New release v2.18.10rc1 (#85922)

* Use shallow copy of os.environ to update PYTHONPATH value
  instead of using '|' operator

Fixes: #84954
(cherry picked from commit 82e4b46)

Signed-off-by: Abhijeet Kasurde <Akasurde@redhat.com>

.azure-pipelines/azure-pipelines.yml

@@ -54,12 +54,12 @@ stages:
           nameFormat: Python {0}
           testFormat: units/{0}
           targets:
+            - test: 3.8
             - test: 3.9
             - test: '3.10'
             - test: 3.11
             - test: 3.12
             - test: 3.13
-            - test: 3.14
   - stage: Windows
     dependsOn: []
     jobs:
@@ -78,40 +78,40 @@ stages:
               test: 2022/psrp/http
             - name: 2022 SSH Key
               test: 2022/ssh/key
-            - name: 2025 PSRP HTTP
-              test: 2025/psrp/http
-            - name: 2025 SSH Key
-              test: 2025/ssh/key
   - stage: Remote
     dependsOn: []
     jobs:
       - template: templates/matrix.yml  # context/target
         parameters:
           targets:
-            - name: macOS 15.3
+            - name: macOS 14.3
-              test: macos/15.3
+              test: macos/14.3
-            - name: RHEL 9.6 py39
+            - name: RHEL 9.4 py39
-              test: rhel/9.6@3.9
+              test: rhel/9.4@3.9
-            - name: RHEL 9.6 py312
+            - name: RHEL 9.4 py312
-              test: rhel/9.6@3.12
+              test: rhel/9.4@3.12
             - name: RHEL 10.0
               test: rhel/10.0
             - name: FreeBSD 13.5
               test: freebsd/13.5
-            - name: FreeBSD 14.3
+            - name: FreeBSD 14.1
-              test: freebsd/14.3
+              test: freebsd/14.1
           groups:
             - 1
             - 2
       - template: templates/matrix.yml  # context/controller
         parameters:
           targets:
-            - name: macOS 15.3
+            - name: macOS 14.3
-              test: macos/15.3
+              test: macos/14.3
-            - name: RHEL 9.6
+            - name: RHEL 9.4
-              test: rhel/9.6
+              test: rhel/9.4
             - name: RHEL 10.0
               test: rhel/10.0
+            - name: FreeBSD 13.5
+              test: freebsd/13.5
+            - name: FreeBSD 14.1
+              test: freebsd/14.1
           groups:
             - 3
             - 4
@@ -119,12 +119,12 @@ stages:
       - template: templates/matrix.yml  # context/controller (ansible-test container management)
         parameters:
           targets:
-            - name: Alpine 3.22
+            - name: Alpine 3.20
-              test: alpine/3.22
+              test: alpine/3.20
-            - name: Fedora 42
+            - name: Fedora 40
-              test: fedora/42
+              test: fedora/40
-            - name: RHEL 9.6
+            - name: RHEL 9.4
-              test: rhel/9.6
+              test: rhel/9.4
             - name: RHEL 10.0
               test: rhel/10.0
             - name: Ubuntu 24.04
@@ -138,10 +138,10 @@ stages:
         parameters:
           testFormat: linux/{0}
           targets:
-            - name: Alpine 3.22
+            - name: Alpine 3.20
-              test: alpine322
+              test: alpine320
-            - name: Fedora 42
+            - name: Fedora 40
-              test: fedora42
+              test: fedora40
             - name: Ubuntu 22.04
               test: ubuntu2204
             - name: Ubuntu 24.04
@@ -153,24 +153,16 @@ stages:
         parameters:
           testFormat: linux/{0}
           targets:
-            - name: Alpine 3.22
+            - name: Alpine 3.20
-              test: alpine322
+              test: alpine320
-            - name: Fedora 42
+            - name: Fedora 40
-              test: fedora42
+              test: fedora40
             - name: Ubuntu 24.04
               test: ubuntu2404
           groups:
             - 3
             - 4
             - 5
-      - template: templates/matrix.yml  # context/target (dnf-oldest, dnf-latest)
-        parameters:
-          testFormat: linux/{0}
-          targets:
-            - name: Fedora 42
-              test: fedora42
-          groups:
-            - 7
   - stage: Galaxy
     dependsOn: []
     jobs:
@@ -179,9 +171,9 @@ stages:
           nameFormat: Python {0}
           testFormat: galaxy/{0}/1
           targets:
+            - test: 3.11
             - test: 3.12
             - test: 3.13
-            - test: 3.14
   - stage: Generic
     dependsOn: []
     jobs:
@@ -190,9 +182,9 @@ stages:
           nameFormat: Python {0}
           testFormat: generic/{0}/1
           targets:
+            - test: 3.11
             - test: 3.12
             - test: 3.13
-            - test: 3.14
   - stage: Incidental_Windows
     displayName: Incidental Windows
     dependsOn: []
@@ -212,10 +204,6 @@ stages:
               test: 2022/psrp/http
             - name: 2022 SSH Key
               test: 2022/ssh/key
-            - name: 2025 PSRP HTTP
-              test: 2025/psrp/http
-            - name: 2025 SSH Key
-              test: 2025/ssh/key
   - stage: Summary
     condition: succeededOrFailed()
     dependsOn:

.azure-pipelines/commands/incidental/ios.sh

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+network.sh

.azure-pipelines/commands/incidental/network.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -o pipefail -eux
+
+declare -a args
+IFS='/:' read -ra args <<< "$1"
+
+platform="${args[0]}"
+version="${args[1]}"
+python_version="${args[2]}"
+
+target="shippable/${platform}/incidental/"
+
+stage="${S:-prod}"
+provider="${P:-default}"
+
+# python versions to test in order
+# all versions run full tests
+IFS=' ' read -r -a python_versions <<< \
+    "$(PYTHONPATH="${PWD}/test/lib" python -c 'from ansible_test._internal import constants; print(" ".join(constants.CONTROLLER_PYTHON_VERSIONS))')"
+
+if [ "${python_version}" ]; then
+    # limit tests to a single python version
+    python_versions=("${python_version}")
+fi
+
+for python_version in "${python_versions[@]}"; do
+    # terminate remote instances on the final python version tested
+    if [ "${python_version}" = "${python_versions[-1]}" ]; then
+        terminate="always"
+    else
+        terminate="never"
+    fi
+
+    # shellcheck disable=SC2086
+    ansible-test network-integration --color -v --retry-on-error "${target}" ${COVERAGE:+"$COVERAGE"} ${CHANGED:+"$CHANGED"} ${UNSTABLE:+"$UNSTABLE"} \
+        --platform "${platform}/${version}" \
+        --docker default --python "${python_version}" \
+        --remote-terminate "${terminate}" --remote-stage "${stage}" --remote-provider "${provider}"
+done

.azure-pipelines/scripts/publish-codecov.py

@@ -47,25 +47,13 @@ def parse_args() -> Args:
     return Args(**kwargs)
 
 
-def run(
+def run(*args: str | pathlib.Path) -> None:
-    *args: str | pathlib.Path,
-    dry_run: bool = False,
-) -> None:
-    """
-    Log and run given command.
-
-    The command is not actually executed if ``dry_run`` is truthy.
-    """
     cmd = [str(arg) for arg in args]
-
+    print(f'==> {shlex.join(cmd)}', flush=True)
-    dry_prefix = '[would run] ' if dry_run else ''
-    print(f'==> {dry_prefix}{shlex.join(cmd)}', flush=True)
-
-    if not dry_run:
     subprocess.run(cmd, check=True)
 
 
-def install_codecov(dest: pathlib.Path, dry_run: bool = False) -> pathlib.Path:
+def install_codecov(dest: pathlib.Path) -> pathlib.Path:
     """Populate a transitively pinned venv with ``codecov-cli``."""
     requirement_file = DEPS_DIR / 'codecov.in'
     constraint_file = requirement_file.with_suffix('.txt')
@@ -84,7 +72,6 @@ def install_codecov(dest: pathlib.Path, dry_run: bool = False) -> pathlib.Path:
         f'--constraint={constraint_file!s}',
         f'--requirement={requirement_file!s}',
         '--disable-pip-version-check',
-        dry_run=dry_run,
     )
 
     return codecov_bin
@@ -107,7 +94,7 @@ def process_files(directory: pathlib.Path) -> t.Tuple[CoverageFile, ...]:
 def upload_files(codecov_bin: pathlib.Path, config_file: pathlib.Path, files: t.Tuple[CoverageFile, ...], dry_run: bool = False) -> None:
     for file in files:
         cmd = [
-            codecov_bin,
+            str(codecov_bin),
             '--disable-telem',
             '--codecov-yml-path',
             config_file,
@@ -121,7 +108,6 @@ def upload_files(codecov_bin: pathlib.Path, config_file: pathlib.Path, files: t.
             '--file',
             file.path,
         ]
-
         for flag in file.flags:
             cmd.extend(['--flag', flag])
 
@@ -131,40 +117,16 @@ def upload_files(codecov_bin: pathlib.Path, config_file: pathlib.Path, files: t.
         run(*cmd)
 
