[docs] split collections into user and dev guide sections (#62363)

* split collections into user and dev guide sections

* sentence case
pull/62627/head
Sandra McCann 5 years ago committed by Alicia Cozine
parent 6d35f9026f
commit 7badeb6df0

@ -1,21 +1,14 @@
:orphan:
.. _collections:
.. _developing_collections:
***********
Collections
***********
**********************
Developing collections
**********************
Collections are a distribution format for Ansible content. They can be used to
package and distribute playbooks, roles, modules, and plugins.
Collections are a distribution format for Ansible content. You can use collections to package and distribute playbooks, roles, modules, and plugins.
You can publish and use collections through `Ansible Galaxy <https://galaxy.ansible.com>`_.
.. important::
This feature is available in Ansible 2.8 as a *Technology Preview* and therefore is not fully supported. It should only be used for testing and should not be deployed in a production environment.
Future Galaxy or Ansible releases may introduce breaking changes.
.. contents::
:local:
:depth: 2
@ -182,10 +175,6 @@ To create a collection:
A user can then install your collection on their systems.
.. note::
Any references to ``ansible-galaxy`` below will be of a 'working version' that is in development for the 2.9
release. As such, the command and this documentation section is subject to frequent changes.
Currently the ``ansible-galaxy collection`` command implements the following sub commands:
* ``init``: Create a basic collection skeleton based on the default template included with Ansible or your own template.
@ -319,219 +308,15 @@ You can experiment with migrating existing modules into a collection using the `
See the `content_collector README <https://github.com/ansible/content_collector>`_ for full details and usage guidelines.
Installing collections
======================
You can use the ``ansible-galaxy collection install`` command to install a collection on your system. You must specify an installation location using the ``-p`` option.
To install a collection hosted in Galaxy:
.. code-block:: bash
ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection -p /collections
You can also directly use the tarball from your build:
.. code-block:: bash
ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace-my_collection-1.0.0.tar.gz -p ./collections
.. note::
The install command automatically appends the path ``ansible_collections`` to the one specified with the ``-p`` option unless the
parent directory is already in a folder called ``ansible_collections``.
You should use one of the values configured in :ref:`COLLECTIONS_PATHS` for your path. This is also where Ansible itself will expect to find collections when attempting to use them.
You can also keep a collection adjacent to the current playbook, under a ``collections/ansible_collections/`` directory structure.
::
play.yml
├── collections/
│ └── ansible_collections/
│ └── my_namespace/
│ └── my_collection/<collection structure lives here>
Installing an older version of a collection
-------------------------------------------
By default ``ansible-galaxy`` installs the latest collection that is available but you can add a version range
identifier to install a specific version.
To install the 1.0.0 version of the collection:
.. code-block:: bash
ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection:1.0.0
To install the 1.0.0-beta.1 version of the collection:
.. code-block:: bash
ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection:==1.0.0-beta.1
To install the collections that are greater than or equal to 1.0.0 or less than 2.0.0:
.. code-block:: bash
ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection:>=1.0.0,<2.0.0
You can specify multiple range identifiers which are split by ``,``. You can use the following range identifiers:
* ``*``: Any version, this is the default used when no range specified is set.
* ``!=``: Version is not equal to the one specified.
* ``==``: Version must be the one specified.
* ``>=``: Version is greater than or equal to the one specified.
* ``>``: Version is greater than the one specified.
* ``<=``: Version is less than or equal to the one specified.
* ``<``: Version is less than the one specified.
.. note::
The ``ansible-galaxy`` command ignores any pre-release versions unless the ``==`` range identifier is used to
explicitly set to that pre-release version.
.. _collection_requirements_file:
Install multiple collections with a requirements file
-----------------------------------------------------
You can also setup a ``requirements.yml`` file to install multiple collections in one command. This file is a YAML file in the format:
.. code-block:: yaml+jinja
---
collections:
# With just the collection name
- my_namespace.my_collection
# With the collection name, version, and source options
- name: my_namespace.my_other_collection
version: 'version range identifiers (default: ``*``)'
source: 'The Galaxy URL to pull the collection from (default: ``--api-server`` from cmdline)'
The ``version`` key can take in the same range identifier format documented above.
