reduce backup downtime: restart before rsync transfer

roles/app/README.md

@@ -6,6 +6,11 @@ A flexible Ansible role for deploying and managing Docker Compose applications w
 
 This role provides a standardized way to deploy containerized applications using Docker Compose. It handles directory creation, template rendering, and container lifecycle management.
 
+## Requirements
+
+- Collections: `community.docker` (>=1.10.0) and `ansible.posix` (>=1.4.0). Both are declared as collection dependencies and installed automatically with the collection.
+- The backup workflow copies archives to the controller with `ansible.posix.synchronize`, so **`rsync` must be installed on both the controller and the managed host**.
+
 ## Features
 
 - **Template-based deployment** with Jinja2 templating
@@ -120,6 +125,8 @@ dependencies:
       app_backup_stop_services: true            # Stop containers during backup
 ```
 
+When `app_backup_stop_services` is enabled the containers are stopped only while the tarball is created on the managed host, then restarted immediately — the transfer of the archive back to the controller (via rsync) happens after the application is running again, so downtime is limited to the snapshot itself.
+
 #### Automated Backups
 
 For scheduled backups:

roles/app/meta/main.yml

@@ -7,3 +7,4 @@ galaxy_info:
 
 collections:
   - community.docker
+  - ansible.posix

roles/app/tasks/backup.yml

@@ -51,11 +51,17 @@
         mode: "{{ app_permission_mode | default('0644') }}"
       register: remote_backup
 
+    - name: Restart application after snapshot
+      community.docker.docker_compose_v2:
+        project_src: "{{ app_dir }}"
+        state: present
+      when: app_backup_stop_services | default(true)
+
     - name: Copy backup to controller
-      ansible.builtin.fetch:
+      ansible.posix.synchronize:
         src: "{{ remote_backup.dest }}"
         dest: "{{ app_backup_path }}/{{ app_name }}-{{ ansible_date_time.iso8601_basic_short }}.tar.gz"
-        flat: true
+        mode: pull
       when: remote_backup is succeeded
 
     - name: Clean old backups on controller
@@ -87,7 +93,7 @@
       loop: "{{ old_backups_remote.files | default([]) }}"
 
   always:
-    - name: Restart application after backup
+    - name: Ensure application is running (safety net)
       community.docker.docker_compose_v2:
         project_src: "{{ app_dir }}"
         state: present