Setting Up Semaphore UI for Ansible Management

# docker-compose.yml
services:
  semaphore:
    image: semaphoreui/semaphore:v2.10.22
    environment:
      SEMAPHORE_DB_DIALECT: postgres
      SEMAPHORE_DB_HOST: postgres
      SEMAPHORE_DB_PORT: 5432
      SEMAPHORE_DB_USER: semaphore
      SEMAPHORE_DB_PASS: ${DB_PASSWORD}
      SEMAPHORE_DB: semaphore
      SEMAPHORE_PLAYBOOK_PATH: /tmp/semaphore/
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${ADMIN_PASSWORD}
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN_NAME: admin
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN_EMAIL: admin@localhost
      SEMAPHORE_ADMIN: admin
      SEMAPHORE_ACCESS_KEY_ENCRYPTION: ${ENCRYPTION_KEY}
      TZ: Europe/Moscow
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    depends_on:
      - postgres
  postgres:
    image: postgres:15-alpine
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: semaphore
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
      POSTGRES_DB: semaphore
    volumes:
      - pg_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data

SEMAPHORE_ACCESS_KEY_ENCRYPTION — a 32-character key. Generate it once:

openssl rand -base64 32 

After startup, access port 3000, create a project, and add a playbook repository.

Integrating Semaphore with GitLab CI

Follow these steps:

1. Obtain an authentication token by POSTing to /api/auth/login with admin credentials.
2. Use the token to launch a task via POST to /api/project/1/tasks with template_id, environment, and message.
3. Poll the task status via GET or set up a webhook for notifications.

Example script:

# Get token
TOKEN=$(curl -s -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/auth/login \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"auth": "admin", "password": "'$SEMAPHORE_ADMIN_PASSWORD'"}' \
  | jq -r '.token')

# Launch Task Template with ID=5
curl -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/project/1/tasks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "template_id": 5, "environment": "{\"app_version\": \"'"$CI_COMMIT_TAG"'\"}", "message": "Deploy from CI: '"$CI_COMMIT_SHA"'" }'

Semaphore Core Components

Turnkey Implementation Deliverables

When you order Semaphore deployment from us, we provide:

• Deploy Semaphore + PostgreSQL (Docker or bare metal)
• Configure key encryption and integrate with your Git (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket)
• Create projects, inventories, keys, and Task Templates
• Integrate with CI/CD (example scripts)
• Admin documentation and rollback scenarios
• Team training (1–2 hours)
• 2-week warranty after delivery
• Monitoring setup and PostgreSQL backup configuration

Timeline: 1 to 3 days depending on the number of projects. Our team has over 8 years of experience and has completed 50+ Semaphore projects. We deliver turnkey solutions that manage up to 500 servers with ease.

Semaphore Limitations vs AWX

Semaphore is simpler — that's both a plus and a minus. No Survey forms (parameters via Environment JSON), Smart Inventory, or RBAC at the playbook level. For large teams with access segmentation, AWX is better. But for 2–5 engineers and a dozen playbooks, Semaphore is the right choice. Order a pilot implementation — we'll show how Semaphore works with your playbooks.