ansible updating a YAML file using set_fact/update_fact - ansible

Question

My ansible project consists of 6 roles (app, db, init, ror, tick, web). Each role represents the installation of one component of the system. Each device keeps track of which roles have been installed using the file "/etc/ansible/ansible-install-state.yml". It's initial contents are:
# ansible-install-state.yml
#
#
# This file is maintained by Ansible
# Please leave it alone, or accept the consequences!
#
roles:
app:
installed: false
db:
installed: false
init:
installed: false
ror:
installed: false
tick:
installed: false
web:
installed: false
At the completion of the 'init' role, I want to process the file to update the installed state to 'true'. I do that with the following call. (For testing, I'm also setting 'ror: true' and adding a new role 'new: unknown'
- name: System Init | Process ansible_install_state
ansible.builtin.include_tasks: process_ansible_install_state.yml
with_items:
- role: { key: init, value: true }
- role: { key: ror, value: true }
- role: { key: new, value: unknown}
Updating existing roles went fairly smoothly, but adding a new role did not. I finally got it to work by first adding the role itself, essentially 'new: {}', then modifying it again to add the 'installed: unknown' part. Although this does work, I can't help but believe there's a better way - a way to do it all at once. Following is the process_enable_install_state.yml file.
---
# process_ansible_install_state.yml
#
#------------------------- Process Ansible Install State File
#
- name: display variable
debug:
var: item
# See https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32994002/is-there-a-yaml-editing-module-for-ansible
- name: Ansible Install State | Read ansible-install-state.yml
ansible.builtin.slurp:
path: "/etc/ansible/ansible-install-state.yml"
register: install_state
- name: Ansible Install State | Decode and save yaml as fact
ansible.builtin.set_fact:
my_roles: "{{ install_state['content'] | b64decode | from_yaml }}"
register: its_a_fact
- name: Ansible Install State | Save the new ROLE block
block:
- name: Ansible Install State | Save the new role
ansible.utils.update_fact:
updates:
- path: my_roles.roles.{{ item.role.key }}
value: {}
register: updated
# Update_fact does not update 'in place', so we need to save it as a fact
- name: Ansible Install State | Update the saved 'fact'
ansible.builtin.set_fact:
my_roles: "{{ updated.my_roles}}"
when: my_roles.roles[item.role.key] is undefined
- name: debug
debug:
var: updated
- name: Ansible Install State | Update the role's installed state
ansible.utils.update_fact:
updates:
- path: my_roles.roles.{{ item.role.key }}.installed
value: "{{item.role.value}}"
register: updated
- name: debug
debug:
var: updated
# Update_fact does not update 'in place', so we need to save it as a fact
- name: Ansible Install State | Save modified as 'fact'
ansible.builtin.set_fact:
my_roles: "{{ updated.my_roles}}"
- name: Ansible Install State | Write Yaml File
ansible.builtin.copy:
content: '{{ my_roles | to_nice_yaml }}'
dest: "/etc/ansible/ansible-install-state.yml"
- name: Ansible Install State | Insert Header Comments
ansible.builtin.blockinfile:
path: "/etc/ansible/ansible-install-state.yml"
insertbefore: BOF
marker: "#{mark}"
marker_begin: "-------------------------------------------"
marker_end: "-------------------------------------------"
block: |
# ansible-install-state.yml
#
#
# This file is maintained by Ansible
# Please leave it alone, or accept the consequences!
#
#
This successfully produced...
# ansible-install-state.yml
#
#
# This file is maintained by Ansible
# Please leave it alone, or accept the consequences!
#
#
#-------------------------------------------
roles:
app:
installed: false
db:
installed: false
init:
installed: true
new:
installed: unknown
ror:
installed: true
tick:
installed: false
web:
installed: false
deploy#rpi-tick2:/etc/ansible $