diff --git a/MANIFEST.in b/MANIFEST.in
index 21a64691f52..4d75cf2480e 100644
--- a/MANIFEST.in
+++ b/MANIFEST.in
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ include licenses/*.txt
 include requirements.txt
 recursive-include docs *
 recursive-include hacking/build_library *.py
-recursive-include packaging *.py
+recursive-include packaging *.py *.j2
 recursive-include test/integration *
 recursive-include test/sanity *.in *.json *.py *.txt
 recursive-include test/support *.py *.ps1 *.psm1 *.cs *.md
diff --git a/packaging/pep517_backend/_backend.py b/packaging/pep517_backend/_backend.py
index cb7e365aa7a..5086645d242 100644
--- a/packaging/pep517_backend/_backend.py
+++ b/packaging/pep517_backend/_backend.py
@@ -77,8 +77,7 @@ def _generate_rst_in_templates() -> t.Iterable[Path]:
     """Create ``*.1.rst.in`` files out of CLI Python modules."""
     generate_man_cmd = (
         sys.executable,
-        'hacking/build-ansible.py',
-        'generate-man',
+        Path(__file__).parent / '_generate_man.py',
         '--output-dir=docs/man/man1/',
         '--output-format=man',
         *Path('lib/ansible/cli/').glob('*.py'),
@@ -162,7 +161,7 @@ def get_requires_for_build_sdist(
 
     manpage_build_deps = [
         'docutils',  # provides `rst2man`
-        'jinja2',  # used in `hacking/build-ansible.py generate-man`
+        'jinja2',  # used to generate man pages
         'pyyaml',  # needed for importing in-tree `ansible-core` from `lib/`
     ] if build_manpages_requested else []
 
diff --git a/packaging/pep517_backend/_generate_man.py b/packaging/pep517_backend/_generate_man.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c4cccdde258
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packaging/pep517_backend/_generate_man.py
@@ -0,0 +1,310 @@
+# coding: utf-8
+# Copyright: (c) 2019, Ansible Project
+# GNU General Public License v3.0+ (see COPYING or https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.txt)
+"""Generate cli documentation from cli docstrings."""
+
+# Make coding more python3-ish
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function)
+__metaclass__ = type
+
+
+import argparse
+import os.path
+import pathlib
+import sys
+
+from jinja2 import Environment, FileSystemLoader
+
+
+DEFAULT_TEMPLATE_FILE = pathlib.Path(__file__).parent / '_templates/man.j2'
+
+
+# from https://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0257/
+def trim_docstring(docstring):
+    if not docstring:
+        return ''
+    # Convert tabs to spaces (following the normal Python rules)
+    # and split into a list of lines:
+    lines = docstring.expandtabs().splitlines()
+    # Determine minimum indentation (first line doesn't count):
+    indent = sys.maxsize
+    for line in lines[1:]:
+        stripped = line.lstrip()
+        if stripped:
+            indent = min(indent, len(line) - len(stripped))
+    # Remove indentation (first line is special):
+    trimmed = [lines[0].strip()]
+    if indent < sys.maxsize:
+        for line in lines[1:]:
+            trimmed.append(line[indent:].rstrip())
+    # Strip off trailing and leading blank lines:
+    while trimmed and not trimmed[-1]:
+        trimmed.pop()
+    while trimmed and not trimmed[0]:
+        trimmed.pop(0)
+    # Return a single string:
+    return '\n'.join(trimmed)
+
+
+def get_options(optlist):
+    ''' get actual options '''
+
+    opts = []
+    for opt in optlist:
+        res = {
+            'desc': opt.help,
+            'options': opt.option_strings
+        }
+        if isinstance(opt, argparse._StoreAction):
+            res['arg'] = opt.dest.upper()
+        elif not res['options']:
+            continue
+        opts.append(res)
+
+    return opts
+
+
+def dedupe_groups(parser):
+    action_groups = []
+    for action_group in parser._action_groups:
+        found = False
+        for a in action_groups:
+            if a._actions == action_group._actions:
+                found = True
+                break
+        if not found:
+            action_groups.append(action_group)
+    return action_groups
+
+
+def get_option_groups(option_parser):
+    groups = []
+    for action_group in dedupe_groups(option_parser)[1:]:
+        group_info = {}
+        group_info['desc'] = action_group.description
+        group_info['options'] = action_group._actions
+        group_info['group_obj'] = action_group
+        groups.append(group_info)
+    return groups
+
+
+def opt_doc_list(parser):
+    ''' iterate over options lists '''
+
+    results = []
+    for option_group in dedupe_groups(parser)[1:]:
+        results.extend(get_options(option_group._actions))
+
+    results.extend(get_options(parser._actions))
+
+    return results
+
+
+# def opts_docs(cli, name):
+def opts_docs(cli_class_name, cli_module_name):
+    ''' generate doc structure from options '''
+
+    cli_name = 'ansible-%s' % cli_module_name
+    if cli_module_name == 'adhoc':
+        cli_name = 'ansible'
+
+    # WIth no action/subcommand
+    # shared opts set
+    # instantiate each cli and ask its options
+    cli_klass = getattr(__import__("ansible.cli.%s" % cli_module_name,
+                                   fromlist=[cli_class_name]), cli_class_name)
+    cli = cli_klass([cli_name])
+
+    # parse the common options
+    try:
+        cli.init_parser()
+    except Exception:
+        pass
+
+    # base/common cli info
+    cli_options = opt_doc_list(cli.parser)
+    docs = {
+        'cli': cli_module_name,
+        'cli_name': cli_name,
+        'usage': cli.parser.format_usage(),
+        'short_desc': cli.parser.description,
+        'long_desc': trim_docstring(cli.__doc__),
+        'actions': {},
+        'content_depth': 2,
+        'options': cli_options,
+        'arguments': getattr(cli, 'ARGUMENTS', None),
+    }
+    option_info = {'option_names': [],
+                   'options': cli_options,
+                   'groups': []}
+
+    groups_info = get_option_groups(cli.parser)
+    shared_opt_names = []
+    for opt in cli_options:
+        shared_opt_names.extend(opt.get('options', []))
+
+    option_info['option_names'] = shared_opt_names
+
+    option_info['groups'].extend(groups_info)
+
+    docs.update(option_info)
+
+    # now for each action/subcommand
+    # force populate parser with per action options
+
+    def get_actions(parser, docs):
+        # use class attrs not the attrs on a instance (not that it matters here...)
+        try:
+            subparser = parser._subparsers._group_actions[0].choices
+        except AttributeError:
+            subparser = {}
+
+        depth = 0
+
+        for action, parser in subparser.items():
+            action_info = {'option_names': [],
+                           'options': [],
+                           'actions': {}}
+            # docs['actions'][action] = {}
+            # docs['actions'][action]['name'] = action
+            action_info['name'] = action
+            action_info['desc'] = trim_docstring(getattr(cli, 'execute_%s' % action).__doc__)
+
+            # docs['actions'][action]['desc'] = getattr(cli, 'execute_%s' % action).__doc__.strip()
+            action_doc_list = opt_doc_list(parser)
+
+            uncommon_options = []
+            for action_doc in action_doc_list:
+                # uncommon_options = []
+
+                option_aliases = action_doc.get('options', [])
+                for option_alias in option_aliases:
+
+                    if option_alias in shared_opt_names:
+                        continue
+
+                    # TODO: use set
+                    if option_alias not in action_info['option_names']:
+                        action_info['option_names'].append(option_alias)
+
+                    if action_doc in action_info['options']:
+                        continue
+
+                    uncommon_options.append(action_doc)