 
-def report_upload_completion(
-    codecov_bin: pathlib.Path,
-    config_file: pathlib.Path,
-    dry_run: bool = False,
-) -> None:
-    """Notify Codecov backend that all reports we wanted are in."""
-    cmd = [
-        codecov_bin,
-        '--disable-telem',
-        f'--codecov-yml-path={config_file}',
-        'send-notifications',
-    ]
-
-    run(*cmd, dry_run=dry_run)
-
-
 def main() -> None:
     args = parse_args()
 
     with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(prefix='codecov-') as tmpdir:
         config_file = pathlib.Path(tmpdir) / 'config.yml'
-        # Refs:
+        config_file.write_text('')
-        # * https://docs.codecov.com/docs/codecovyml-reference#codecovnotifymanual_trigger
+
-        # * https://docs.codecov.com/docs/notifications#preventing-notifications-until-youre-ready-to-send-notifications
+        codecov_bin = install_codecov(pathlib.Path(tmpdir))
-        config_file.write_text('codecov:\n  notify:\n    manual_trigger: true')
-
-        codecov_bin = install_codecov(
-            pathlib.Path(tmpdir),
-            dry_run=args.dry_run,
-        )
         files = process_files(args.path)
         upload_files(codecov_bin, config_file, files, args.dry_run)
-        # Ref: https://docs.codecov.com/docs/cli-options#send-notifications
-        report_upload_completion(codecov_bin, config_file, args.dry_run)
 
 
 if __name__ == '__main__':

.azure-pipelines/scripts/report-coverage.sh

@@ -12,6 +12,6 @@ if ! ansible-test --help >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     pip install https://github.com/ansible/ansible/archive/devel.tar.gz --disable-pip-version-check
 fi
 
-# Generate stubs using docker.
+# Generate stubs using docker (if supported) otherwise fall back to using a virtual environment instead.
-# The use of docker is mandatory when Powershell code is present.
+# The use of docker is required when Powershell code is present, but Ansible 2.12 was the first version to support --docker with coverage.
-ansible-test coverage xml --group-by command --stub --docker --color -v
+ansible-test coverage xml --group-by command --stub --docker --color -v || ansible-test coverage xml --group-by command --stub --venv --color -v

.azure-pipelines/templates/coverage.yml

@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ jobs:
   - job: Coverage
     displayName: Code Coverage
     container: $[ variables.defaultContainer ]
-    timeoutInMinutes: 10
     workspace:
       clean: all
     steps:

.azure-pipelines/templates/test.yml

@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@ jobs:
     - job: test_${{ replace(replace(replace(replace(job.test, '/', '_'), '.', '_'), '-', '_'), '@', '_') }}
       displayName: ${{ job.name }}
       container: $[ variables.defaultContainer ]
-      timeoutInMinutes: 65
       workspace:
         clean: all
       steps:

.claude/commands/review.md

@@ -1,55 +0,0 @@
----
-description: Review an Ansible PR following the project's standardized process from CLAUDE.md
-argument-hint: <pr_number>
-allowed-tools: [TodoWrite, Bash(gh pr view:*), Bash(gh pr diff:*), Bash(gh pr checkout:*), Bash(gh pr checks:*), Read, Grep, Glob, Search]
----
-
-PR Review Command
-=================
-
-Review an Ansible PR following the project's standardized process from `CLAUDE.md`.
-
-Usage
------
-
-```bash
-/review <pr_number>
-```
-
-Arguments
----------
-
-- `pr_number` (required): The GitHub PR number to review
-
-Implementation
---------------
-
-This command implements the PR Review Guidelines documented in the `PR Review Guidelines` section of CLAUDE.md.
-
-Review Process Steps
---------------------
-
-The command follows these numbered steps from CLAUDE.md:
-
-1. **Create TodoWrite list** for systematic review tracking
-2. **Get PR details**: `gh pr view <number>` to understand scope, motivation and the desired outcome
-3. **Get PR diff**: `gh pr diff <number>` to see all changes
-4. **Check required components FIRST**:
-   - Verify changelog fragment exists in `changelogs/fragments/`
-   - Verify changelog uses correct section (check `changelogs/config.yaml`)
-   - Verify tests exist and specifically cover the changed code paths
-   - Unit tests should be pytest style, and functional rather than tightly coupled to mocking
-   - Integration tests required for almost all plugin changes
-5. **Checkout PR branch**: `gh pr checkout <number>` to examine code holistically
-6. **Review existing feedback**: `gh pr view <number> --comments` for all comments and previous reviews
-7. **Verify all issues addressed**: Ensure bot failures, reviewer requests, and discussion points are resolved
-8. **Call out unresolved feedback**: Explicitly mention any discussions/requests that remain unaddressed
-
-Critical Review Elements
-------------------------
-
-- **Licensing**: Verify GPLv3/BSD-2-Clause compatibility for any new dependencies
-- **Test scope**: Tests must exercise actual changed code, not just add random coverage
-- **Changelog validation**: Fragment structure follows sections defined in `changelogs/config.yaml`
-
-Each step is tracked in TodoWrite for visibility and systematic completion. A review round should not exceed 20 feedback items.

.git-blame-ignore-revs

@@ -2,5 +2,3 @@
 # Bulk PowerShell sanity fixes
 6def4a3180fe03981ba64c6d8db28fed3bb39c0c
 716631189cb5a3f66b3add98f39e64e98bc17bf7
-# Bulk update of strings from triple single quotes to triple double quotes
-a0495fc31497798a7a833ba7406a9729e1528dd8

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/bug_report.yml

@@ -47,7 +47,23 @@ body:
 - type: dropdown
   attributes:
     label: Issue Type
-    description: This is a marker for our automatic bot. Do not change it.
+    description: >
+      Please select the single available option in the drop-down.
+
+      <details>
+        <summary>
+          <em>Why?</em>
+        </summary>
+
+        We would do it by ourselves but unfortunately, the current
+        edition of GitHub Issue Forms Alpha does not support this yet 🤷
+
+
+        _We will make it easier in the future, once GitHub
+        supports dropdown defaults. Promise!_
+
+      </details>
+    # FIXME: Once GitHub allows defining the default choice, update this
     options:
     - Bug Report
   validations:
@@ -105,8 +121,7 @@ body:
     label: Configuration
     description: >-
       Paste verbatim output from `ansible-config dump --only-changed -t all` below, under the prompt line.
-      Remember to redact secret values. You can easily filter Galaxy server secrets using grep,
+      (if using a version older than ansible-core 2.12 you should omit the '-t all')
-      for example `ansible-config dump --only-changed -t all | grep -Ev 'token|password|client_secret'`.
       Please don't wrap it with triple backticks — your
       whole input will be turned into a code snippet automatically.
     render: console
@@ -137,7 +152,7 @@ body:
   attributes:
     label: Steps to Reproduce
     description: |
-      Describe exactly how to reproduce the problem, using a minimal test-case. It would *really* help us understand your problem if you could also provide any playbooks, configs and commands you used.
+      Describe exactly how to reproduce the problem, using a minimal test-case. It would *really* help us understand your problem if you could also pased any playbooks, configs and commands you used.
 
       **HINT:** You can paste https://gist.github.com links for larger files.
     value: |

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml

@@ -16,10 +16,10 @@ contact_links:
   url: https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/devel/community/code_of_conduct.html?utm_medium=github&utm_source=issue_template_chooser
   about: ❤ Be nice to other members of the community. ☮ Behave.
 - name: 💬 Talk to the community
-  url: https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/devel/community/communication.html?utm_medium=github&utm_source=issue_template_chooser#forum
+  url: https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/devel/community/communication.html?utm_medium=github&utm_source=issue_template_chooser#mailing-list-information
   about: Please ask and answer usage questions here
 - name: ⚡ Working groups
-  url: https://forum.ansible.com/g?utm_medium=github&utm_source=issue_template_chooser
+  url: https://github.com/ansible/community/wiki
   about: Interested in improving a specific area? Become a part of a working group!
 - name: 💼 For Enterprise
   url: https://www.ansible.com/products/engine?utm_medium=github&utm_source=issue_template_chooser

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/documentation_report.yml

@@ -84,7 +84,20 @@ body:
 - type: dropdown
   attributes:
     label: Issue Type
-    description: This is a marker for our automatic bot. Do not change it.
+    description: >
+      Please select the single available option in the drop-down.
+
+      <details>
+        <summary>
+          <em>Why?</em>
+        </summary>
+
+
+        _We will make it easier in the future, once GitHub
+        supports dropdown defaults. Promise!_
+
+      </details>
+    # FIXME: Once GitHub allows defining the default choice, update this
     options:
     - Documentation Report
   validations:
@@ -130,8 +143,6 @@ body:
     label: Configuration
     description: >-
       Paste verbatim output from `ansible-config dump --only-changed -t all` below, under the prompt line.
-      Remember to redact secret values. You can easily filter Galaxy server secrets using grep,
-      for example `ansible-config dump --only-changed -t all | grep -Ev 'token|password|client_secret'`.
       (if using a version older than ansible-core 2.12 you should omit the '-t all')
       Please don't wrap it with triple backticks — your
       whole input will be turned into a code snippet automatically.

