Ansible LEMP WordPress Automation

🚀 Fully automated LEMP stack (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP) + WordPress deployment using Ansible

🎯 Features

Core Infrastructure

✅ Complete LEMP Stack Installation

• Nginx web server with optimized configuration
• MySQL 8.0+ with secure setup
• PHP 8.3+ with FPM and WordPress extensions
• Multi-OS support (Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, RHEL, Rocky Linux)

WordPress & Security

✅ WordPress Automation

• Latest WordPress installation via official WP-CLI
• Automatic database setup and configuration
• SSL/HTTPS with Let's Encrypt integration
• Security hardening (Fail2Ban, secure configurations)

Performance & Monitoring

✅ Performance Optimizations

• Redis/Memcached caching support
• PHP OPcache configuration
• MySQL performance tuning
• Automated backup system with retention

Development & DevOps

✅ Production & Development Ready

• Docker testing environment included
• GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline
• Multi-environment support (Docker, VMs, bare metal)
• WordPress Multisite support

Documentation & Support

✅ Developer Friendly

• Comprehensive documentation and guides
• Troubleshooting guide with common solutions
• Contributing guidelines for open source collaboration
• Idempotent playbooks (safe to run multiple times)

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Control Machine: Ansible 6.0+ installed
• Target Server: Ubuntu 24.04+ with SSH access and sudo privileges
• Network: SSH access (port 22) and web access (ports 80/443)

1. Clone Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/ansible-lemp-wordpress.git
cd ansible-lemp-wordpress

2. Configure Inventory

cp inventory/production.example inventory/production.ini
# Edit inventory/production.ini with your server details

3. Deploy WordPress

# Install LEMP stack
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.ini playbooks/lemp-wordpress.yml

# Install WordPress with WP-CLI
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production.ini playbooks/install-wordpress-official.yml

4. Access Your Site

• Website: http://your-server-ip
• Admin Panel: http://your-server-ip/wp-admin
• Default Login: admin / admin123 (change immediately!)

🐳 Docker Testing Environment

Perfect for testing before deploying to production servers:

cd docker/
docker-compose up -d
ansible-playbook -i inventory/docker.ini playbooks/lemp-wordpress.yml
ansible-playbook -i inventory/docker.ini playbooks/install-wordpress-official.yml

Access test site: http://localhost:8080

📁 Project Structure

ansible-lemp-wordpress/
├── playbooks/              # Main Ansible playbooks
│   ├── lemp-wordpress.yml       # LEMP stack installation
│   └── install-wordpress-official.yml  # WordPress setup with WP-CLI
├── inventory/              # Server inventory examples
│   ├── production.example      # Production server template
│   ├── staging.example         # Staging server template
│   └── docker.ini             # Docker test environment
├── templates/              # Configuration templates
│   ├── wp-config.php.j2       # WordPress configuration
│   └── wordpress.nginx.j2     # Nginx virtual host
├── vars/                   # Variable files for different OS
│   ├── ubuntu.yml             # Ubuntu-specific variables
│   └── debian.yml             # Debian-specific variables
├── docker/                 # Docker testing environment
│   ├── docker-compose.yml     # Docker setup
│   ├── Dockerfile             # Ubuntu container
│   └── start-services.sh      # Service startup script
└── docs/                   # Documentation
    ├── production-deployment.md
    ├── ssl-setup.md
    └── troubleshooting.md

⚙️ Configuration

Server Requirements

• OS: Ubuntu 24.04+, Debian 12+, CentOS 8+, Rocky Linux 8+
• RAM: Minimum 1GB (2GB+ recommended)
• Storage: Minimum 10GB free space
• Network: SSH access + web ports (80/443)

Customization

Edit variables in your inventory file:

[webservers]
your-server.com ansible_user=ubuntu

[webservers:vars]
# WordPress Configuration
wp_admin_user=admin
wp_admin_email=admin@yoursite.com
wp_site_title="My WordPress Site"
wp_site_url="https://yoursite.com"

# Database Configuration
mysql_root_password=your_secure_password
wordpress_db_name=wordpress
wordpress_db_user=wp_user
wordpress_db_password=another_secure_password

# SSL Configuration (optional)
enable_ssl=true
ssl_email=admin@yoursite.com

🔒 Security Features

• Secure MySQL installation with custom root password
• WordPress security keys auto-generation
• Proper file permissions and ownership
• Nginx security headers
• PHP security hardening
• Firewall configuration ready

🧪 Testing

Automated Testing

# Run integration tests
./tests/integration-test.sh

# Validate inventory files
./tests/validate-inventory.py inventory/production.example

# Lint Ansible playbooks
ansible-lint playbooks/*.yml

# Validate YAML syntax
yamllint .

Manual Testing

# Test basic WordPress functionality
curl -I http://your-server/
curl -s http://your-server/ | grep "WordPress"

# Test admin access
curl -I http://your-server/wp-admin/

# Test WP-CLI
ansible all -i inventory/production -m shell -a "cd /var/www/html && wp core version"

🔒 Security

This project includes several security features:

• Fail2Ban integration for intrusion prevention
• SSL/HTTPS support with Let's Encrypt
• Security headers and Nginx hardening
• Database security with proper user permissions
• File permission hardening

See SECURITY.md for detailed security information.

📊 Performance Features

• FastCGI Caching with Nginx for ultra-fast page loads
• Redis Object Caching for database query optimization
• PHP OPcache for improved PHP performance
• System-level optimizations (kernel parameters, limits)
• Automated performance monitoring with alerts
• Database optimization scripts with scheduled cleanup
• Cache warming for consistent performance

🚀 Performance Optimization (NEW!)

# Ultimate performance optimization
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production playbooks/ultimate-performance-optimization.yml \
  -e enable_redis=true -e enable_performance_monitoring=true

# Advanced features with performance
ansible-playbook -i inventory/production playbooks/wordpress-advanced-features.yml \
  -e enable_redis=true -e enable_memcached=true -e enable_opcache=true

📊 Enterprise Features

• Multi-environment testing (Docker, VM, bare metal)
• Performance monitoring with automated alerts
• Log management with rotation and cleanup
• Security hardening with Fail2Ban and headers
• Backup automation with retention policies
• Health checks and self-healing capabilities

🌍 Multi-OS Support

OS	Version	Status
Ubuntu	24.04 LTS	✅ Fully Tested
Ubuntu	22.04 LTS	✅ Supported
Debian	12+	✅ Supported
CentOS	8+	🔄 In Progress
Rocky Linux	8+	🔄 In Progress

📚 Documentation

• Production Deployment Guide
• SSL/Let's Encrypt Setup
• Troubleshooting Guide
• Contributing Guidelines

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guidelines for details.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Test your changes with the Docker environment
4. Submit a pull request

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• WordPress - The amazing CMS
• WP-CLI - WordPress command-line tool
• Ansible - Automation platform
• Community contributors and testers

📞 Support

• 📧 Issues: GitHub Issues
• 📖 Documentation: Wiki
• 💬 Discussions: GitHub Discussions

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⭐ If this project helps you, please give it a star! ⭐

👨‍💻 Author

Sebastian Palencsár

• Copyright (c) 2025 Sebastian Palencsár
• GitHub: @spalencsar