Roles can also be specified and placed under the ``roles`` key. The values follow the same format as a requirements
file used in older Ansible releases.
.. note::
While both roles and collections can be specified in one requirements file, they need to be installed separately.
The ``ansible-galaxy role install -r requirements.yml`` will only install roles and
``ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml -p ./`` will only install collections.
.. _galaxy_server_config:
Galaxy server configuration list
--------------------------------
By default running ``ansible-galaxy`` will use the :ref:`galaxy_server` config value or the ``--server`` command line
argument when it performs an action against a Galaxy server. The ``ansible-galaxy collection install`` supports
installing collections from multiple servers as defined in the :ref:`ansible_configuration_settings_locations` file
using the :ref:`galaxy_server_list` configuration option. To define multiple Galaxy servers you have to create the
following entries like so:
.. code-block:: ini
[galaxy]
server_list = my_org_hub, release_galaxy, test_galaxy
[galaxy_server.my_org_hub]
url=https://automation.my_org/
username=my_user
password=my_pass
[galaxy_server.release_galaxy]
url=https://galaxy.ansible.com/
token=my_token
[galaxy_server.test_galaxy]
url=https://galaxy-dev.ansible.com/
token=my_token
.. note::
You can use the ``--server`` command line argument to select an explicit Galaxy server in the ``server_list`` and
the value of this arg should match the name of the server. If the value of ``--server`` is not a pre-defined server
in ``ansible.cfg`` then the value specified will be the URL used to access that server and all pre-defined servers
are ignored. Also the ``--api-key`` argument is not applied to any of the pre-defined servers, it is only applied
if no server list is defined or a URL was specified by ``--server``.
The :ref:`galaxy_server_list` option is a list of server identifiers in a prioritized order. When searching for a
collection, the install process will search in that order, e.g. ``my_org_hub`` first, then ``release_galaxy``, and
finally ``test_galaxy`` until the collection is found. The actual Galaxy instance is then defined under the section
``[galaxy_server.{{ id }}]`` where ``{{ id }}`` is the server identifier defined in the list. This section can then
define the following keys:
* ``url``: The URL of the galaxy instance to connect to, this is required.
* ``token``: A token key to use for authentication against the Galaxy instance, this is mutually exclusive with ``username``
* ``username``: The username to use for basic authentication against the Galaxy instance, this is mutually exclusive with ``token``
* ``password``: The password to use for basic authentication
As well as being defined in the ``ansible.cfg`` file, these server options can be defined as an environment variable.
The environment variable is in the form ``ANSIBLE_GALAXY_SERVER_{{ id }}_{{ key }}`` where ``{{ id }}`` is the upper
case form of the server identifier and ``{{ key }}`` is the key to define. For example I can define ``token`` for
``release_galaxy`` by setting ``ANSIBLE_GALAXY_SERVER_RELEASE_GALAXY_TOKEN=secret_token``.
For operations where only one Galaxy server is used, i.e. ``publish``, ``info``, ``login`` then the first entry in the
``server_list`` is used unless an explicit server was passed in as a command line argument.
.. note::
Once a collection is found, any of its requirements are only searched within the same Galaxy instance as the parent
collection. The install process will not search for a collection requirement in a different Galaxy instance.
.. _using_collections:
Using collections
=================
Once installed, you can reference a collection content by its FQCN:
.. code-block:: yaml
- hosts: all
tasks:
- my_namespace.my_collection.mymodule:
option1: value
This works for roles or any type of plugin distributed within the collection:
.. code-block:: yaml
- hosts: all
tasks:
- import_role:
name: my_namespace.my_collection.role1
- my_namespace.mycollection.mymodule:
option1: value
- debug:
msg: '{{ lookup("my_namespace.my_collection.lookup1", 'param1')| my_namespace.my_collection.filter1 }}'
To avoid a lot of typing, you can use the ``collections`` keyword added in Ansible 2.8:
.. code-block:: yaml
- hosts: all
collections:
- my_namespace.my_collection
tasks:
- import_role:
name: role1
- mymodule:
option1: value
- debug:
msg: '{{ lookup("my_namespace.my_collection.lookup1", 'param1')| my_namespace.my_collection.filter1 }}'
This keyword creates a 'search path' for non namespaced plugin references. It does not import roles or anything else.
Notice that you still need the FQCN for non-action or module plugins.
.. seealso::
:ref:`collections`
Learn how to install and use collections.
:ref:`collections_galaxy_meta`
Understand the collections metadata structure.
:ref:`developing_modules_general`
Learn about how to write Ansible modules
`Mailing List <https://groups.google.com/group/ansible-devel>`_
The development mailing list
`irc.freenode.net <http://irc.freenode.net>`_
#ansible IRC chat channel

