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 <list_of_collections>`.
* For the current development status of Collections and FAQ see `Ansible Collections Community Guide <https://github.com/ansible-collections/overview/blob/main/README.rst>`_.
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.
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.
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'
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
