Below is a “cheat-sheet” style upgrade to the playbook you already have.  
It is organized by *pain points* I see teams hit once they move past the first 5–10 devices.  
Everything is copy-paste ready (CLI one-liners, tiny Python/Go helpers, Ansible snippets).  
If you only have 15 min right now, jump to the “Tonight” section at the end.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
1. YAML → Jinja2 → Device in <10 s
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Problem: you still open an editor to change a variable file.  
Fix: keep YAML inside Git and treat it as the *single source of truth*.

A. Git-based variable loader (avoids “where did I save that file?”)
```bash
# vars live in ./inventory/host_vars/$hostname.yml
git ls-files -z '*.yml' | xargs -0 yamllint   # fast lint
```
B. One-shot render + diff
```bash
#!/usr/bin/env bash
host=$1
jinja2 templates/ios_base.j2 \
       inventory/host_vars/${host}.yml \
       --format yaml \
       -o /tmp/${host}.cfg
colordiff -u <(ssh $host show run) /tmp/${host}.cfg | less -R
```
C. Atomic push with Ansible “deploy_if_changed”
```yaml
- name: Deploy only if rendered differs
  ios_config:
    src: "/tmp/{{ inventory_hostname }}.cfg"
  vars:
    ansible_check_mode: false
  when: >
    lookup('pipe', 'diff -q /tmp/{{ inventory_hostname }}.cfg
                     <(ssh {{ inventory_hostname }} show run)')
    is not search('identical')
```
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
2. Multi-vendor, one variable set
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Trick: store *capability* flags instead of vendor syntax.

vars/host_vars/leaf01.yml
```yaml
interfaces:
  - name: Ethernet1/1
    port_type: access
    vlan: 200
    poe: true
    mtu: 9214
```

templates/shared/interface_capabilities.j2
```jinja2
{# Works on IOS-XE, Junos, EOS #}
{% set vendor = hostvars[inventory_hostname].vendor %}
{% for i in interfaces %}
interface {{ i.name | re_replace('^Eth','') if vendor=='arista' else
             i.name | re_replace('^Eth','ge-') if vendor=='juniper' else
             i.name }}
{% if i.port_type == 'access' %}
 switchport mode access
 switchport access vlan {{ i.vlan }}
{% endif %}
{% if i.poe and (vendor == 'cisco' or vendor == 'arista') %}
 power inline never
{% endif %}
 mtu {{ i.mtu }}
!
{% endfor %}
```

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
3. NetBox as a live inventory
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Inventory plugin (ships with Ansible ≥2.10) in `ansible.cfg`:
```
[inventory]
enable_plugins = netbox.netbox.nb_inventory
```
Group by site + role:
```yaml
# group_vars/netbox_site_edge.yml
ntp_servers: ["10.0.0.10", "10.0.0.11"]
```
Now zero extra YAML for new sites.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
4. Rego in CI to block bad configs
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
`.gitlab-ci.yml` (runs in <5 s):
```yaml
validate:
  image: openpolicyagent/opa:0.59
  script:
    - opa test policies/
    - >
      find . -name "*.cfg" -print0 |
      xargs -0 -I{} opa eval --fail-defined --format pretty
      --data policies/network.rego --input {} "data.network.deny[_]"
```

Example policy (`policies/network.rego`):
```rego
package network
deny[msg] {
  input.kind == "interface"
  input.mtu > 9216
  msg := sprintf("MTU %d too high on %s", [input.mtu, input.name])
}
```

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
5. Secrets without Ansible Vault pain
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Use `sops` + age (age is easier than GPG).

```bash
# encrypt vars/secrets.yml
sops --age $(cat ~/.age/key.txt | grep public | cut -d' ' -f4) \
     --encrypt vars/secrets.yml > vars/secrets.enc.yml
```
Ansible automatically decrypts when `ansible_sops_enabled=true`.

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
6. Tonight → Next week → Go Pro (15 min each)
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Tonight (literally 15 min):
```bash
pipx install jinja2-cli yq
git init network-auto && cd network-auto
mkdir templates vars
cat > vars/lab.yml <<EOF
vlans:
  - id: 100
    name: STAFF
EOF
cat > templates/ios_vlan.j2 <<'EOF'
{% for v in vlans %}
vlan {{ v.id }}
 name {{ v.name }}
{% endfor %}
EOF
jinja2 templates/ios_vlan.j2 vars/lab.yml
```
You now have version-controlled VLANs.