@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ Find the task that best describes what you want to do:
* I want to :ref:`add a custom plugin or module locally <developing_locally>`.
* I want to figure out if :ref:`developing a module is the right approach <module_dev_should_you>` for my use case.
* I want to :ref:`develop a collection <developing_collections>`.
* I've read the info above, and I'm sure I want to develop a module:
@ -81,6 +82,6 @@ If you prefer to read the entire guide, here's a list of the pages in order.
developing_api
developing_rebasing
developing_module_utilities
collections_tech_preview
developing_collections
collections_galaxy_meta
overview_architecture

@ -0,0 +1,240 @@
.. _collections:
*****************
Using collections
*****************
Collections are a distribution format for Ansible content that can include playbooks, roles, modules, and plugins.
You can install and use collections through `Ansible Galaxy <https://galaxy.ansible.com>`_.
.. contents::
:local:
:depth: 2
Installing collections
======================
You can use the ``ansible-galaxy collection install`` command to install a collection on your system. You must specify an installation location using the ``-p`` option.
To install a collection hosted in Galaxy:
.. code-block:: bash
ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection -p /collections
You can also directly use the tarball from your build:
.. code-block:: bash
ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace-my_collection-1.0.0.tar.gz -p ./collections
.. note::
The install command automatically appends the path ``ansible_collections`` to the one specified with the ``-p`` option unless the
parent directory is already in a folder called ``ansible_collections``.
You should use one of the values configured in :ref:`COLLECTIONS_PATHS` for your path. This is also where Ansible itself will expect to find collections when attempting to use them.
You can also keep a collection adjacent to the current playbook, under a ``collections/ansible_collections/`` directory structure.
::
play.yml
├── collections/
│ └── ansible_collections/
│ └── my_namespace/
│ └── my_collection/<collection structure lives here>
Installing an older version of a collection
-------------------------------------------
By default ``ansible-galaxy`` installs the latest collection that is available but you can add a version range
identifier to install a specific version.
To install the 1.0.0 version of the collection:
.. code-block:: bash
ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection:1.0.0
To install the 1.0.0-beta.1 version of the collection:
.. code-block:: bash
ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection:==1.0.0-beta.1
To install the collections that are greater than or equal to 1.0.0 or less than 2.0.0:
.. code-block:: bash
ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection:>=1.0.0,<2.0.0
You can specify multiple range identifiers which are split by ``,``. You can use the following range identifiers:
* ``*``: Any version, this is the default used when no range specified is set.
* ``!=``: Version is not equal to the one specified.
* ``==``: Version must be the one specified.
* ``>=``: Version is greater than or equal to the one specified.
* ``>``: Version is greater than the one specified.
* ``<=``: Version is less than or equal to the one specified.
* ``<``: Version is less than the one specified.
.. note::
The ``ansible-galaxy`` command ignores any pre-release versions unless the ``==`` range identifier is used to
explicitly set to that pre-release version.
.. _collection_requirements_file:
Install multiple collections with a requirements file
-----------------------------------------------------
You can also setup a ``requirements.yml`` file to install multiple collections in one command. This file is a YAML file in the format:
.. code-block:: yaml+jinja
---
collections:
# With just the collection name
- my_namespace.my_collection
# With the collection name, version, and source options
- name: my_namespace.my_other_collection
version: 'version range identifiers (default: ``*``)'
source: 'The Galaxy URL to pull the collection from (default: ``--api-server`` from cmdline)'
The ``version`` key can take in the same range identifier format documented above.
Roles can also be specified and placed under the ``roles`` key. The values follow the same format as a requirements
file used in older Ansible releases.
.. note::
While both roles and collections can be specified in one requirements file, they need to be installed separately.
The ``ansible-galaxy role install -r requirements.yml`` will only install roles and
``ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml -p ./`` will only install collections.
.. _galaxy_server_config:
Galaxy server configuration list
--------------------------------
By default running ``ansible-galaxy`` will use the :ref:`galaxy_server` config value or the ``--server`` command line
argument when it performs an action against a Galaxy server. The ``ansible-galaxy collection install`` supports
installing collections from multiple servers as defined in the :ref:`ansible_configuration_settings_locations` file
using the :ref:`galaxy_server_list` configuration option. To define multiple Galaxy servers you have to create the
following entries like so:
.. code-block:: ini
[galaxy]
server_list = my_org_hub, release_galaxy, test_galaxy
