The Spotter Crew Release: Meet Scav

Have you ever wondered how Steampunk Spotter, the Ansible Playbook Platform, actually works? How is playbook scanning executed, how are automated codes achieved, and how is the right check enforced, all in line with your company standards?

Well, it’s not just powerful technology. Behind this powerful automation machine there is a whole crew of specialized characters, each tasked with solving specific challenges in your Ansible workflow.

From code scanning and validation to rewriting and dependency control, the Spotter Crew works behind the scenes to keep your Ansible content up-to-date and reliable.

Today we are introducing the first crew member to step into the spotlight: Scav—the Chief Scanning Officer.

Meet Scav: The eyes and legs behind Spotter’s flawless scans

When it comes to keeping your Ansible playbooks secure and error-free, no one does it better than Scav. His full name is Scavenger, but everyone calls him Scav because, well, he’s really fast. With his steampunk spider legs that never stop moving, he scuttles through your playbooks faster than most tools can even wake up. The nickname stuck the moment someone saw him crawl upside down across a CI pipeline like it was nothing.

He’s the sharpest pair of eyes in the Spotter Crew. His job? He dives deep into your Ansible playbooks and uncovers every error, warning and potential vulnerability and returns with a full scan result information that highlights anything that might break or slow down your automation.

Scav’s motto: Miss nothing. Catch everything.

Scav lives in a world of playbooks and precision. With his multi-lens scanning goggles, he doesn’t just look, he dives deep. One minute he’s checking a fresh update in your Git repo, the next he’s digging through an old playbook to find a tiny bug that could cause big problems.

“Miss nothing. Catch everything,” is his mantra. Whether it’s a small misconfiguration or a serious security vulnerability, Scav makes sure the system runs securely, smoothly, and error-free.

Scav’s superpower: In-depth playbook scanning

At the heart of Scav’s mission is Spotter’s playbook scanning. It’s like having an elite auditor go through your automation setup line-by-line, faster, more accurate, and always up to date.

With his multi-lens goggles, he switches between different scanning modes depending on which scan profile you choose. Each lens gives him a unique perspective—one lens focuses on everyday checks, another on detailed checks, and one is dedicated solely to security.

This is how Scav tailors his scans:

🟢 Default profile – For everyday tuning Scav checks for best practices, deprecated modules, missing FQCNs, version mismatches, and other common issues. This is his go-to lens for keeping code efficient and tidy.

🔵 Full profile – For in-depth inspections This lens goes deeper. In addition to the standard setting, it includes advanced checks—perfect for preparing for Ansible upgrades or audits.

🔴 Security profile – For maximum protection When security is a top priority, Scav activates this lens to focus solely on detecting vulnerabilities and ensuring safe execution.

And since every scan is different, Scav allows you to customize the display level. Need to zoom in on high-priority errors? Scav sets his lens to “error-focused” mode and displays only the most urgent findings. Want the entire image? Switch to the “comprehensive” view and you will see the full spectrum with all errors, warnings, and hints.

With Spotter, you’re not locked into a specific way of working — Scav adapts to your needs and helps you stay compliant, secure, and ahead of potential problems.

What Scav helps you achieve

The Spotter scanning feature, executed by Scav helps you to:

• Catch hard-to-spot misconfigurations early

• Align playbooks with best practices and security standards

• Safely prepare for Ansible upgrades

• Maintain compliance without manual work

Collaboration with the Crew

Scav’s precise scans form the basis for Spotter’s flawless performance. Scav may work in silence, but his scans echo throughout the Spotter system. He not only does his job but also enables everyone else to do theirs better and faster.

Meet some of the colleagues he works closely with:

Reeva, The Rewrite Genius

When broken or outdated code shows up in a scan, Reeva welds her way in. She is the master of automatic playbook rewrites. Reeva slices though the chaos of playbooks, knits broken logic back together, rewrites code to the latest standards. When the crew needs perfection, they turn to her.

Chuck, The Check Manager

Chuck helps Scav decide which checks to use before every scan. He chucks the checks with an axe like a pro and decides which checks will be enforced and which skipped. Though a bit rough around the edges, Chuck is fiercely reliable and always keeps the system in check.

McChain, Supply Chain Manager

Before Scav applies his scanning wisdom, McChain works behind the scenes to make sure all dependencies are in place. From roles to collections, he makes sure the right components are in place before the scan begins.

Together they form a seamless pipeline: Scan, Rewrite, Fix, Validate, and Improve. Each crew member plays a key role, but it’s Scav’s relentless scanning that keeps the process in motion.

As the Spotter Crew masters the challenges of Ansible automation, one thing is certain: Scav will always be there, scanning the depths and making sure that nothing, absolutely nothing, is missed.