Next week:
- Replace static `vars/lab.yml` with NetBox inventory plugin.  
- Add a single playbook that runs against “site:lab” and pushes the VLANs.

Go Pro:
- Add Rego policy to reject VLAN 1 or duplicate names.  
- GitLab CI job auto-pushes when MR merges (use Ansible’s `ios_config` with `backup: yes` so you can rollback).

────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Quick reference card
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Render:   jinja2 tpl.j2 vars.yml --format yaml  
Lint:     yamllint vars/  
Test:     opa test policies/  
Encrypt:  sops -e vars/secrets.yml  
Diff:     colordiff -u live.cfg new.cfg  

Copy the snippets above into your repo and you’re already ahead of most teams.

---

This is **exactly** the kind of tactical, network-focused Jinja2 guide I wish I had when I started automating configs. Let’s sharpen it further with battle-tested patterns and CLI-ready examples. Here’s your playbook:

---

### **1. Immediate Wins: Stop Hand-Editing Configs**
#### **A. Interface Templating (Multi-Vendor)**
**Problem:** Vendor-specific syntax for the same logical interface.  
**Solution:** One YAML → Cisco/Juniper/Arista templates.

**`vars/interface.yml`**
```yaml
interfaces:
  - name: Eth1/1
    description: "Server Farm Uplink"
    mode: trunk
    vlans: [100, 200]
    mtu: 9214
```

**`templates/cisco_interface.j2`**
```jinja
interface {{ interface.name }}
 description {{ interface.description }}
 {% if interface.mode == 'trunk' %}
 switchport mode trunk
 switchport trunk allowed vlan {{ interface.vlans | join(',') }}
 {% endif %}
 mtu {{ interface.mtu }}
```

**`templates/juniper_interface.j2`**
```jinja
interfaces {
    {{ interface.name | replace('Eth','ge-') }} {
        description "{{ interface.description }}";
        {% if interface.mode == 'trunk' %}
        unit 0 {
            family ethernet-switching {
                vlan members [ {{ interface.vlans | join(' ') }} ];
            }
        }
        {% endif %}
        mtu {{ interface.mtu }};
    }
}
```

**Render Both:**
```bash
# Cisco
jinja2 templates/cisco_interface.j2 vars/interface.yml
# Juniper
jinja2 templates/juniper_interface.j2 vars/interface.yml
```

---

#### **B. BGP Config Generation (With Error-Prone Logic)**
**Problem:** Complex BGP configs with neighbor policies.  
**Solution:** Template + YAML with validation.

**`vars/bgp.yml`**
```yaml
bgp:
  asn: 65001
  neighbors:
    - ip: 10.0.0.2
      remote_as: 65002
      policies: [ "PREVENT_LEAK" ]
    - ip: 192.168.1.1
      remote_as: 65123
      policies: [ "CUSTOMER_ROUTES" ]
```

**`templates/bgp.j2`**
```jinja
router bgp {{ bgp.asn }}
  {% for neighbor in bgp.neighbors %}
  neighbor {{ neighbor.ip }} remote-as {{ neighbor.remote_as }}
  {% if "PREVENT_LEAK" in neighbor.policies %}
  neighbor {{ neighbor.ip }} route-map BLOCK_DEFAULT in
  {% endif %}
  {% endfor %}
```

**Key Trick:** Use `| selectattr` to filter neighbors:
```jinja
{% for neighbor in bgp.neighbors | selectattr("policies", "contains", "CUSTOMER_ROUTES") %}
...customer-specific config...
{% endfor %}
```

---

### **2. Advanced: Network-as-Code Patterns**
#### **A. Generate Device-Specific Configs from NetBox API**
**Problem:** NetBox has device data, but CLI configs are manual.  
**Solution:** Fetch NetBox data → Jinja2.

