:dfn:`Ansible Galaxy` refers to the `Galaxy <https://galaxy.ansible.com>`_ website, a free site for finding, downloading, and sharing community developed roles.
Use Galaxy to jump-start your automation project with great content from the Ansible community. Galaxy provides pre-packaged units of work such as `roles <playbooks_reuse_roles>`_, and new in Galaxy 3.2, `collections <collections>`_.
You can find roles for provisioning infrastructure, deploying applications, and all of the tasks you do everyday. The collection format provides a comprehensive package of automation that may include multiple playbooks, roles, modules, and plugins.
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.._finding_galaxy_collections:
Finding collections on Galaxy
=============================
To find collections on Galaxy:
#. Click the :guilabel:`Search` icon in the left-hand navigation.
#. Set the filter to *collection*.
#. Set other filters and press :guilabel:`enter`.
Galaxy presents a list of collections that match your search criteria.
To download a collection from Automation Hub with the ``ansible-galaxy`` command:
1. Get your Automation Hub API token. Go to https://cloud.redhat.com/ansible/automation-hub/token/ and click :guilabel:`Get API token` from the version dropdown to copy your API token.
2. Configure Red Hat Automation Hub server in the ``server_list`` option under the ``[galaxy]`` section in your :file:`ansible.cfg` file.
The ``ansible-galaxy`` command comes bundled with Ansible, and you can use it to install roles from Galaxy or directly from a git based SCM. You can
also use it to create a new role, remove roles, or perform tasks on the Galaxy website.
The command line tool by default communicates with the Galaxy website API using the server address *https://galaxy.ansible.com*. Since the `Galaxy project <https://github.com/ansible/galaxy>`_
is an open source project, you may be running your own internal Galaxy server and wish to override the default server address. You can do this using the *--server* option
or by setting the Galaxy server value in your *ansible.cfg* file. For information on setting the value in *ansible.cfg* see :ref:`galaxy_server`.
Installing roles
----------------
Use the ``ansible-galaxy`` command to download roles from the `Galaxy website <https://galaxy.ansible.com>`_
..code-block:: bash
$ ansible-galaxy install namespace.role_name
Setting where to install roles
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
By default, Ansible downloads roles to the first writable directory in the default list of paths ``~/.ansible/roles:/usr/share/ansible/roles:/etc/ansible/roles``. This installs roles in the home directory of the user running ``ansible-galaxy``.
You can override this with one of the following options:
* Set the environment variable :envvar:`ANSIBLE_ROLES_PATH` in your session.
* Define ``roles_path`` in an ``ansible.cfg`` file.
* Use the ``--roles-path`` option for the ``ansible-galaxy`` command.
The following provides an example of using ``--roles-path`` to install the role into the current working directory:
When the Galaxy server imports a role, it imports any git tags matching the Semantic Version format as versions. In turn, you can download a specific version of a role by specifying one of the imported tags.
To see the available versions for a role:
#. Locate the role on the Galaxy search page.
#. Click on the name to view more details, including the available versions.
You can also navigate directly to the role using the /<namespace>/<role name>. For example, to view the role geerlingguy.apache, go to `<https://galaxy.ansible.com/geerlingguy/apache>`_.
To install a specific version of a role from Galaxy, append a comma and the value of a GitHub release tag. For example:
You can install multiple roles by including the roles in a :file:`requirements.yml` file. The format of the file is YAML, and the
file extension must be either *.yml* or *.yaml*.
Use the following command to install roles included in :file:`requirements.yml:`
..code-block:: bash
$ ansible-galaxy install -r requirements.yml
Again, the extension is important. If the *.yml* extension is left off, the ``ansible-galaxy`` CLI assumes the file is in an older, now deprecated,
"basic" format.
Each role in the file will have one or more of the following attributes:
src
The source of the role. Use the format *namespace.role_name*, if downloading from Galaxy; otherwise, provide a URL pointing
to a repository within a git based SCM. See the examples below. This is a required attribute.
scm
Specify the SCM. As of this writing only *git* or *hg* are allowed. See the examples below. Defaults to *git*.
version:
The version of the role to download. Provide a release tag value, commit hash, or branch name. Defaults to the branch set as a default in the repository, otherwise defaults to the *master*.
name:
Download the role to a specific name. Defaults to the Galaxy name when downloading from Galaxy, otherwise it defaults
to the name of the repository.
