Salt (SaltStack) dynamic inventory

Salt (SaltStack Inc.) is a powerful automation tool that I’ve been using for many years. This post shows an example of agent‑less usage with salt-ssh, using a dynamic inventory via a roster and an Ansible inventory plugin.

Roster example

JSON example for dynamic inventory:

# cat /srv/dynamic_inventory/roster/do
#!/bin/bash
echo '{
  "all": [
    "srv1"
  ],
  "_meta": {
    "hostvars": {
      "srv1": {
        "ansible_ssh_user": "root",
        "ansible_ssh_host": "111.111.111.111"
      }
    }
  }
}'

Run Salt ping

# salt-ssh -i --key-deploy --roster ansible --roster-file /srv/dynamic_inventory/roster/do srv1 test.ping
srv1:
    True

Run command

# salt-ssh -i --key-deploy --roster ansible --roster-file /srv/dynamic_inventory/roster/do srv1 cmd.run "id"
srv1:
    uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root) context=unconfined_u:unconfined_r:unconfined_t:s0-s0:c0.c1023

Run without inventory

It also works fine without a pre‑defined inventory:

# salt-ssh -i --key-deploy --user=alve --sudo --roster=scan '111.111.111.111' cmd.run "id" 
111.111.111.111:
    uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root)

Minimal SaltStack infrastructure

This repository shows a minimal SaltStack infrastructure setup for a master server. It demonstrates the basic configuration and server roles so you can quickly deploy a working master (or even a “Master of Masters”). You can check out the repository here: https://github.com/alan-lt/salt-infra.

For official best practices, see the SaltStack Best Practices guide. This project follows those guidelines where applicable, but focuses on a minimal, practical setup.

Human Logic, AI Syntax... Note on Content: I'm a Systems Engineer, not a native English writer. To ensure my technical ideas are clear and accessible, I use AI tools to polish the grammar and style. The workflow is simple: I provide the logic, the code, and the real-world experience. The AI handles the "English-to-Human" translation layer. If you find a bug, that's on me. If you find a perfectly placed comma, that's probably the AI.