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/feature_request.yml

@@ -101,7 +101,23 @@ body:
 - type: dropdown
   attributes:
     label: Issue Type
-    description: This is a marker for our automatic bot. Do not change it.
+    description: >
+      Please select the single available option in the drop-down.
+
+      <details>
+        <summary>
+          <em>Why?</em>
+        </summary>
+
+        We would do it by ourselves but unfortunately, the current
+        edition of GitHub Issue Forms Alpha does not support this yet 🤷
+
+
+        _We will make it easier in the future, once GitHub
+        supports dropdown defaults. Promise!_
+
+      </details>
+    # FIXME: Once GitHub allows defining the default choice, update this
     options:
     - Feature Idea
   validations:

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/internal_issue.md

@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
----
-name: Internal Issue
-about: Free-form issue creation for core maintainer use only.
-title: ''
-labels: [core-internal]
-assignees: ''
----
-
-
-@ansibot bot_skip

.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/pre_release.yml

@@ -1,42 +0,0 @@
-name: Pre-Release Bug Report
-description: File a bug report against a pre-release version
-labels:
-  - bug
-  - pre_release
-assignees:
-  - nitzmahone
-  - mattclay
-body:
-  - type: markdown
-    attributes:
-      value: |
-        ## Bug Report
-  - type: textarea
-    attributes:
-      label: Ansible Version
-      description: Paste the full output from `ansible --version` below.
-      render: console
-      placeholder: $ ansible --version
-    validations:
-      required: true
-  - type: textarea
-    attributes:
-      label: Summary
-      description: Describe the issue with any relevant steps to reproduce.
-    validations:
-      required: true
-  - type: dropdown
-    attributes:
-      label: <!-- Bot instructions (ignore this) -->
-      options:
-        - |
-          <!--
-          ### Component Name
-          bin/ansible
-          ### Issue Type
-          Bug Report
-          ### Configuration
-          ### OS / Environment
-          -->
-    validations:
-      required: true

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/Bug fix.md

@@ -2,8 +2,19 @@
 
 <!--- Describe the change below, including rationale and design decisions -->
 
-<!--- Add "Fixes #1234" or steps to reproduce the problem if there is no corresponding issue -->
+<!--- HINT: Include "Fixes #nnn" if you are fixing an existing issue -->
 
 ##### ISSUE TYPE
 
 - Bugfix Pull Request
+
+##### ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
+
+<!--- Include additional information to help people understand the change here -->
+<!--- A step-by-step reproduction of the problem is helpful if there is no related issue -->
+
+<!--- Paste verbatim command output below, e.g. before and after your change -->
+
+```paste below
+
+```

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/Documentation change.md

@@ -2,8 +2,18 @@
 
 <!--- Describe the change below, including rationale -->
 
-<!--- Add "Fixes #1234" if there is a corresponding issue -->
+<!--- HINT: Include "Closes #nnn" if you are fixing an existing issue -->
 
 ##### ISSUE TYPE
 
 - Docs Pull Request
+
+##### ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
+
+<!--- Include additional information to help people understand the change here -->
+
+<!--- Paste verbatim command output below, e.g. before and after your change -->
+
+```paste below
+
+```

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/New feature.md

@@ -2,8 +2,18 @@
 
 <!--- Describe the change below, including rationale and design decisions -->
 
-<!--- Add "Fixes #1234" if there is a corresponding issue -->
+<!--- HINT: Include "Resolves #nnn" if you are fixing an existing issue -->
 
 ##### ISSUE TYPE
 
 - Feature Pull Request
+
+##### ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
+
+<!--- Include additional information to help people understand the change here -->
+
+<!--- Paste verbatim command output below, e.g. before and after your change -->
+
+```paste below
+
+```

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/Tests.md

@@ -2,8 +2,19 @@
 
 <!--- Describe the change below, including rationale and design decisions -->
 
-<!--- Add "Fixes #1234" if there is a corresponding issue -->
+<!--- HINT: Include "Closes #nnn" if you are fixing an existing issue -->
 
 ##### ISSUE TYPE
 
 - Test Pull Request
+
+##### ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
+
+<!--- Include additional information to help people understand the change here -->
+<!--- A step-by-step reproduction of the problem is helpful if there is no related issue -->
+
+<!--- Paste verbatim command output below, e.g. before and after your change -->
+
+```paste below
+
+```

.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/Unclear purpose or motivation.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 <!--- Describe the change below, including rationale and design decisions -->
 
-<!--- Add "Fixes #1234" or steps to reproduce the problem if there is no corresponding issue -->
+<!--- HINT: Include "Fixes #nnn" if you are fixing an existing issue -->
 
 ##### ISSUE TYPE
 
@@ -12,3 +12,14 @@
 - Docs Pull Request
 - Feature Pull Request
 - Test Pull Request
+
+##### ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
+
+<!--- Include additional information to help people understand the change here -->
+<!--- A step-by-step reproduction of the problem is helpful if there is no related issue -->
+
+<!--- Paste verbatim command output below, e.g. before and after your change -->
+
+```paste below
+
+```

.github/RELEASE_NAMES.txt

@@ -1,5 +1,3 @@
-2.20.0  Good Times Bad Times
-2.19.0  What Is and What Should Never Be
 2.18.0  Fool in the Rain
 2.17.0  Gallows Pole
 2.16.0  All My Love

.gitignore

@@ -97,9 +97,6 @@ Vagrantfile
 # vendored lib dir
 lib/ansible/_vendor/*
 !lib/ansible/_vendor/__init__.py
-# PowerShell signed hashlist
-lib/ansible/config/powershell_signatures.psd1
-*.authenticode
 # test stuff
 /test/integration/cloud-config-*.*
 !/test/integration/cloud-config-*.*.template
@@ -127,5 +124,3 @@ test/units/.coverage.*
 /SYMLINK_CACHE.json
 changelogs/.plugin-cache.yaml
 .ansible-test-timeout.json
-# Agents
-CLAUDE.local.md

