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200-901 Practice Question: A DevOps engineer wants to automate the…

A DevOps engineer wants to automate the configuration of network devices using Ansible. Which file format is commonly used for Ansible playbooks?

⚠ Common exam trap

Cisco often tests the distinction between Ansible inventory files (which can use INI or YAML) and playbook files (which exclusively use YAML), causing candidates to incorrectly associate INI with playbooks.

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

✓

YAML

Ansible playbooks are written in YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) because YAML is human-readable, supports complex data structures like lists and dictionaries, and is designed for configuration files. YAML's indentation-based syntax aligns with Ansible's declarative automation model, making it the default and recommended format for defining tasks, variables, and handlers in playbooks.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • ✗

    INI

    Why it's wrong here

    INI files are used for Ansible inventory, not playbooks.

  • ✓

    YAML

    Why this is correct

    Ansible playbooks are written in YAML, which is human-readable and easy to parse.

  • ✗

    XML

    Why it's wrong here

    XML is verbose and not used for Ansible playbooks.

  • ✗

    JSON

    Why it's wrong here

    JSON is not natively used for Ansible playbooks; YAML is the standard.

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JA

Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security

Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva

This 200-901 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Cisco certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 200-901 exam.