Use the following example as a guide for specifying roles in *requirements.yml*:
..code-block:: yaml
# from galaxy
- src: yatesr.timezone
# from GitHub
- src: https://github.com/bennojoy/nginx
# from GitHub, overriding the name and specifying a specific tag
- src: https://github.com/bennojoy/nginx
version: master
name: nginx_role
# from a webserver, where the role is packaged in a tar.gz
version: "0.1" # quoted, so YAML doesn't parse this as a floating-point value
Installing multiple roles from multiple files
---------------------------------------------
For large projects, the ``include`` directive in a :file:`requirements.yml` file provides the ability to split a large file into multiple smaller files.
For example, a project may have a :file:`requirements.yml` file, and a :file:`webserver.yml` file.
Below are the contents of the :file:`webserver.yml` file:
The following shows the contents of the :file:`requirements.yml` file that now includes the :file:`webserver.yml` file:
..code-block:: bash
# from galaxy
- src: yatesr.timezone
- include: <path_to_requirements>/webserver.yml
To install all the roles from both files, pass the root file, in this case :file:`requirements.yml` on the
command line, as follows:
..code-block:: bash
$ ansible-galaxy install -r requirements.yml
.._galaxy_dependencies:
Dependencies
------------
Roles can also be dependent on other roles, and when you install a role that has dependencies, those dependencies will automatically be installed.
You specify role dependencies in the ``meta/main.yml`` file by providing a list of roles. If the source of a role is Galaxy, you can simply specify the role in
the format ``namespace.role_name``. You can also use the more complex format in ``requirements.yml``, allowing you to provide ``src``, ``scm``, ``version``, and ``name``.
The following shows an example ``meta/main.yml`` file with dependent roles:
..code-block:: yaml
---
dependencies:
- geerlingguy.java
galaxy_info:
author: geerlingguy
description: Elasticsearch for Linux.
company: "Midwestern Mac, LLC"
license: "license (BSD, MIT)"
min_ansible_version: 2.4
platforms:
- name: EL
versions:
- all
- name: Debian
versions:
- all
- name: Ubuntu
versions:
- all
galaxy_tags:
- web
- system
- monitoring
- logging
- lucene
- elk
- elasticsearch
Tags are inherited *down* the dependency chain. In order for tags to be applied to a role and all its dependencies, the tag should be applied to the role, not to all the tasks within a role.
Roles listed as dependencies are subject to conditionals and tag filtering, and may not execute fully depending on
what tags and conditionals are applied.
If the source of a role is Galaxy, specify the role in the format *namespace.role_name*:
..code-block:: yaml
dependencies:
- geerlingguy.apache
- geerlingguy.ansible
Alternately, you can specify the role dependencies in the complex form used in :file:`requirements.yml` as follows:
When dependencies are encountered by ``ansible-galaxy``, it will automatically install each dependency to the ``roles_path``. To understand how dependencies are handled during play execution, see :ref:`playbooks_reuse_roles`.
..note::
Galaxy expects all role dependencies to exist in Galaxy, and therefore dependencies to be specified in the
``namespace.role_name`` format. If you import a role with a dependency where the ``src`` value is a URL, the import process will fail.
List installed roles
--------------------
Use ``list`` to show the name and version of each role installed in the *roles_path*.
..code-block:: bash
$ ansible-galaxy list
- ansible-network.network-engine, v2.7.2
- ansible-network.config_manager, v2.6.2
- ansible-network.cisco_nxos, v2.7.1
- ansible-network.vyos, v2.7.3
- ansible-network.cisco_ios, v2.7.0
Remove an installed role
------------------------
Use ``remove`` to delete a role from *roles_path*:
..code-block:: bash
$ ansible-galaxy remove namespace.role_name
..seealso::
`collections <collections>`_
Sharable collections of modules, playbooks and roles
`roles <playbooks_reuse_roles>`_
Reusable tasks, handlers, and other files in a known directory structure