AGENTS.md

@@ -1,321 +0,0 @@
-# AGENTS.md
-
-This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) and other compatible agentic tools when working with code in this repository.
-
-**Note:** This file is for AI assistant use only. For human developers, see the [Ansible Developer Guide](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/devel/dev_guide/index.html).
-
-## ⚠️ IMPORTANT: Always Start Here
-
-**BEFORE starting any PR review or development task:**
-
-1. **Read this file first** - Don't work from memory or assumptions
-2. **Use TodoWrite** to create a task list and track progress systematically
-3. **Follow the numbered steps** in the relevant process sections
-4. **Reference Quick Reference** for correct commands and patterns
-
-## ⚠️ CRITICAL: Licensing Requirements
-
-**NEVER suggest, recommend, or approve code that violates these requirements:**
-
-- **ansible-core**: All code must be **GPLv3 compatible**
-- **lib/ansible/module_utils/**: Defaults to **BSD-2-Clause** (more permissive)
-- **External dependencies**: Only recommend libraries compatible with these licenses
-- **PR reviews**: Always verify any new dependencies or suggested libraries are license-compatible
-- **When in doubt**: Ask about licensing compatibility rather than assuming
-
-**This is non-negotiable** - licensing violations can create serious legal issues for the project.
-
-## Quick Reference
-
-Most commonly used commands and patterns:
-
-```bash
-# Testing
-ansible-test sanity -v --docker default                   # Run all sanity tests
-ansible-test sanity -v --docker default --test <test>     # Run specific sanity test
-ansible-test units -v --docker default                    # Run unit tests
-ansible-test integration -v --docker ubuntu2404           # Run integration tests
-
-# PR Review and CI
-gh pr view <number>                                       # Get PR details
-gh pr view <number> --comments                            # Check for ansibot CI failures
-gh pr checks <number>                                     # Get Azure Pipelines URLs
-gh pr checkout <number>                                   # Switch to PR branch
-gh pr diff <number>                                       # See all changes
-```
-
-**Container Selection:**
-
-- Sanity/Unit tests: `--docker default`
-- Integration tests: `--docker ubuntu2204`, `--docker ubuntu2404`, etc. (NOT default/base)
-
-**Critical Reminders:**
-
-- **Licensing**: See [Licensing Requirements](#️-critical-licensing-requirements) - GPLv3/BSD-2-Clause only
-
-## Development Environment Setup
-
-Ansible development typically uses an editable install after forking and cloning:
-
-```bash
-# After forking and cloning the repository
-pip install -e .
-```
-
-**Note:** ansible-core and all CLIs (including ansible-test) require a POSIX OS. On Windows, use WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux).
-
-## Testing and CI
-
-### Basic Testing Commands
-
-```bash
-# Run sanity tests - these are linting/static analysis (pylint, mypy, pep8, etc.)
-ansible-test sanity -v --docker default
-
-# List available sanity tests
-ansible-test sanity --list-tests
-
-# Run specific sanity tests
-ansible-test sanity -v --docker default --test pep8 --test pylint
-
-# Run sanity on specific files (paths relative to repo root)
-ansible-test sanity -v --docker default lib/ansible/modules/command.py
-
-# Run unit tests (recommended with Docker)
-ansible-test units -v --docker default
-
-# Run specific unit test (paths relative to repo root, targets in test/units/)
-ansible-test units -v --docker default test/units/modules/test_command.py
-
-# Run integration tests (choose appropriate container - NOT base/default)
-ansible-test integration -v --docker ubuntu2404
-
-# Run specific integration target (directory name in test/integration/targets/)
-ansible-test integration -v --docker ubuntu2404 setup_remote_tmp_dir
-
-# Run with coverage
-ansible-test units -v --docker default --coverage
-
-# Alternative: use --venv if Docker/Podman unavailable (less reliable for units/integration)
-ansible-test sanity -v --venv
-```
-
-Available Docker containers for testing can be found in `./test/lib/ansible_test/_data/completion/docker.txt`.
-The `base` and `default` containers are for sanity/unit tests only. For integration tests, use distro-specific
-containers, depending on the modules being tested.
-
-**Test isolation options:**
-
-- `--docker` (supports Docker or Podman) - preferred for reliable, isolated testing
-- `--venv` - fallback when containers unavailable, but unit tests may be unreliable due to host environment differences
-
-### Helping Developers with CI Failures
-
-When developers submit PRs and encounter CI failures, use these approaches to help diagnose and resolve issues:
-
-**1. Check for ansibot comments:**
-
-```bash
-# Get all PR comments to find ansibot CI failure reports
-gh pr view <number> --comments
-```
-
-Look for comments from `ansibot` that contain:
-- Test failure details with specific error messages
-- File paths and line numbers for failures
-- Links to sanity test documentation (e.g., `[explain](https://docs.ansible.com/...`)
-
-**2. Get CI check status and URLs:**
-
-```bash
-# See all CI check results with Azure Pipelines URLs
-gh pr checks <number>
-```
-
-This shows:
-- Overall CI status (pass/fail) with timing
-- Direct links to Azure DevOps build results
-- Individual job results (Sanity Test 1/2, Docker tests, Units, etc.)
-
-**3. Common CI failure patterns:**
-
-- **Sanity failures**: Usually have specific fixes (trailing whitespace, import errors, etc.)
-- **Integration test failures**: May require platform-specific containers or test adjustments
-- **Unit test failures**: Often indicate actual code issues that need debugging
-
-**4. CI failure analysis workflow:**
-
-1. Check ansibot comments first for immediate error details
-2. Use `gh pr checks <number>` to get Azure Pipelines URLs for detailed logs
-3. Focus on failed jobs (marked as `fail`) and examine their specific error output
-4. For sanity test failures, the error messages usually indicate exactly what needs to be fixed
-5. For test failures, run the same tests locally using `ansible-test` to reproduce and debug
-
-## PR Review Guidelines
-
-### PR Review Checklist
-
-Use this checklist for EVERY PR review:
-
-```text
-□ Created TodoWrite list for review steps
-□ Step 1: Get PR details with gh pr view <number>
-□ Step 2: Get PR diff with gh pr diff <number>
-□ Step 3: Check required components (changelog, tests)
-□ Step 4: Checkout PR branch with gh pr checkout <number>
-□ Step 5: Review existing feedback with gh pr view <number> --comments
-□ Step 6: Verify all issues addressed
-□ Step 7: Call out any unresolved feedback
-□ Mark each TodoWrite item as completed when done
-```
-
-When assisting with PR reviews, verify:
-
-### Required Components
-
-- Changelog fragment exists in `changelogs/fragments/`
-- Appropriate tests are included and cover the changed code
-  - Unit tests should be pytest style, and functional rather than tightly coupled to mocking
-  - Integration tests required for almost all plugin changes (tests the public API)
-  - Tests should exercise the actual changed code, not just add random coverage
-
-### Review Process
-
-Follow these steps in order for thorough PR reviews:
-
-1. **Get PR details**: Use `gh pr view <number>` to understand the PR scope and description
-2. **Get PR diff**: Use `gh pr diff <number>` to see all changes
-3. **Check required components FIRST**:
-   - Verify changelog fragment exists and uses correct section (check `changelogs/config.yaml` for valid sections)
-   - Verify tests exist and specifically cover the changed code paths
-4. **Checkout PR branch**: Use `gh pr checkout <number>` to examine code holistically with changes applied
-5. **Review existing feedback**: Use `gh pr view <number> --comments` to see all comments and previous review feedback
-6. **Verify all issues addressed**: Ensure all bot failures, reviewer requests, and discussion points are resolved
-7. **Call out any unresolved review feedback**: Explicitly mention any discussions or requests that remain unaddressed
-
-### Common Review Issues to Check
-
-- **Changelog section errors**: Verify changelog uses valid section from `changelogs/config.yaml`. Fragment structure follows sections defined there.
-- **Test scope**: Ensure tests exercise the actual changed code, not just add random coverage.
-  Integration tests required for almost all plugin changes (tests the public API).
-  Tests should be functional rather than tightly coupled to mocking.
-
-### Review Task Management
-
-- Use TodoWrite tool to track review steps for complex PRs
-- Mark tasks as in_progress when actively working on them
-- Complete tasks immediately after finishing each step
-- This provides visibility to users about review progress
-
-### Review Tools
-
-- `gh pr view <number>` - Get PR details and description
-- `gh pr view <number> --comments` - See all comments and review feedback
-- `gh pr diff <number>` - Get complete diff of changes
-- `gh pr checkout <number>` - Switch to PR branch for holistic examination
-- `Read` tool - Examine specific changed files in detail
-- `Grep` tool - Search for related code patterns or test coverage (uses ripgrep/rg)
-
-## Development Guidelines
-
-### Code Style Notes
-
-- Line limit is 160 characters (not 80)
-- E402 (module level import not at top) is ignored
-- In `lib/ansible/modules/`, imports must come after DOCUMENTATION, EXAMPLES, and RETURN definitions
-- Don't add obvious comments about code
-- Use native type hints with `from __future__ import annotations` (converts to strings at runtime)
-- Don't document module parameters in docstrings - migrate to type hints instead
-- **No trailing whitespace**: Always clean up trailing spaces on lines, especially when editing existing files
-
-### Python Version Support
-
-- Controller code: support range defined in `pyproject.toml`
-- Modules/module_utils: minimum version in `lib/ansible/module_utils/basic.py` (`_PY_MIN`) up to max from `pyproject.toml`
-- Modules support a wider Python version range than controller code
-
-### Dependencies and Imports
-
-- Prefer Python stdlib over external dependencies
-- Use existing code from within the Ansible project
-- `lib/ansible/modules/` can only import from `lib/ansible/module_utils/` (modules are packaged for remote execution)
-- `lib/ansible/module_utils/` cannot import from outside itself
-
-## Documentation Standards
-
-### Module and Plugin Documentation
-
-- Modules and plugins require DOCUMENTATION, EXAMPLES, and RETURN blocks as static YAML string variables
-- These blocks cannot be dynamically generated - they are parsed via AST/token parsing
-- Alternative: "sidecar" documentation as `.yml` files with same stem name adjacent to plugin files
-- All modules should have a `main()` function and `if __name__ == '__main__':` block
-- Use `version_added` fields in documentation following existing version format patterns
-
-### Changelog Requirements
-
-- Changes require entries in `changelogs/fragments/` as YAML files
-- Create a new fragment file per PR (never reuse existing fragments to avoid merge conflicts)
-- Fragment structure follows sections defined in `changelogs/config.yaml` under the `sections` key
-- Naming: `{issue_number}-{short-description}.yml` or `{component}-{description}.yml` if no issue
-- Format: `- {component} - {description} ({optional URL to GH issue})`
-- Content supports Sphinx markup (use double backticks for code references)
-
-## Repository Management
-
-### Plugin Development
-
-- New plugins should go into collections, not ansible-core
-- ansible-core rarely accepts new plugins; core team makes these decisions
-
-### Branch and Release Management
-
-- All PRs target the `devel` branch
-- Use GitHub templates when creating issues/PRs (`.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/` and `.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/`)
-- For issues: fill out the `component` field with project root relative file path
-- For PRs: adjust the issue type in the template as listed in `.github/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE/PULL_REQUEST_TEMPLATE.md`
-- Validate issues are fixed in `devel` before reporting against stable releases
-- Bug fixes: backported to latest stable only
-- Critical bug fixes: backported to latest and previous stable
-- Security issues: contact security@ansible.com privately, not via GitHub
-
-### Backwards Compatibility
-
-- Backwards compatibility is prioritized over most other concerns
-- Deprecation cycle: 4 releases (deprecation + 2 releases + removal)
-- Use `Display.deprecated` or `AnsibleModule.deprecate` with version from `lib/ansible/release.py` plus 3
-- Example: deprecating in 2.19 means removal in 2.22
-
-## Code Structure Reference
-
-### Core Structure
-
-- `lib/ansible/` - Main Ansible library code
-  - `cli/` - Command-line interface implementations (ansible, ansible-playbook, etc.)
-  - `executor/` - Task execution engine and strategies (includes PowerShell support in `powershell/`)
-  - `inventory/` - Inventory management and parsing
-  - `modules/` - Core modules (built-in automation modules)
-  - `module_utils/` - Shared utilities for modules (includes C# in `csharp/` and PowerShell in `powershell/`)
-  - `plugins/` - Plugin framework (filters, tests, lookups, etc.)
-  - `vars/` - Variable management
-  - `config/` - Configuration handling
-  - `collections/` - Ansible Collections framework
-
-### Key Components
-
-- **CLI Layer**: Entry points in `lib/ansible/cli/` handle command parsing and dispatch
-- **Executor**: `lib/ansible/executor/` contains the core execution engine that runs tasks and plays
-- **Module System**: Modules in `lib/ansible/modules/` are the units of work; they're executed remotely
-- **Plugin Architecture**: `lib/ansible/plugins/` provides extensibility through filters, tests, lookups, etc.
-- **Inventory**: `lib/ansible/inventory/` manages host and group definitions
-- **Collections**: Modern packaging format for distributing Ansible content
-
-### Testing Infrastructure
-
-- `test/units/` - Unit tests mirroring the lib structure
-- `test/integration/` - Integration tests organized by target (named after plugin/functionality being tested)
-  - Some targets have `context/controller` or `context/target` in their `aliases` file when not easily inferable
-  - Only modules run on target hosts; all other plugins execute locally in the ansible process
-- `test/lib/` - Test utilities and frameworks
-- `ansible-test` - Unified testing tool for all test types
-
-For CI failure debugging, see [Helping Developers with CI Failures](#helping-developers-with-ci-failures).