**`fetch_netbox_data.py`**
```python
import requests
import json

devices = requests.get("https://netbox/api/dcim/devices/").json()
with open('vars/netbox_devices.yml', 'w') as f:
    json.dump(devices, f)
```

**`templates/netbox_cisco.j2`**
```jinja
hostname {{ device.name }}
{% for iface in device.interfaces %}
interface {{ iface.name }}
 description {{ iface.description }}
{% endfor %}
```

**Render All Devices:**
```bash
python fetch_netbox_data.py
jinja2 templates/netbox_cisco.j2 vars/netbox_devices.yml
```

---

#### **B. Auto-Generate Port-Channel Configs (LACP)**
**Problem:** Port-channel members change frequently.  
**Solution:** Dynamic YAML + template.

**`vars/portchannel.yml`**
```yaml
portchannel:
  id: 10
  members: [ "Eth1/1", "Eth1/2" ]
  mode: "active"
  vlan: 100
```

**`templates/portchannel.j2`**
```jinja
interface Port-channel{{ portchannel.id }}
  channel-group {{ portchannel.id }} mode {{ portchannel.mode }}
  switchport access vlan {{ portchannel.vlan }}

{% for member in portchannel.members %}
interface {{ member }}
  channel-group {{ portchannel.id }} mode {{ portchannel.mode }}
{% endfor %}
```

---

### **3. Pro Tooling: Network-Specific Tricks**
#### **A. Ansible + Jinja2 for Zero-Touch Deployment**
**`ansible_playbook.yml`**
```yaml
- name: Push Interface Configs
  hosts: switches
  tasks:
    - name: Generate Config
      template:
        src: templates/cisco_interface.j2
        dest: /tmp/{{ inventory_hostname }}.cfg
    - name: Deploy Config
      cisco.ios.ios_config:
        src: /tmp/{{ inventory_hostname }}.cfg
```

#### **B. Validate Configs Before Deployment**
```bash
# Check for missing variables
jinja2 --format vars:yaml templates/interface.j2 vars/device.yml

# Dry-run with Ansible
ansible-playbook playbook.yml --check
```

#### **C. Secret Management (Ansible Vault)**
```yaml
# Encrypted vars.yml
ansible-vault encrypt vars/secrets.yml
```

**Template:**
```jinja
username {{ vaulted_username }}
password {{ vaulted_password }}
```

---

### **4. Your Battle Plan**
1. **Start Tonight:**  
   - Pick 1 repetitive config (VLANs/ACLs) → template it.  
   - Render with `jinja2-cli` locally.

2. **Next Week:**  
   - Integrate with NetBox/Python to auto-generate configs.  
   - Use Ansible to push to devices.

3. **Go Pro:**  
   - Build a GitLab pipeline that auto-generates configs on NetBox changes.  

**Example Repo Structure:**
```
network-automation/
├── templates/       # .j2 files
├── vars/            # .yml device vars
├── scripts/         # Python/Ansible helpers
└── outputs/         # Rendered configs
```

**Key Takeaway:** Jinja2 turns network configs from **manual CLI work** into **version-controlled code**. The more you template now, the more time you save later.

---

Great pivot! **Rego** (Open Policy Agent’s policy language) and **Jinja2** serve different but complementary roles in infrastructure automation. Let’s break down how they compare, overlap, and where you’d use each—with gritty examples tailored to infrastructure/security use cases.

---

### **1. Quick Comparison: Jinja2 vs. Rego**
| Feature | Jinja2 | Rego |
|---------|--------|------|
| **Primary Use** | Templating (generate configs/docs) | Policy enforcement (validate inputs) |
| **Input** | YAML/JSON/CSV | JSON/YAML (often from APIs) |
| **Output** | Rendered text (configs, CLI commands) | Policy decisions (allow/deny + detailed reasons) |
| **Context** | "Generate this network config" | "Is this network config compliant?" |
| **Key Strength** | Flexibility in text generation | Logic-based evaluation with auditing |

---

### **2. Where Jinja2 and Rego Overlap**
Both operate on structured data (YAML/JSON), but solve different problems in the pipeline:

#### **Example Workflow: Network Change Automation**
1. **Jinja2**: Generates a candidate BGP config from YAML variables.
   ```jinja
   router bgp {{ bgp.asn }}
     neighbor {{ neighbor.ip }} remote-as {{ neighbor.asn }}
   ```
2. **Rego**: Validates the generated config *before* deployment.
   ```rego
   # Prevent BGP peers in untrusted ASNs
   deny[msg] {
     input.kind == "bgp_config"
     not input.neighbor.asn in trusted_asns
     msg := sprintf("BGP peer ASN %v is not trusted", [input.neighbor.asn])
   }
   ```

