.. _collections: ***************** Using collections ***************** Collections are a distribution format for Ansible content that can include playbooks, roles, modules, and plugins. As modules move from the core Ansible repository into collections, the module documentation will move to the :ref:`collections pages `. You can install and use collections through a distribution server, such as `Ansible Galaxy `_ or a `Pulp 3 Galaxy server `_. * For details on how to *develop* collections see :ref:`developing_collections`. * For the current development status of Collections and FAQ see `Ansible Collections Community Guide `_. .. contents:: :local: :depth: 2 .. _collections_installing: Installing collections ====================== .. note:: If you install a collection manually as described in this paragraph, the collection will not be upgraded automatically when you upgrade the ``ansible`` package or ``ansible-core``. Installing collections with ``ansible-galaxy`` ---------------------------------------------- .. include:: ../shared_snippets/installing_collections.txt .. _installing_signed_collections: Installing collections with signature verification --------------------------------------------------- If a collection has been signed by a :term:`distribution server`, the server will provide ASCII armored, detached signatures to verify the authenticity of the ``MANIFEST.json`` before using it to verify the collection's contents. This option is not available on all distribution servers. See :ref:`distributing_collections` for a table listing which servers support collection signing. To use signature verification for signed collections: 1. :ref:`Configured a GnuPG keyring ` for ``ansible-galaxy``, or provide the path to the keyring with the ``--keyring`` option when you install the signed collection. 2. Import the public key from the distribution server into that keyring. .. code-block:: bash gpg --import --no-default-keyring --keyring ~/.ansible/pubring.kbx my-public-key.asc 3. Verify the signature when you install the collection. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection --keyring ~/.ansible/pubring.kbx The ``--keyring`` option is not necessary if you have :ref:`configured a GnuPG keyring `. 4. Optionally, verify the signature at any point after installation to prove the collection has not been tampered with. See :ref:`verify_signed_collections` for details. You can also include signatures in addition to those provided by the distribution server. Use the ``--signature`` option to verify the collection's ``MANIFEST.json`` with these additional signatures. Supplemental signatures should be provided as URIs. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection --signature https://examplehost.com/detached_signature.asc --keyring ~/.ansible/pubring.kbx GnuPG verification only occurs for collections installed from a distribution server. User-provided signatures are not used to verify collections installed from git repositories, source directories, or URLs/paths to tar.gz files. You can also include additional signatures in the collection ``requirements.yml`` file under the ``signatures`` key. .. code-block:: yaml # requirements.yml collections: - name: ns.coll version: 1.0.0 signatures: - https://examplehost.com/detached_signature.asc - file:///path/to/local/detached_signature.asc See :ref:`collection requirements file ` for details on how to install collections with this file. By default, verification is considered successful if a minimum of 1 signature successfully verifies the collection. The number of required signatures can be configured with ``--required-valid-signature-count`` or :ref:`GALAXY_REQUIRED_VALID_SIGNATURE_COUNT`. All signatures can be required by setting the option to ``all``. To fail signature verification if no valid signatures are found, prepend the value with ``+``, such as ``+all`` or ``+1``. .. code-block:: bash export ANSIBLE_GALAXY_GPG_KEYRING=~/.ansible/pubring.kbx export ANSIBLE_GALAXY_REQUIRED_VALID_SIGNATURE_COUNT=2 ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection --signature https://examplehost.com/detached_signature.asc --signature file:///path/to/local/detached_signature.asc Certain GnuPG errors can be ignored with ``--ignore-signature-status-code`` or :ref:`GALAXY_REQUIRED_VALID_SIGNATURE_COUNT`. :ref:`GALAXY_REQUIRED_VALID_SIGNATURE_COUNT` should be a list, and ``--ignore-signature-status-code`` can be provided multiple times to ignore multiple additional error status codes. This example requires any signatures provided by the distribution server to verify the collection except if they fail due to NO_PUBKEY: .. code-block:: bash export ANSIBLE_GALAXY_GPG_KEYRING=~/.ansible/pubring.kbx export ANSIBLE_GALAXY_REQUIRED_VALID_SIGNATURE_COUNT=all ansible-galaxy collection install my_namespace.my_collection --ignore-signature-status-code NO_PUBKEY If verification fails for the example above, only errors other than NO_PUBKEY will be displayed. If verification is unsuccessful, the collection will not be installed. GnuPG signature verification can be disabled with ``--disable-gpg-verify`` or by configuring :ref:`GALAXY_DISABLE_GPG_VERIFY`. .. _collections_older_version: Installing an older version of a collection ------------------------------------------- .. include:: ../shared_snippets/installing_older_collection.txt .. _collection_requirements_file: Install multiple collections with a requirements file ----------------------------------------------------- .. include:: ../shared_snippets/installing_multiple_collections.txt .. _collection_offline_download: Downloading a collection for offline use ----------------------------------------- .. include:: ../shared_snippets/download_tarball_collections.txt Installing a collection from source files ----------------------------------------- .. include:: ../shared_snippets/installing_collections_file.rst Installing a collection from a git repository --------------------------------------------- .. include:: ../shared_snippets/installing_collections_git_repo.txt .. _galaxy_server_config: Configuring the ``ansible-galaxy`` client ------------------------------------------ .. include:: ../shared_snippets/galaxy_server_list.txt .. _collections_downloading: Downloading collections ======================= To download a collection and its dependencies for an offline install, run ``ansible-galaxy collection download``. This downloads the collections specified and their dependencies to the specified folder and creates a ``requirements.yml`` file which can be used to install those collections on a host without access to a Galaxy server. All the collections are downloaded by default to the ``./collections`` folder. Just like the ``install`` command, the collections are sourced based on the :ref:`configured galaxy server config `. Even if a collection to download was specified by a URL or path to a tarball, the collection will be redownloaded from the configured Galaxy server. Collections can be specified as one or multiple collections or with a ``requirements.yml`` file just like ``ansible-galaxy collection install``. To download a single collection and its dependencies: .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection download my_namespace.my_collection To download a single collection at a specific version: .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection download my_namespace.my_collection:1.0.0 To download multiple collections either specify multiple collections as command line arguments as shown above or use a requirements file in the format documented with :ref:`collection_requirements_file`. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection download -r requirements.yml You can also download a source collection directory. The collection is built with the mandatory ``galaxy.yml`` file. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection download /path/to/collection ansible-galaxy collection download git+file:///path/to/collection/.git You can download multiple source collections from a single namespace by providing the path to the namespace. .. code-block:: text ns/ ├── collection1/ │   ├── galaxy.yml │   └── plugins/ └── collection2/ ├── galaxy.yml └── plugins/ .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection install /path/to/ns All the collections are downloaded by default to the ``./collections`` folder but you can use ``-p`` or ``--download-path`` to specify another path: .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection download my_namespace.my_collection -p ~/offline-collections Once you have downloaded the collections, the folder contains the collections specified, their dependencies, and a ``requirements.yml`` file. You can use this folder as is with ``ansible-galaxy collection install`` to install the collections on a host without access to a Galaxy server. .. code-block:: bash # This must be run from the folder that contains the offline collections and requirements.yml file downloaded # by the internet-connected host cd ~/offline-collections ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml .. _collections_listing: Listing collections =================== To list installed collections, run ``ansible-galaxy collection list``. This shows all of the installed collections found in the configured collections search paths. It will also show collections under development which contain a galaxy.yml file instead of a MANIFEST.json. The path where the collections are located are displayed as well as version information. If no version information is available, a ``*`` is displayed for the version number. .. code-block:: shell # /home/astark/.ansible/collections/ansible_collections Collection Version -------------------------- ------- cisco.aci 0.0.5 cisco.mso 0.0.4 sandwiches.ham * splunk.es 0.0.5 # /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections Collection Version ----------------- ------- fortinet.fortios 1.0.6 pureport.pureport 0.0.8 sensu.sensu_go 1.3.0 Run with ``-vvv`` to display more detailed information. To list a specific collection, pass a valid fully qualified collection name (FQCN) to the command ``ansible-galaxy collection list``. All instances of the collection will be listed. .. code-block:: shell > ansible-galaxy collection list fortinet.fortios # /home/astark/.ansible/collections/ansible_collections Collection Version ---------------- ------- fortinet.fortios 1.0.1 # /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections Collection Version ---------------- ------- fortinet.fortios 1.0.6 To search other paths for