[galaxy_server.my_org_hub]
url=https://automation.my_org/
username=my_user
password=my_pass
[galaxy_server.release_galaxy]
url=https://galaxy.ansible.com/
token=my_token
[galaxy_server.test_galaxy]
url=https://galaxy-dev.ansible.com/
token=my_token
.. note::
You can use the ``--server`` command line argument to select an explicit Galaxy server in the ``server_list`` and
the value of this arg should match the name of the server. If the value of ``--server`` is not a pre-defined server
in ``ansible.cfg`` then the value specified will be the URL used to access that server and all pre-defined servers
are ignored. Also the ``--api-key`` argument is not applied to any of the pre-defined servers, it is only applied
if no server list is defined or a URL was specified by ``--server``.
The :ref:`galaxy_server_list` option is a list of server identifiers in a prioritized order. When searching for a
collection, the install process will search in that order, e.g. ``my_org_hub`` first, then ``release_galaxy``, and
finally ``test_galaxy`` until the collection is found. The actual Galaxy instance is then defined under the section
``[galaxy_server.{{ id }}]`` where ``{{ id }}`` is the server identifier defined in the list. This section can then
define the following keys:
* ``url``: The URL of the galaxy instance to connect to, this is required.
* ``token``: A token key to use for authentication against the Galaxy instance, this is mutually exclusive with ``username``
* ``username``: The username to use for basic authentication against the Galaxy instance, this is mutually exclusive with ``token``
* ``password``: The password to use for basic authentication
As well as being defined in the ``ansible.cfg`` file, these server options can be defined as an environment variable.
The environment variable is in the form ``ANSIBLE_GALAXY_SERVER_{{ id }}_{{ key }}`` where ``{{ id }}`` is the upper
case form of the server identifier and ``{{ key }}`` is the key to define. For example I can define ``token`` for
``release_galaxy`` by setting ``ANSIBLE_GALAXY_SERVER_RELEASE_GALAXY_TOKEN=secret_token``.
For operations where only one Galaxy server is used, i.e. ``publish``, ``info``, ``login`` then the first entry in the
``server_list`` is used unless an explicit server was passed in as a command line argument.
.. note::
Once a collection is found, any of its requirements are only searched within the same Galaxy instance as the parent
collection. The install process will not search for a collection requirement in a different Galaxy instance.
.. _using_collections:
Using collections in a Playbook
===============================
Once installed, you can reference a collection content by its fully qualified collection name (FQCN):
.. code-block:: yaml
- hosts: all
tasks:
- my_namespace.my_collection.mymodule:
option1: value
This works for roles or any type of plugin distributed within the collection:
.. code-block:: yaml
- hosts: all
tasks:
- import_role:
name: my_namespace.my_collection.role1
- my_namespace.mycollection.mymodule:
option1: value
- debug:
msg: '{{ lookup("my_namespace.my_collection.lookup1", 'param1')| my_namespace.my_collection.filter1 }}'
To avoid a lot of typing, you can use the ``collections`` keyword added in Ansible 2.8:
.. code-block:: yaml
- hosts: all
collections:
- my_namespace.my_collection
tasks:
- import_role:
name: role1
- mymodule:
option1: value
- debug:
msg: '{{ lookup("my_namespace.my_collection.lookup1", 'param1')| my_namespace.my_collection.filter1 }}'
This keyword creates a 'search path' for non namespaced plugin references. It does not import roles or anything else.
Notice that you still need the FQCN for non-action or module plugins.
.. seealso::
:ref:`developing_collections`
Develop or modify a collection.
:ref:`collections_galaxy_meta`
Understand the collections metadata structure.
`Mailing List <https://groups.google.com/group/ansible-devel>`_
The development mailing list
`irc.freenode.net <http://irc.freenode.net>`_
#ansible IRC chat channel

@ -23,6 +23,4 @@ This guide covers how to work with Ansible, including using the command line, wo
../plugins/plugins
intro_bsd
windows
collections_using

@ -1,13 +1,9 @@
.. _collections_galaxy_meta:
************************************
Collection Galaxy Metadata Structure
Collection Galaxy metadata structure
************************************
.. important::
This feature is available in Ansible 2.8 as a *Technology Preview* and therefore is not fully supported. It should only be used for testing and should not be deployed in a production environment.
Future Galaxy or Ansible releases may introduce breaking changes.
A key component of an Ansible collection is the ``galaxy.yml`` file placed in the root directory of a collection. This
file contains the metadata of the collection that is used to generate a collection artifact.
@ -78,3 +74,16 @@ Examples
- demo
- collection
repository: "https://www.github.com/my_org/my_collection"
.. seealso::
:ref:`developing_collections`
Develop or modify a collection.
:ref:`developing_modules_general`
Learn about how to write Ansible modules
:ref:`collections`
Learn how to install and use collections.
`Mailing List <https://groups.google.com/group/ansible-devel>`_
The development mailing list
`irc.freenode.net <http://irc.freenode.net>`_
#ansible IRC chat channel

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