CLAUDE.md

@@ -1,3 +0,0 @@
-- @AGENTS.md
-- @~/.claude/ansible.md
-- @CLAUDE.local.md

changelogs/CHANGELOG-v2.18.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,490 @@
+==================================================
+ansible-core 2.18 "Fool in the Rain" Release Notes
+==================================================
+
+.. contents:: Topics
+
+v2.18.10rc1
+===========
+
+Release Summary
+---------------
+
+| Release Date: 2025-09-29
+| `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- respawn - use copy of env variables to update existing PYTHONPATH value (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84954).
+- run_command - Fixed premature selector unregistration on empty read from stdout/stderr that caused truncated output or hangs in rare situations.
+
+v2.18.9
+=======
+
+Release Summary
+---------------
+
+| Release Date: 2025-09-08
+| `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__
+
+Minor Changes
+-------------
+
+- ansible-test - Implement new authentication methods for accessing the Ansible Core CI service.
+- service_facts - handle keyerror exceptions with warning.
+- service_facts - warn user about missing service details instead of ignoring.
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- dnf - Fail gracefully when an invalid ``conf_file`` is used instead of dumping raw exception and traceback. (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/85681)
+- service_facts - skip lines which does not contain service names in openrc output (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84512).
+- user - Use higher precedence HOME_MODE as UMASK for path provided (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/84482).
+
+v2.18.8
+=======
+
+Release Summary
+---------------
+
+| Release Date: 2025-08-11
+| `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__
+
+Minor Changes
+-------------
+
+- ansible-test - Improve formatting of generated coverage config file.
+- ansible-test - Replace remote FreeBSD 13.3 with 13.5.
+- ansible-test - Use OS packages to satisfy controller requirements on FreeBSD 13.5 during managed instance bootstrapping.
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- ansible-test - Always exclude the ``tests/output/`` directory from a collection's code coverage. (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84244)
+- ansible-test - Limit package install retries during managed remote instance bootstrapping.
+- ansible-test - Use a consistent coverage config for all collection testing.
+- plugins config, get_option_and_origin now correctly displays the value and origin of the option.
+
+v2.18.7
+=======
+
+Release Summary
+---------------
+
+| Release Date: 2025-07-15
+| `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__
+
+Minor Changes
+-------------
+
+- ansible-test - Add RHEL 10.0 as a remote platform for testing.
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- ansible-doc will no longer ignore docs for modules without an extension (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/85279).
+- ansible-pull change detection will now work independently of callback or result format settings.
+- ansible-test - Fix Python relative import resolution from ``__init__.py`` files when using change detection.
+- dnf5 - handle all libdnf5 specific exceptions (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84634)
+- meta - avoid traceback when retrieving the meta task name (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/85367).
+- password lookup - fix acquiring the lock when human-readable FileExistsError error message is not English.
+- user - Set timeout for passphrase interaction.
+- user - Update prompt for SSH key passphrase (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84484).
+
+v2.18.6
+=======
+
+Release Summary
+---------------
+
+| Release Date: 2025-05-19
+| `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__
+
+Minor Changes
+-------------
+
+- ansible-test - Use the ``-t`` option to set the stop timeout when stopping a container. This avoids use of the ``--time`` option which was deprecated in Docker v28.0.
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- Ansible will now ensure predictable permissions on remote artifacts, until now it only ensured executable and relied on system masks for the rest.
+- ansible-doc - fix indentation for first line of descriptions of suboptions and sub-return values (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/84690).
+- ansible-doc - fix line wrapping for first line of description of options and return values (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/84690).
+- dnf5 - avoid generating excessive transaction entries in the dnf5 history (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/85046)
+- dnf5 - when ``bugfix`` and/or ``security`` is specified, skip packages that do not have any such updates, even for new versions of libdnf5 where this functionality changed and it is considered failure
+- script - Fix up become support for Windows scripts when become was set through host variables and not on the task directly - https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/85076
+
+v2.18.5
+=======
+
+Release Summary
+---------------
+
+| Release Date: 2025-04-21
+| `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- build - Pin ``wheel`` in ``pyproject.toml`` to ensure compatibility with supported ``setuptools`` versions.
+- dnf5 - Handle forwarded exceptions from dnf5-5.2.13 where a generic ``RuntimeError`` was previously raised
+- find - skip ENOENT error code while recursively enumerating files. find module will now be tolerant to race conditions that remove files or directories from the target it is currently inspecting. (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84873).
+- gather_facts action, will now add setup when 'smart' appears with other modules in the FACTS_MODULES setting (#84750).
+- uri - Form location correctly when the server returns a relative redirect (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84540)
+
+v2.18.4
+=======
+
+Release Summary
+---------------
+
+| Release Date: 2025-03-25
+| `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- Windows - add support for running on system where WDAC is in audit mode with ``Dynamic Code Security`` enabled.
+- dnf5 - fix ``is_installed`` check for packages that are not installed but listed as provided by an installed package (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84578)
+- dnf5 - libdnf5 - use ``conf.pkg_gpgcheck`` instead of deprecated ``conf.gpgcheck`` which is used only as a fallback
+- facts - gather pagesize and calculate respective values depending upon architecture (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84773).
+- module respawn - limit to supported Python versions
+
+v2.18.3
+=======
+
+Release Summary
+---------------
+
+| Release Date: 2025-02-24
+| `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__
+
+Minor Changes
+-------------
+
+- ansible-test - Automatically retry HTTP GET/PUT/DELETE requests on exceptions.
+- ansible-test - Use Python's ``urllib`` instead of ``curl`` for HTTP requests.
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- include_vars - fixed erroneous warning if an unreserved variable name contains a single character that matches a reserved variable. (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84623)
+- linear strategy - fix executing ``end_role`` meta tasks for each host, instead of handling these as implicit run_once tasks (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84660).
+
+v2.18.2
+=======
+
+Release Summary
+---------------
+
+| Release Date: 2025-01-27
+| `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- Ansible will now also warn when reserved keywords are set via a module (set_fact, include_vars, etc).
+- Ansible.Basic - Fix ``required_if`` check when the option value to check is unset or set to null.
+- Use consistent multiprocessing context for action write locks
+- ansible-test - Fix up coverage reporting to properly translate the temporary path of integration test modules to the expected static test module path.
+- ansible-vault will now correctly handle `--prompt`, previously it would issue an error about stdin if no 2nd argument was passed
+- copy action now prevents user from setting internal options.
+- gather_facts action now defaults to `ansible.legacy.setup` if `smart` was set, no network OS was found and no other alias for `setup` was present.
+- gather_facts action will now issues errors and warnings as appropriate if a network OS is detected but no facts modules are defined for it.
+- ssh - Improve the logic for parsing CLIXML data in stderr when working with Windows host. This fixes issues when the raw stderr contains invalid UTF-8 byte sequences and improves embedded CLIXML sequences.
+- ssh - connection options were incorrectly templated during ``reset_connection`` tasks (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/84238).
+
+v2.18.1
+=======
+
+Release Summary
+---------------
+
+| Release Date: 2024-12-02
+| `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__
+
+Minor Changes
+-------------
+
+- ansible-test - When detection of the current container network fails, a warning is now issued and execution continues. This simplifies usage in cases where the current container cannot be inspected, such as when running in GitHub Codespaces.
+
+Security Fixes
+--------------
+
+- Templating will not prefer AnsibleUnsafe when a variable is referenced via hostvars - CVE-2024-11079
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- Fix returning 'unreachable' for the overall task result. This prevents false positives when a looped task has unignored unreachable items (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84019).
+- ansible-test - Fix traceback that occurs after an interactive command fails.
+- dnf5 - fix installing a package using ``state=latest`` when a binary of the same name as the package is already installed (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84259)
+- dnf5 - matching on a binary can be achieved only by specifying a full path (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84334)
+- runas become - Fix up become logic to still get the SYSTEM token with the most privileges when running as SYSTEM.
+
+v2.18.0
+=======
+
+Release Summary
+---------------
+
+| Release Date: 2024-11-04
+| `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__
+
+Minor Changes
+-------------
+
+- Add ``gid_min``, ``gid_max`` to the group plugin to overwrite the defaults provided by the ``/etc/login.defs`` file (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/81770).
+- Add ``python3.13`` to the default ``INTERPRETER_PYTHON_FALLBACK`` list.
+- Add ``uid_min``, ``uid_max`` to the user plugin to overwrite the defaults provided by the ``/etc/login.defs`` file (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/81770).
+- Add a new meta task ``end_role`` (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/22286)
+- Add a new mount_facts module to support gathering information about mounts that are excluded by default fact gathering.
+- Introducing COLOR_INCLUDED parameter. This can set a specific color for "included" events.
+- Removed the shell ``environment`` config entry as this is already covered by the play/task directives documentation and the value itself is not used in the shell plugins. This should remove any confusion around how people set the environment for a task.
+- Suppress cryptography deprecation warnings for Blowfish and TripleDES when the ``paramiko`` Python module is installed.
+- The minimum supported Python version on targets is now Python 3.8.
+- ``ansible-galaxy collection publish`` - add configuration options for the initial poll interval and the exponential when checking the import status of a collection, since the default is relatively slow.
+- ansible-config has new 'validate' option to find mispelled/forgein configurations in ini file or environment variables.
+- ansible-doc - show examples in role entrypoint argument specs (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/82671).
+- ansible-galaxy - Handle authentication errors and token expiration
+- ansible-test - Add Ubuntu 24.04 remote.
+- ansible-test - Add support for Python 3.13.
+- ansible-test - An ``ansible_core.egg-info`` directory is no longer generated when running tests.
+- ansible-test - Connection options can be set for ansible-test managed remote Windows instances.
+- ansible-test - Default to Python 3.13 in the ``base`` and ``default`` containers.
