Run Java Jar as Service via Ansible on Ubuntu

Question

What is the best approach to run a standalone .jar as a service via Ansible?

I need run metabase.jar via ansible on an Ubuntu EC2 host.

Should I daemonize it? Is there any recommended method or library?

Ideally I would like to manage the state via the Ansible handlers if possible.

Thanks

Amit Phaltankar · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-24T14:56:44.037

5

Depending upon the init system of your underlying box (init.d or systemctl) there are two approaches.

init.d

With ansible you can create a symlink of your application jar under

/etc/init.d/<your_service_name>

You can then use ansible's service module to manage the state of the service

 - service:
    name: <your_service_name>
    state: restarted

systemctl

If your init method is systemd you will have to create a very simple Unit file

[Unit]
Description=<Description>

[Service]
ExecStart=/path/to/<your_app>.jar

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Copy the unit file to

/etc/systemd/service/<your_unit_file>.service

Then you can use ansible's systemd module to manage the state of the service

- name: Start Service
  systemd:
    name: <your service name>
    state: started

edited Apr 24 '17 at 14:56

answered Apr 24 '17 at 11:43

Amit Phaltankar

2

the service file must be placed in ```/etc/systemd/system``` though, but otherwise correct – RedRobot Apr 24 '17 at 14:54
Changed the path in my answer. Great it worked for you. – Amit Phaltankar Apr 24 '17 at 14:57
this worked for me changing the `ExecStart` line to `/path/to/java -jar /path/to/.jar` – rvazquezglez Jul 19 '18 at 21:25
How can I pass arguments in the .service file? – vijayk Mar 14 '23 at 16:48

1 Answers1