---

### **3. Rego Use Cases (Where It Shines Over Jinja2)**
#### **A. Pre-Deployment Validation**
**Problem**: Ensure Jinja2-generated configs meet security/compliance rules.  
**Rego Policy** (`policies/networking.rego`):
```rego
package networking

# Deny firewall rules that allow SSH from the internet
deny[msg] {
    input.kind == "firewall_rule"
    input.action == "allow"
    input.port == 22
    input.source == "0.0.0.0/0"
    msg := "SSH must not be open to the internet!"
}

# Require VLAN descriptions for auditability
deny[msg] {
    input.kind == "vlan_config"
    not input.description
    msg := "VLANs must have a description"
}
```

**How to Use**:
```bash
# Validate a Jinja2-rendered config against Rego
opa eval --data policies/networking.rego --input rendered_config.json "data.networking.deny"
```

---

#### **B. Multi-Cloud Policy Enforcement**
**Problem**: Enforce tagging standards across AWS/Azure/GCP.  
**Rego Policy** (`policies/cloud.rego`):
```rego
package cloud

# Require 'CostCenter' tag on all resources
deny[msg] {
    input.resource.tags["CostCenter"] == ""
    msg := "All resources must have a CostCenter tag"
}

# Block public S3 buckets
deny[msg] {
    input.kind == "aws_s3_bucket"
    input.acl == "public-read"
    msg := "Public S3 buckets are prohibited"
}
```

**Input (JSON from Terraform/Cloud API)**:
```json
{
  "kind": "aws_s3_bucket",
  "acl": "public-read",
  "tags": { "CostCenter": "" }
}
```

**Output**:
```json
{
  "deny": [
    "All resources must have a CostCenter tag",
    "Public S3 buckets are prohibited"
  ]
}
```

---

#### **C. Network Topology Auditing**
**Problem**: Validate that Jinja2-generated network designs follow best practices.  
**Rego Policy** (`policies/topology.rego`):
```rego
package topology

# Core switches must have redundant links
deny[msg] {
    input.device.role == "core"
    count(input.device.links) < 2
    msg := "Core devices must have redundant links"
}

# VLAN 1 should not be used (security best practice)
deny[msg] {
    input.vlan.id == 1
    msg := "VLAN 1 is prohibited for security reasons"
}
```

---

### **4. When to Use Jinja2 vs. Rego**
| Scenario | Tool | Why |
|----------|------|-----|
| Generating Cisco/Juniper configs | Jinja2 | Best at text templating. |
| Validating configs pre-deploy | Rego | Logic-based policy checks. |
| Creating API payloads | Jinja2 | Structure dynamic JSON/YAML. |
| Auditing existing infra | Rego | Query live state for violations. |
| Documenting network designs | Jinja2 | Render Markdown/HTML. |
| Enforcing security rules | Rego | Evaluate against compliance rules. |

---

### **5. Pro Tips for Rego in Infrastructure**
1. **Test Policies Early**: Use `opa test` to unit test your Rego rules.
   ```bash
   opa test policies/ -v
   ```
2. **Integrate with CI/CD**:
   ```yaml
   # GitLab CI example
   validate_policy:
     image: openpolicyagent/opa
     script:
       - opa eval --data policies/ --input $CHANGES "data.deny"
   ```
3. **Debug with `trace`**:
   ```rego
   # Add to your policy to see evaluation steps
   trace(sprintf("Input: %v", [input]))
   ```

---

### **6. Example End-to-End Flow**
1. **Jinja2 Generates Config**:
   ```bash
   jinja2 bgp_template.j2 vars.yml > bgp_config.json
   ```
2. **Rego Validates It**:
   ```bash
   opa eval --data policies/ --input bgp_config.json "data.networking.deny"
   ```
3. **Only deploy if Rego returns no denials**.

---

### **7. Key Takeaway**
- **Jinja2**: Your "build" tool (creates configs/scripts/docs).  
- **Rego**: Your "guardrail" tool (ensures compliance/safety).  

Together, they form a **powerful pipeline**:  
`Jinja2 (generate) → Rego (validate) → Ansible/Terraform (deploy)`

Want a deep dive on a specific Rego use case (e.g., network security policies or cloud governance)? I can break it down with real code.