+- ansible-test - Disable the ``deprecated-`` prefixed ``pylint`` rules as their results vary by Python version.
+- ansible-test - Improve container runtime probe error handling. When unexpected probe output is encountered, an error with more useful debugging information is provided.
+- ansible-test - Improve the error message shown when an unknown ``--remote`` or ``--docker`` option is given.
+- ansible-test - Remove Python 2.7 compatibility imports.
+- ansible-test - Removed the ``vyos/1.1.8`` network remote as it is no longer functional.
+- ansible-test - Replace Alpine 3.19 container and remote with Alpine 3.20.
+- ansible-test - Replace Fedora 39 container and remote with Fedora 40.
+- ansible-test - Replace FreeBSD 14.0 remote with FreeBSD 14.1.
+- ansible-test - Replace RHEL 9.3 remote with RHEL 9.4.
+- ansible-test - Replace Ubuntu 20.04 container with Ubuntu 24.04 container.
+- ansible-test - The ``empty-init`` sanity test no longer applies to ``module_utils`` packages.
+- ansible-test - Update ``ansible-test-utility-container`` to version 3.1.0.
+- ansible-test - Update ``base`` and ``default`` containers to omit Python 3.7.
+- ansible-test - Update ``coverage`` to version 7.6.1.
+- ansible-test - Update ``http-test-container`` to version 3.0.0.
+- ansible-test - Update ``nios-test-container`` to version 5.0.0.
+- ansible-test - Update ``pylint`` sanity test to use version 3.3.1.
+- ansible-test - Update ``pypi-test-container`` to version 3.2.0.
+- ansible-test - Update the ``base`` and ``default`` containers.
+- ansible-test - Updated the frozen requirements for all sanity tests.
+- ansible-test - Upgrade ``pip`` used in ansible-test managed virtual environments from version 24.0 to 24.2.
+- ansible-test - Virtual environments created by ansible-test no longer include the ``wheel`` or ``setuptools`` packages.
+- ansible-test - update HTTP test container to 3.2.0 (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83469).
+- ansible.log now also shows log severity field
+- distribution.py - Added SL-Micro in Suse OS Family. (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83541)
+- dnf - minor internal changes in how the errors from the dnf API are handled; rely solely on the exceptions rather than inspecting text embedded in them
+- dnf - remove legacy code for unsupported dnf versions
+- dnf5 - implement ``enable_plugin`` and ``disable_plugin`` options
+- fact gathering - Gather /proc/sysinfo facts on s390 Linux on Z
+- facts - add systemd version and features
+- find - change the datatype of ``elements`` to ``path`` in option ``paths`` (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83575).
+- ini lookup - add new ``interpolation`` option (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83755)
+- isidentifier - remove unwanted Python 2 specific code.
+- loop_control - add a break_when option to to break out of a task loop early based on Jinja2 expressions (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83442).
+- package_facts module now supports using aliases for supported package managers, for example managers=yum or managers=dnf will resolve to using the underlying rpm.
+- plugins, deprecations and warnings concerning configuration are now displayed to the user, technical issue that prevented 'de-duplication' have been resolved.
+- psrp - Remove connection plugin extras vars lookup. This should have no affect on existing users as all options have been documented.
+- remove extraneous selinux import (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83657).
+- replace random with secrets library.
+- rpm_key - allow validation of gpg key with a subkey fingerprint
+- rpm_key - enable gpg validation that requires presence of multiple fingerprints
+- service_mgr - add support for dinit service manager (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83489).
+- task timeout now returns timedout key with frame/code that was in execution when the timeout is triggered.
+- timedout test for checking if a task result represents a 'timed out' task.
+- unarchive - Remove Python 2.7 compatibility imports.
+- validate-modules sanity test - detect if names of an option (option name + aliases) do not match between argument spec and documentation (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83598, https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83599).
+- validate-modules sanity test - reject option/aliases names that are identical up to casing but belong to different options (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83530).
+- vaulted_file test filter added, to test if the provided path is an 'Ansible vaulted' file
+- yum_repository - add ``excludepkgs`` alias to the ``exclude`` option.
+
+Breaking Changes / Porting Guide
+--------------------------------
+
+- Stopped wrapping all commands sent over SSH on a Windows target with a ``powershell.exe`` executable. This results in one less process being started on each command for Windows to improve efficiency, simplify the code, and make ``raw`` an actual raw command run with the default shell configured on the Windows sshd settings. This should have no affect on most tasks except for ``raw`` which now is not guaranteed to always be running in a PowerShell shell and from having the console output codepage set to UTF-8. To avoid this issue either swap to using ``ansible.windows.win_command``, ``ansible.windows.win_shell``, ``ansible.windows.win_powershell`` or manually wrap the raw command with the shell commands needed to set the output console encoding.
+- persistent connection plugins - The ``ANSIBLE_CONNECTION_PATH`` config option no longer has any effect.
+
+Deprecated Features
+-------------------
+
+- Deprecate ``ansible.module_utils.basic.AnsibleModule.safe_eval`` and ``ansible.module_utils.common.safe_eval`` as they are no longer used.
+- persistent connection plugins - The ``ANSIBLE_CONNECTION_PATH`` config option no longer has any effect, and will be removed in a future release.
+- yum_repository - deprecate ``async`` option as it has been removed in RHEL 8 and will be removed in ansible-core 2.22.
+- yum_repository - the following options are deprecated: ``deltarpm_metadata_percentage``, ``gpgcakey``, ``http_caching``, ``keepalive``, ``metadata_expire_filter``, ``mirrorlist_expire``, ``protect``, ``ssl_check_cert_permissions``, ``ui_repoid_vars`` as they have no effect for dnf as an underlying package manager. The options will be removed in ansible-core 2.22.
+
+Removed Features (previously deprecated)
+----------------------------------------
+
+- Play - removed deprecated ``ROLE_CACHE`` property in favor of ``role_cache``.
+- Remove deprecated `VariableManager._get_delegated_vars` method (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82950)
+- Removed Python 3.10 as a supported version on the controller. Python 3.11 or newer is required.
+- Removed support for setting the ``vars`` keyword to lists of dictionaries. It is now required to be a single dictionary.
+- loader - remove deprecated non-inclusive words (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82947).
+- paramiko_ssh - removed deprecated ssh_args from the paramiko_ssh connection plugin (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82939).
+- paramiko_ssh - removed deprecated ssh_common_args from the paramiko_ssh connection plugin (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82940).
+- paramiko_ssh - removed deprecated ssh_extra_args from the paramiko_ssh connection plugin (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82941).
+- play_context - remove deprecated PlayContext.verbosity property (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82945).
+- utils/listify - remove deprecated 'loader' argument from listify_lookup_plugin_terms API (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82949).
+
+Security Fixes
+--------------
+
+- include_vars action - Ensure that result masking is correctly requested when vault-encrypted files are read. (CVE-2024-8775)
+- task result processing - Ensure that action-sourced result masking (``_ansible_no_log=True``) is preserved. (CVE-2024-8775)
+- user action won't allow ssh-keygen, chown and chmod to run on existing ssh public key file, avoiding traversal on existing symlinks (CVE-2024-9902).
+
+Bugfixes
+--------
+
+- -> runas become - Generate new token for the SYSTEM token to use for become. This should result in the full SYSTEM token being used and problems starting the process that fails with ``The process creation has been blocked``.
+- Add a version ceiling constraint for pypsrp to avoid potential breaking changes in the 1.0.0 release.
+- Add descriptions for ``ansible-galaxy install --help` and ``ansible-galaxy role|collection install --help``.
+- Avoid truncating floats when casting into int, as it can lead to truncation and unexpected results. 0.99999 will be 0, not 1.
+- COLOR_SKIP will not alter "included" events color display anymore.
+- Callbacks now correctly get the resolved connection plugin name as the connection used.
+- Darwin - add unit tests for Darwin hardware fact gathering.
+- Errors now preserve stacked error messages even when YAML is involved.
+- Fix ``SemanticVersion.parse()`` to store the version string so that ``__repr__`` reports it instead of ``None`` (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83831).
+- Fix a traceback when an environment variable contains certain special characters (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83498)
+- Fix an issue when setting a plugin name from an unsafe source resulted in ``ValueError: unmarshallable object`` (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82708)
+- Fix an issue where registered variable was not available for templating in ``loop_control.label`` on skipped looped tasks (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83619)
+- Fix disabling SSL verification when installing collections and roles from git repositories. If ``--ignore-certs`` isn't provided, the value for the ``GALAXY_IGNORE_CERTS`` configuration option will be used (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83326).
+- Fix for ``meta`` tasks breaking host/fork affinity with ``host_pinned`` strategy (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83294)
+- Fix handlers not being executed in lockstep using the linear strategy in some cases (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82307)
+- Fix rapid memory usage growth when notifying handlers using the ``listen`` keyword (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83392)
+- Fix the task attribute ``resolved_action`` to show the FQCN instead of ``None`` when ``action`` or ``local_action`` is used in the playbook.
+- Fix using ``module_defaults`` with ``local_action``/``action`` (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/81905).
+- Fix using the current task's directory for looking up relative paths within roles (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82695).
+- Improve performance on large inventories by reducing the number of implicit meta tasks.
+- Remove deprecated config options DEFAULT_FACT_PATH, DEFAULT_GATHER_SUBSET, and DEFAULT_GATHER_TIMEOUT in favor of setting ``fact_path``, ``gather_subset`` and ``gather_timeout`` as ``module_defaults`` for ``ansible.builtin.setup``.
+  These will apply to both the ``gather_facts`` play keyword, and any ``ansible.builtin.setup`` tasks.
+  To configure these options only for the ``gather_facts`` keyword, set these options as play keywords also.
+- Set LANGUAGE environment variable is set to a non-English locale (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83608).
+- Use the requested error message in the ansible.module_utils.facts.timeout timeout function instead of hardcoding one.
+- ``ansible-galaxy install --help`` - Fix the usage text and document that the requirements file passed to ``-r`` can include collections and roles.
+- ``ansible-galaxy role install`` - update the default timeout to download archive URLs from 20 seconds to 60 (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83521).
+- ``end_host`` - fix incorrect return code when executing ``end_host`` in the ``rescue`` section (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83447)
+- ``package``/``dnf`` action plugins - provide the reason behind the failure to gather the ``ansible_pkg_mgr`` fact to identify the package backend
+- addressed issue of trailing text been ignored, non-ASCII characters are parsed, enhance white space handling and fixed overly permissive issue of human_to_bytes filter(https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82075)
