Where in Ansible are variables with the highest priority defined?

In Ansible, variables with the highest priority are determined in the following places (from lower to higher priority):

• Variables defined in inventory files
• Variables defined in group_vars
• Variables defined in host_vars
• Variables passed via the command line using the -e (extra vars) parameter

The variables passed through -e (extra vars) at playbook run have the highest priority. They override any other variables defined in playbooks, roles, or inventory.

Example of running with a high-priority variable:

ansible-playbook site.yml -e "variable_name=value"