How is a play marked in an Ansible playbook?

In an Ansible playbook, plays are marked with a hyphen at the leftmost position. This is a key aspect of YAML syntax, which is used for writing Ansible playbooks. Each play in the playbook begins with a hyphen followed by the name of the play, making it clear to the parser that this is the start of a new play. This structured format allows Ansible to interpret and organize the tasks intended for execution on the managed nodes.

Using a hyphen indicates a list structure in YAML, which is appropriate for defining multiple plays in a playbook. This clear delineation ensures that each play's objectives, such as the target hosts and the tasks to be executed, are properly formatted and recognized. The hyphen serves as a standard convention in YAML for listing items, helping maintain readability and clarity within the playbook.