+- ansible-config will now properly template defaults before dumping them.
+- ansible-doc - fixed "inicates" typo in output
+- ansible-doc - format top-level descriptions with multiple paragraphs as multiple paragraphs, instead of concatenating them (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83155).
+- ansible-doc - handle no_fail condition for role.
+- ansible-doc - make colors configurable.
+- ansible-galaxy collection install - remove old installation info when installing collections (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83182).
+- ansible-galaxy role install - fix symlinks (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82702, https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/81965).
+- ansible-test - Enable the ``sys.unraisablehook`` work-around for the ``pylint`` sanity test on Python 3.11. Previously the work-around was only enabled for Python 3.12 and later. However, the same issue has been discovered on Python 3.11.
+- ansible-test - The ``pylint`` sanity test now includes the controller/target context of files when grouping them. This allows the ``--py-version`` option to be passed to ``pylint`` to indicate the minimum supported Python version for each test context, preventing ``pylint`` from defaulting to the Python version used to invoke the test.
+- ansible-test action-plugin-docs - Fix to check for sidecar documentation for action plugins
+- ansible_managed restored it's 'templatability' by ensuring the possible injection routes are cut off earlier in the process.
+- apt - report changed=True when some packages are being removed (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/46314).
+- apt_* - add more info messages raised while updating apt cache (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/77941).
+- assemble - update argument_spec with 'decrypt' option which is required by action plugin (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/80840).
+- atomic_move - fix using the setgid bit on the parent directory when creating files (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/46742, https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/67177).
+- config, restored the ability to set module compression via a variable
+- connection plugins using the 'extras' option feature would need variables to match the plugin's loaded name, sometimes requiring fqcn, which is not the same as the documented/declared/expected variables. Now we fall back to the 'basename' of the fqcn, but plugin authors can still set the expected value directly.
+- copy - mtime/atime not updated. Fix now update mtime/atime(https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83013)
+- csvfile lookup - give an error when no search term is provided using modern config syntax (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83689).
+- debconf - fix normalization of value representation for boolean vtypes in new packages (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83594)
+- debconf - set empty password values (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83214).
+- delay keyword is now a float, matching the underlying 'time' API and user expectations.
+- display - warn user about empty log filepath (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/79959).
+- display now does a better job of mapping warnings/errors to the proper log severity when using ansible.log. We still use color as a fallback mapping (now prioritiezed by severity) but mostly rely on it beind directly set by warnning/errors calls.
+- distro package - update the distro package version from 1.8.0 to 1.9.0  (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82935)
+- dnf - Ensure that we are handling DownloadError properly in the dnf module
+- dnf - Substitute variables in DNF cache path (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/80094).
+- dnf - fix an issue where two packages of the same ``evr`` but different arch failed to install (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83406)
+- dnf - honor installroot for ``cachedir``, ``logdir`` and ``persistdir``
+- dnf - perform variable substitutions in ``logdir`` and ``persistdir``
+- dnf, dnf5 - fix for installing a set of packages by specifying them using a wildcard character (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83373)
+- dnf5 - fix traceback when ``enable_plugins``/``disable_plugins`` is used on ``python3-libdnf5`` versions that do not support this functionality
+- dnf5 - re-introduce the ``state: installed`` alias to ``state: present`` (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83960)
+- dnf5 - replace removed API calls
+- ensure we have logger before we log when we have increased verbosity.
+- facts - `support_discard` now returns `0` if either `discard_granularity` or `discard_max_hw_bytes` is zero; otherwise it returns the value of `discard_granularity`, as before (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83480).
+- facts - add a generic detection for VMware in product name.
+- facts - add facts about x86_64 flags to detect microarchitecture (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83331).
+- facts - skip if distribution file path is directory, instead of raising error (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84006).
+- fetch - add error message when using ``dest`` with a trailing slash that becomes a local directory - https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82878
+- file - retrieve the link's full path when hard linking a soft link with follow (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/33911).
+- fixed the issue of creating user directory using tilde(~) always reported "changed".(https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82490)
+- fixed unit test test_borken_cowsay to address mock not been properly applied when existing unix system already have cowsay installed.
+- freebsd - refactor dmidecode fact gathering code for simplicity.
+- freebsd - update disk and slices regex for fact gathering (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/82081).
+- get_url - Verify checksum using tmpsrc, not dest (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/64092)
+- git - check if git version is available or not before using it for comparison (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/72321).
+- include_tasks - Display location when attempting to load a task list where ``include_*`` did not specify any value - https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83874
+- known_hosts - the returned module invocation now accurately reflects the module arguments.
+- linear strategy now provides a properly templated task name to the v2_runner_on_started callback event.
+- linear strategy: fix handlers included via ``include_tasks`` handler to be executed in lockstep (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83019)
+- linux - remove extraneous get_bin_path API call.
+- local - handle error while parsing values in ini files (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82717).
+- lookup - Fixed examples of csv lookup plugin (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83031).
+- module_defaults - do not display action/module deprecation warnings when using an action_group that contains a deprecated plugin (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83490).
+- module_utils atomic_move (used by most file based modules), now correctly handles permission copy and setting mtime correctly across all paths
+- package_facts - apk fix when cache is empty (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83126).
+- package_facts - no longer fails silently when the selected package manager is unable to list packages.
+- package_facts - returns the correct warning when package listing fails.
+- persistent connection plugins - The correct Ansible persistent connection helper is now always used. Previously, the wrong script could be used, depending on the value of the ``PATH`` environment variable. As a result, users were sometimes required to set ``ANSIBLE_CONNECTION_PATH`` to use the correct script.
+- powershell - Implement more robust deletion mechanism for C# code compilation temporary files. This should avoid scenarios where the underlying temporary directory may be temporarily locked by antivirus tools or other IO problems. A failure to delete one of these temporary directories will result in a warning rather than an outright failure.
+- powershell - Improve CLIXML decoding to decode all control characters and unicode characters that are encoded as surrogate pairs.
+- psrp - Fix bug when attempting to fetch a file path that contains special glob characters like ``[]``
+- replace - Updated before/after example (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83390).
+- runtime-metadata sanity test - do not crash on deprecations if ``galaxy.yml`` contains an empty ``version`` field (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83831).
+- service - fix order of CLI arguments on FreeBSD (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/81377).
+- service_facts - don't crash if OpenBSD rcctl variable contains '=' character (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83457)
+- service_facts will now detect failed services more accurately across systemd implementations.
+- setup module (fact gathering), added fallbcak code path to handle mount fact gathering in linux when threading is not available
+- setup/gather_facts will skip missing ``sysctl`` instead of being a fatal error (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/81297).
+- shell plugin - properly quote all needed components of shell commands (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82535)
+- ssh - Fix bug when attempting to fetch a file path with characters that should be quoted when using the ``piped`` transfer method
+- support the countme option when using yum_repository
+- systemd - extend systemctl is-enabled check to handle "enabled-runtime" (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/77754).
+- systemd facts - handle AttributeError raised while gathering facts on non-systemd hosts.
+- systemd_service - handle mask operation failure (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/81649).
+- templating hostvars under native jinja will not cause serialization errors anymore.
+- the raw arguments error now just displays the short names of modules instead of every possible variation
+- unarchive - Better handling of files with an invalid timestamp in zip file (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/81092).
+- unarchive - trigger change when size and content differ when other properties are unchanged (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83454).
+- unsafe data - Address an incompatibility when iterating or getting a single index from ``AnsibleUnsafeBytes``
+- unsafe data - Address an incompatibility with ``AnsibleUnsafeText`` and ``AnsibleUnsafeBytes`` when pickling with ``protocol=0``
+- unsafe data - Enable directly using ``AnsibleUnsafeText`` with Python ``pathlib`` (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82414)
+- uri - deprecate 'yes' and 'no' value for 'follow_redirects' parameter.
+- user action will now require O(force) to overwrite the public part of an ssh key when generating ssh keys, as was already the case for the private part.
+- user module now avoids changing ownership of files symlinked in provided home dir skeleton
+- vault - handle vault password file value when it is directory (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/42960).
+- vault.is_encrypted_file is now optimized to be called in runtime and not for being called in tests
+- vault_encrypted test documentation, name and examples have been fixed, other parts were clarified
+- winrm - Add retry after exceeding commands per user quota that can occur in loops and action plugins running multiple commands.
+
+Known Issues
+------------
+
+- ansible-test - When using ansible-test containers with Podman on a Ubuntu 24.04 host, ansible-test must be run as a non-root user to avoid permission issues caused by AppArmor.
+- ansible-test - When using the Fedora 40 container with Podman on a Ubuntu 24.04 host, the ``unix-chkpwd`` AppArmor profile must be disabled on the host to allow SSH connections to the container.
+
+New Plugins
+-----------
+
+Test
+~~~~
+
+- timedout - did the task time out
+- vaulted_file - Is this file an encrypted vault
+
+New Modules
+-----------
+
+Lib
+~~~
+
+ansible.modules
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+- mount_facts - Retrieve mount information.