collections, use the ``-p`` option. Specify multiple search paths by separating them with a ``:``. The list of paths specified on the command line will be added to the beginning of the configured collections search paths. .. code-block:: shell > ansible-galaxy collection list -p '/opt/ansible/collections:/etc/ansible/collections' # /opt/ansible/collections/ansible_collections Collection Version --------------- ------- sandwiches.club 1.7.2 # /etc/ansible/collections/ansible_collections Collection Version -------------- ------- sandwiches.pbj 1.2.0 # /home/astark/.ansible/collections/ansible_collections Collection Version -------------------------- ------- cisco.aci 0.0.5 cisco.mso 0.0.4 fortinet.fortios 1.0.1 sandwiches.ham * splunk.es 0.0.5 # /usr/share/ansible/collections/ansible_collections Collection Version ----------------- ------- fortinet.fortios 1.0.6 pureport.pureport 0.0.8 sensu.sensu_go 1.3.0 .. _using_collections: Verifying collections ===================== Verifying collections with ``ansible-galaxy`` --------------------------------------------- Once installed, you can verify that the content of the installed collection matches the content of the collection on the server. This feature expects that the collection is installed in one of the configured collection paths and that the collection exists on one of the configured galaxy servers. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection verify my_namespace.my_collection The output of the ``ansible-galaxy collection verify`` command is quiet if it is successful. If a collection has been modified, the altered files are listed under the collection name. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection verify my_namespace.my_collection Collection my_namespace.my_collection contains modified content in the following files: my_namespace.my_collection plugins/inventory/my_inventory.py plugins/modules/my_module.py You can use the ``-vvv`` flag to display additional information, such as the version and path of the installed collection, the URL of the remote collection used for validation, and successful verification output. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection verify my_namespace.my_collection -vvv ... Verifying 'my_namespace.my_collection:1.0.0'. Installed collection found at '/path/to/ansible_collections/my_namespace/my_collection/' Remote collection found at 'https://galaxy.ansible.com/download/my_namespace-my_collection-1.0.0.tar.gz' Successfully verified that checksums for 'my_namespace.my_collection:1.0.0' match the remote collection If you have a pre-release or non-latest version of a collection installed you should include the specific version to verify. If the version is omitted, the installed collection is verified against the latest version available on the server. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection verify my_namespace.my_collection:1.0.0 In addition to the ``namespace.collection_name:version`` format, you can provide the collections to verify in a ``requirements.yml`` file. Dependencies listed in ``requirements.yml`` are not included in the verify process and should be verified separately. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection verify -r requirements.yml Verifying against ``tar.gz`` files is not supported. If your ``requirements.yml`` contains paths to tar files or URLs for installation, you can use the ``--ignore-errors`` flag to ensure that all collections using the ``namespace.name`` format in the file are processed. .. _verify_signed_collections: Verifying signed collections ----------------------------- If a collection has been signed by a :term:`distribution server`, the server will provide ASCII armored, detached signatures to verify the authenticity of the MANIFEST.json before using it to verify the collection's contents. This option is not available on all distribution servers. See :ref:`distributing_collections` for a table listing which servers support collection signing. See :ref:`installing_signed_collections` for how to verify a signed collection when you install it. To verify a signed installed collection: .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection verify my_namespace.my_collection --keyring ~/.ansible/pubring.kbx Use the ``--signature`` option to verify collection name(s) provided on the CLI with an additional signature. This option can be used multiple times to provide multiple signatures. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection verify my_namespace.my_collection --signature https://examplehost.com/detached_signature.asc --signature file:///path/to/local/detached_signature.asc --keyring ~/.ansible/pubring.kbx Optionally, you can verify a collection signature with a ``requirements.yml`` file. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection verify -r requirements.yml --keyring ~/.ansible/pubring.kbx When a collection is installed from a distribution server, the signatures provided by the server to verify the collection's authenticity are saved alongside the installed collections. This data is used to verify the internal consistency of the collection without querying the distribution server again when the ``--offline`` option is provided. .. code-block:: bash ansible-galaxy collection verify my_namespace.my_collection --offline --keyring ~/.ansible/pubring.kbx .. _collections_using_playbook: Using collections in a Playbook =============================== Once installed, you can reference a collection content by its fully qualified collection name (FQCN): .. code-block:: yaml - hosts: all tasks: - my_namespace.my_collection.mymodule: option1: value This works for roles or any type of plugin distributed within the collection: .. code-block:: yaml - hosts: all tasks: - import_role: name: my_namespace.my_collection.role1 - my_namespace.mycollection.mymodule: option1: value - debug: msg: '{{ lookup("my_namespace.my_collection.lookup1", 'param1')| my_namespace.my_collection.filter1 }}' Simplifying module names with the ``collections`` keyword ========================================================= The ``collections`` keyword lets you define a list of collections that your role or playbook should search for unqualified module and action names. So you can use the ``collections`` keyword, then simply refer to modules and action plugins by their short-form names throughout that role or playbook. .. warning:: If your playbook uses both the ``collections`` keyword and one or more roles, the roles do not inherit the collections set by the playbook. This is one of the reasons we recommend you always use FQCN. See below for roles details. Using ``collections`` in roles ------------------------------ Within a role, you can control which collections Ansible searches for the tasks inside the role using the ``collections`` keyword in the role's ``meta/main.yml``. Ansible will use the collections list defined inside the role even if the playbook that calls the role defines different collections in a separate ``collections`` keyword entry. Roles defined inside a collection always implicitly search their own collection first, so you don't need to use the ``collections`` keyword to access modules, actions, or other roles contained in the same collection. .. code-block:: yaml # myrole/meta/main.yml collections: - my_namespace.first_collection - my_namespace.second_collection - other_namespace.other_collection Using ``collections`` in playbooks ---------------------------------- In a playbook, you can control the collections Ansible searches for modules and action plugins to execute. However, any roles you call in your playbook define their own collections search order; they do not inherit the calling playbook's settings. This is true even if the role does not define its own ``collections`` keyword. .. code-block:: yaml - hosts: all collections: - my_namespace.my_collection tasks: - import_role: name: role1 - mymodule: option1: value - debug: msg: '{{ lookup("my_namespace.my_collection.lookup1", "param1")| my_namespace.my_collection.filter1 }}' The ``collections`` keyword merely creates an ordered 'search path' for non-namespaced plugin and role references. It does not install content or otherwise change Ansible's behavior around the loading of plugins or roles. Note that an FQCN is still required for non-action or module plugins (for example, lookups, filters, tests). When using the ``collections`` keyword, it is not necessary to add in ``ansible.builtin`` as part of the search list. When left omitted, the following content is available by default: 1. Standard ansible modules and plugins available through ``ansible-base``/``ansible-core`` 2. Support for older 3rd party plugin paths In general, it is preferable to use a module or plugin's FQCN over the ``collections`` keyword and the short name for all content in ``ansible-core`` Using a playbook from a collection ================================== .. versionadded:: 2.11 You can also distribute playbooks in your collection and invoke them using the same semantics you use for plugins: .. code-block:: shell ansible-playbook my_namespace.my_collection.playbook1 -i ./myinventory From inside a playbook: .. code-block:: yaml - import_playbook: my_namespace.my_collection.playbookX A few recommendations when creating such playbooks, ``hosts:`` should be generic or at least have a variable input. .. code-block:: yaml - hosts: all # Use --limit or customized inventory to restrict hosts targeted - hosts: localhost # For things you want to restrict to the controller - hosts: '{{target|default("webservers")}}' # Assumes inventory provides a 'webservers' group, but can also use ``-e 'target=host1,host2'`` This will have an implied entry in the ``collections:`` keyword of ``my_namespace.my_collection`` just as with roles. .. note:: Playbook names, like other collection resources, have a restricted set of valid characters. Names can contain only lowercase alphanumeric characters, plus _ and must start with an alpha character. The dash ``-`` character is not valid for playbook names in collections. Playbooks whose names contain invalid characters are not addressable: this is a limitation of the Python importer that is used to load collection resources. .. seealso:: :ref:`developing_collections` Develop or modify a collection. :ref:`collections_galaxy_meta` Understand the collections metadata structure. `Mailing List `_ The development mailing list :ref:`communication_irc` How to join Ansible chat channels `Automation Hub `_ Learn how to use collections with Red Hat Automation Hub