oc get csv -n openshift-devspaces
oc get subscription -n openshift-devspaces

Check CheCluster Status

oc get checluster -n openshift-devspaces
oc describe checluster devspaces -n openshift-devspaces

View Operator Logs

oc logs -n openshift-devspaces deployment/devspaces-operator -f

Next Steps

• Read the full README for detailed documentation
• Customize the role variables for your specific needs
• Integrate into your existing Ansible automation

Getting Help

• OpenShift Dev Spaces Documentation: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_openshift_dev_spaces
• Original playbook: https://github.com/vvaldez/devspaces_ocp_install
• Role structure based on: https://github.com/redhat-cop/aap_utilities

License

GPL-3.0-or-later