changelogs/fragments/2.18.0_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2024-11-04
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.0b1_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2024-09-24
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.0rc1_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2024-10-14
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.0rc2_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2024-10-29
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.10rc1_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-09-29
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.1_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2024-12-02
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.1rc1_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2024-11-25
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.2_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-01-27
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.2rc1_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-01-20
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.3_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-02-24
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.3rc1_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-02-17
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.4_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-03-25
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.4rc1_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-03-17
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.5_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-04-21
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.5rc1_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-04-14
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.6_summary.yaml

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+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-05-19
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.6rc1_summary.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-05-12
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.7_summary.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-07-15
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.7rc1_summary.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-07-08
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.8_summary.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-08-11
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.8rc1_summary.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-08-04
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.9_summary.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-09-08
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/2.18.9rc1_summary.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+release_summary: |
+   | Release Date: 2025-09-02
+   | `Porting Guide <https://docs.ansible.com/ansible-core/2.18/porting_guides/porting_guide_core_2.18.html>`__

changelogs/fragments/42960_vault_password.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+bugfixes:
+- vault - handle vault password file value when it is directory (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/42960).

changelogs/fragments/46314.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+bugfixes:
+  - apt - report changed=True when some packages are being removed (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/46314).

changelogs/fragments/46742-atomic_move-fix-setgid.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - atomic_move - fix using the setgid bit on the parent directory when creating files (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/46742, https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/67177).

changelogs/fragments/62151-loop_control-until.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+minor_changes:
+  - loop_control - add a break_when option to to break out of a task loop early based on Jinja2 expressions (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83442).

changelogs/fragments/64092-get_url_verify_tmpsrc_checksum.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - get_url - Verify checksum using tmpsrc, not dest (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/64092)

changelogs/fragments/72321_git.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+bugfixes:
+- git - check if git version is available or not before using it for comparison (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/72321).

changelogs/fragments/81770-add-uid-guid-minmax-keys.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+minor_changes:
+    - Add ``uid_min``, ``uid_max`` to the user plugin to overwrite the defaults provided by the ``/etc/login.defs`` file (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/81770).
+    - Add ``gid_min``, ``gid_max`` to the group plugin to overwrite the defaults provided by the ``/etc/login.defs`` file (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/81770).

changelogs/fragments/82075.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - addressed issue of trailing text been ignored, non-ASCII characters are parsed, enhance white space handling and fixed overly permissive issue of human_to_bytes filter(https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82075)

changelogs/fragments/82307-handlers-lockstep-linear-fix.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - Fix handlers not being executed in lockstep using the linear strategy in some cases (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82307)

changelogs/fragments/82490_creating_user_dir_using_tilde_always_reports_changed.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - fixed the issue of creating user directory using tilde(~) always reported "changed".(https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82490)

changelogs/fragments/82535-properly-quote-shell.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+- shell plugin - properly quote all needed components of shell commands (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82535)

changelogs/fragments/82671-ansible-doc-role-examples.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+minor_changes:
+  - "ansible-doc - show examples in role entrypoint argument specs (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/82671)."

changelogs/fragments/82708-unsafe-plugin-name-error.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - "Fix an issue when setting a plugin name from an unsafe source resulted in ``ValueError: unmarshallable object`` (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82708)"

changelogs/fragments/82831_countme_yum_repository.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - support the countme option when using yum_repository

changelogs/fragments/82878-fetch-dest-is-dir.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+bugfixes:
+- >-
+    fetch - add error message when using ``dest`` with a trailing slash that becomes a local directory -
+    https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82878

changelogs/fragments/82941.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+removed_features:
+  - paramiko_ssh - removed deprecated ssh_extra_args from the paramiko_ssh connection plugin (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82941).
+  - paramiko_ssh - removed deprecated ssh_common_args from the paramiko_ssh connection plugin (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82940).
+  - paramiko_ssh - removed deprecated ssh_args from the paramiko_ssh connection plugin (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82939).

changelogs/fragments/82946.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+removed_features:
+  - play_context - remove deprecated PlayContext.verbosity property (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82945).

changelogs/fragments/82947.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+removed_features:
+  - loader - remove deprecated non-inclusive words (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82947).

changelogs/fragments/83019-linear-handlers-lockstep-fix.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - "linear strategy: fix handlers included via ``include_tasks`` handler to be executed in lockstep (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83019)"

changelogs/fragments/83031.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+bugfixes:
+  - lookup - Fixed examples of csv lookup plugin (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83031).

changelogs/fragments/83155-ansible-doc-paragraphs.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - "ansible-doc - format top-level descriptions with multiple paragraphs as multiple paragraphs, instead of concatenating them (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83155)."

changelogs/fragments/83235-copy-module-update-mtime.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - copy - mtime/atime not updated. Fix now update mtime/atime(https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83013)

changelogs/fragments/83294-meta-host_pinned-affinity.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - Fix for ``meta`` tasks breaking host/fork affinity with ``host_pinned`` strategy (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83294)

changelogs/fragments/83327.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+bugfixes:
+  - fixed unit test test_borken_cowsay to address mock not been properly applied when existing unix system already have cowsay installed.

changelogs/fragments/83331.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+bugfixes:
+  - facts - add facts about x86_64 flags to detect microarchitecture (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83331).

changelogs/fragments/83373-dnf5-wildcard.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - dnf, dnf5 - fix for installing a set of packages by specifying them using a wildcard character (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83373)

changelogs/fragments/83392-fix-memory-issues-handlers.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - Fix rapid memory usage growth when notifying handlers using the ``listen`` keyword (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83392)

changelogs/fragments/83406-dnf-fix-arch-cmp.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - dnf - fix an issue where two packages of the same ``evr`` but different arch failed to install (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83406)

changelogs/fragments/83447-end_host-rescue-rc.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - "``end_host`` - fix incorrect return code when executing ``end_host`` in the ``rescue`` section (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83447)"

changelogs/fragments/83457-service_facts-openbsd-dont-crash-in-equals.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - service_facts - don't crash if OpenBSD rcctl variable contains '=' character (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83457)

changelogs/fragments/83469-http-test-container.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+minor_changes:
+  - "ansible-test - update HTTP test container to 3.2.0 (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83469)."

changelogs/fragments/83480-fix-support-discard.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+---
+bugfixes:
+  - facts - `support_discard` now returns `0` if either `discard_granularity`
+    or `discard_max_hw_bytes` is zero; otherwise it returns the value of
+    `discard_granularity`, as before
+    (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83480).

changelogs/fragments/83498-command-tb-env.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - Fix a traceback when an environment variable contains certain special characters (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83498)

changelogs/fragments/83508_mount_facts.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+minor_changes:
+  - Add a new mount_facts module to support gathering information about mounts that are excluded by default fact gathering.

changelogs/fragments/83530-validate-modules-casing.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+minor_changes:
+  - "validate-modules sanity test - reject option/aliases names that are identical up to casing but belong to different options (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83530)."

changelogs/fragments/83540-update_disto_version.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - distro package - update the distro package version from 1.8.0 to 1.9.0  (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/82935)

changelogs/fragments/83541-add-sl-micro-suse-family.yaml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+minor_changes:
+- distribution.py - Added SL-Micro in Suse OS Family. (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83541)

changelogs/fragments/83575-fix-sanity-ignore-for-find.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+minor_changes:
+  - find - change the datatype of ``elements`` to ``path`` in option ``paths`` (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83575).

changelogs/fragments/83599-validate-modules-aliases.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+minor_changes:
+  - "validate-modules sanity test - detect if names of an option (option name + aliases) do not match between argument spec and documentation
+     (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83598, https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83599)."

changelogs/fragments/83601-debconf-normalize-bools.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+---
+bugfixes:
+  - debconf - fix normalization of value representation for boolean vtypes in new packages (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83594)

changelogs/fragments/83619-loop-label-register.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - Fix an issue where registered variable was not available for templating in ``loop_control.label`` on skipped looped tasks (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83619)

changelogs/fragments/83716-enable-subkey-fingerprint-validation-in-rpm-key-module.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+minor_changes:
+  - rpm_key - allow validation of gpg key with a subkey fingerprint
+  - rpm_key - enable gpg validation that requires presence of multiple fingerprints

changelogs/fragments/83755-ini-new-interpolation-option.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+minor_changes:
+  - ini lookup - add new ``interpolation`` option (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83755)

changelogs/fragments/83803-collection-import-poll-interval.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+minor_changes:
+- >-
+  ``ansible-galaxy collection publish`` - add configuration options for the initial poll interval
+  and the exponential when checking the import status of a collection, since the default is relatively slow.

changelogs/fragments/83831-runtime-metadata-fix.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - "runtime-metadata sanity test - do not crash on deprecations if ``galaxy.yml`` contains an empty ``version`` field (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83831)."
+  - "Fix ``SemanticVersion.parse()`` to store the version string so that ``__repr__`` reports it instead of ``None`` (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/83831)."

changelogs/fragments/83874-include-parse-error-location.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - >-
+    include_tasks - Display location when attempting to load a task list where ``include_*`` did not specify any value -
+    https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83874

changelogs/fragments/83960-dnf5-state-installed-fix.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - "dnf5 - re-introduce the ``state: installed`` alias to ``state: present`` (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/83960)"

changelogs/fragments/84019-ignore_unreachable-loop.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - Fix returning 'unreachable' for the overall task result. This prevents false positives when a looped task has unignored unreachable items (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84019).

changelogs/fragments/84238-fix-reset_connection-ssh_executable-templated.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - ssh - connection options were incorrectly templated during ``reset_connection`` tasks (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/84238).

changelogs/fragments/84259-dnf5-latest-fix.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - "dnf5 - fix installing a package using ``state=latest`` when a binary of the same name as the package is already installed (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84259)"

changelogs/fragments/84334-dnf5-consolidate-settings.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - dnf5 - matching on a binary can be achieved only by specifying a full path (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/84334)