diff --git a/roles/ensure-build-essential/tasks/main.yaml b/roles/ensure-build-essential/tasks/main.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3fbc05a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/roles/ensure-build-essential/tasks/main.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+- name: Ensure build-essential is installed
+  ansible.builtin.package:
+    name: build-essential
+    state: present