Introduction to Ansible Galaxy

What is Ansible Galaxy?

Ansible Galaxy is a community repository for Ansible roles, which are reusable units of automation that can be shared and downloaded. Galaxy allows you to find, use, and share Ansible roles to streamline your automation tasks.

Installing Ansible Galaxy

Ansible Galaxy is included with Ansible by default. If you have Ansible installed, you already have access to Ansible Galaxy. To check if Ansible is installed, run the following command:

Using Ansible Galaxy

To use Ansible Galaxy, you can perform various tasks such as installing roles, searching for roles, and uploading roles. Below are some common commands and their usage:

Installing Roles

To install a role from Ansible Galaxy, use the following command:

For example, to install the geerlingguy.apache role:

Searching for Roles

You can search for roles on Ansible Galaxy using the following command:

For example, to search for roles related to apache:

Creating and Sharing Roles

Creating your own roles allows you to modularize your automation scripts and share them with others. Here's a basic structure for an Ansible role:

                ├── README.md
                ├── defaults
                │   └── main.yml
                ├── files
                ├── handlers
                │   └── main.yml
                ├── meta
                │   └── main.yml
                ├── tasks
                │   └── main.yml
                ├── templates
                └── vars
                    └── main.yml
                

Once you have created your role, you can share it on Ansible Galaxy. First, make sure you have an account on Ansible Galaxy. Then, follow these steps:

1. Initialize a new Git repository for your role.
2. Push your role to a public GitHub repository.
3. Import your role into Ansible Galaxy by linking your GitHub account.

Conclusion

Ansible Galaxy is a powerful tool that simplifies the process of sharing and using Ansible roles. By leveraging Galaxy, you can save time and effort by reusing community-contributed roles and sharing your own creations with others. Whether you're just getting started with Ansible or you're an experienced user, Ansible Galaxy is a valuable resource for enhancing your automation workflows.