+
+                action_info['options'] = uncommon_options
+
+            depth = 1 + get_actions(parser, action_info)
+
+            docs['actions'][action] = action_info
+
+        return depth
+
+    action_depth = get_actions(cli.parser, docs)
+    docs['content_depth'] = action_depth + 1
+
+    return docs
+
+
+class GenerateMan:
+    name = 'generate-man'
+
+    @classmethod
+    def init_parser(cls, parser: argparse.ArgumentParser):
+        parser.add_argument("-t", "--template-file", action="store", dest="template_file",
+                            default=DEFAULT_TEMPLATE_FILE, help="path to jinja2 template")
+        parser.add_argument("-o", "--output-dir", action="store", dest="output_dir",
+                            default='/tmp/', help="Output directory for rst files")
+        parser.add_argument("-f", "--output-format", action="store", dest="output_format",
+                            default='man',
+                            help="Output format for docs (the default 'man' or 'rst')")
+        parser.add_argument('cli_modules', help='CLI module name(s)', metavar='MODULE_NAME', nargs='*')
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def main(args):
+        template_file = args.template_file
+        template_path = os.path.expanduser(template_file)
+        template_dir = os.path.abspath(os.path.dirname(template_path))
+        template_basename = os.path.basename(template_file)
+
+        output_dir = os.path.abspath(args.output_dir)
+        output_format = args.output_format
+
+        cli_modules = args.cli_modules
+
+        # various cli parsing things checks sys.argv if the 'args' that are passed in are []
+        # so just remove any args so the cli modules dont try to parse them resulting in warnings
+        sys.argv = [sys.argv[0]]
+
+        allvars = {}
+        output = {}
+        cli_list = []
+        cli_bin_name_list = []
+
+        # for binary in os.listdir('../../lib/ansible/cli'):
+        for cli_module_name in cli_modules:
+            binary = os.path.basename(os.path.expanduser(cli_module_name))
+
+            if not binary.endswith('.py'):
+                continue
+            elif binary == '__init__.py':
+                continue
+
+            cli_name = os.path.splitext(binary)[0]
+
+            if cli_name == 'adhoc':
+                cli_class_name = 'AdHocCLI'
+                # myclass = 'AdHocCLI'
+                output[cli_name] = 'ansible.1.rst.in'
+                cli_bin_name = 'ansible'
+            else:
+                # myclass = "%sCLI" % libname.capitalize()
+                cli_class_name = "%sCLI" % cli_name.capitalize()
+                output[cli_name] = 'ansible-%s.1.rst.in' % cli_name
+                cli_bin_name = 'ansible-%s' % cli_name
+
+            # FIXME:
+            allvars[cli_name] = opts_docs(cli_class_name, cli_name)
+            cli_bin_name_list.append(cli_bin_name)
+
+        cli_list = allvars.keys()
+
+        doc_name_formats = {'man': '%s.1.rst.in',
+                            'rst': '%s.rst'}
+
+        for cli_name in cli_list:
+
+            # template it!
+            env = Environment(loader=FileSystemLoader(template_dir))
+            template = env.get_template(template_basename)
+
+            # add rest to vars
+            tvars = allvars[cli_name]
+            tvars['cli_bin_name_list'] = cli_bin_name_list
+            tvars['cli'] = cli_name
+            if '-i' in tvars['option_names']:
+                tvars['inventory'] = True
+                print('uses inventory')
+            if '-M' in tvars['option_names']:
+                tvars['library'] = True
+                print('uses library')
+
+            manpage = template.render(tvars)
+            filename = os.path.join(output_dir, doc_name_formats[output_format] % tvars['cli_name'])
+            pathlib.Path(filename).write_text(manpage)
+
+
+def main() -> None:
+    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description=__doc__)
+
+    GenerateMan.init_parser(parser)
+
+    args = parser.parse_args()
+
+    sys.path.insert(0, str(pathlib.Path(__file__).parent.parent.parent / 'lib'))
+
+    GenerateMan.main(args)
+
+
+if __name__ == '__main__':
+    main()
diff --git a/packaging/pep517_backend/_templates/man.j2 b/packaging/pep517_backend/_templates/man.j2
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..9a8cb1d7931
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packaging/pep517_backend/_templates/man.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+{{ cli_name }}
+{{ '=' * ( cli_name|length|int ) }}
+
+{{ '-' * ( short_desc|default('')|string|length|int ) }}
+{{short_desc|default('')}}
+{{ '-' * ( short_desc|default('')|string|length|int ) }}
+
+:Version:        Ansible %VERSION%
+:Manual section: 1
+:Manual group:   System administration commands
+
+
+
+SYNOPSIS
+--------
+{{ usage|replace('%prog', cli_name) }}
+
+
+DESCRIPTION
+-----------
+{{ long_desc|default('', True)|wordwrap }}
+
+{% if options %}
+COMMON OPTIONS
+--------------
+{% for option in options|sort(attribute='options') %}
+{% for switch in option['options'] %}**{{switch}}**{% if option['arg'] %} '{{option['arg']}}'{% endif %}{% if not loop.last %}, {% endif %}{% endfor %}
+
+  {{ option['desc'] }}
+{% endfor %}
+{% endif %}
+
+{% if arguments %}
+ARGUMENTS
+---------
+
+{% for arg in arguments %}
+{{ arg }}
+
+{{ (arguments[arg]|default(' '))|wordwrap }}
+
+{% endfor %}
+{% endif %}
+
+{% if actions %}
+ACTIONS
+-------
+{% for action in actions %}
+**{{ action }}**
+  {{ (actions[action]['desc']|default(' ')) |replace('\n', ' ')}}
+
+{% if actions[action]['options'] %}
+{% for option in actions[action]['options']|sort(attribute='options') %}
+{% for switch in option['options'] if switch in actions[action]['option_names'] %}  **{{switch}}**{% if option['arg'] %} '{{option['arg']}}'{% endif %}{% if not loop.last %}, {% endif %}{% endfor %}
+
+        {{ (option['desc']) }}
+{% endfor %}
+{% endif %}
+{% endfor %}
+{% endif %}
+
+
+{% if inventory %}
+INVENTORY
+---------
+
+Ansible stores the hosts it can potentially operate on in an inventory.
+This can be an YAML file, ini-like file, a script, directory, list, etc.
+For additional options, see the documentation on https://docs.ansible.com/.
+
+{% endif %}
+ENVIRONMENT
+-----------
+
+The following environment variables may be specified.
+
+{% if inventory %}
+ANSIBLE_INVENTORY  -- Override the default ansible inventory sources
+
+{% endif %}
+{% if library %}
+ANSIBLE_LIBRARY -- Override the default ansible module library path
+
+{% endif %}
+ANSIBLE_CONFIG -- Specify override location for the ansible config file
+
+Many more are available for most options in ansible.cfg
+
+For a full list check https://docs.ansible.com/. or use the `ansible-config` command.
+
+FILES
+-----
+
+{% if inventory %}
+/etc/ansible/hosts -- Default inventory file
+
+{% endif %}
+/etc/ansible/ansible.cfg -- Config file, used if present
+
+~/.ansible.cfg -- User config file, overrides the default config if present
+
+./ansible.cfg -- Local config file (in current working directory) assumed to be 'project specific' and overrides the rest if present.
+
+As mentioned above, the ANSIBLE_CONFIG environment variable will override all others.
+
+AUTHOR
+------
+
+Ansible was originally written by Michael DeHaan.
+
+
+COPYRIGHT
+---------
+
+Copyright © 2018 Red Hat, Inc | Ansible.
+Ansible is released under the terms of the GPLv3 license.
+
+
+SEE ALSO
+--------
+
+{% for other in cli_bin_name_list|sort %}{% if other != cli_name %}**{{ other }}** (1){% if not loop.last %}, {% endif %}{% endif %}{% endfor %}
+
+Extensive documentation is available in the documentation site:
+<https://docs.ansible.com>.
+IRC and mailing list info can be found in file CONTRIBUTING.md,
+available in: <https://github.com/ansible/ansible>