Ansible Galaxy is a repository for Ansible roles that allows users to share and reuse automation code. With Ansible Galaxy, you can easily install pre-built roles from the community and publish your own roles for others to use.

This guide covers: ✅ How to install roles from Ansible Galaxy
✅ Where Ansible Galaxy installs roles
✅ Using a downloaded role in a playbook
✅ How to publish your own role to Ansible Galaxy
✅ Generating and using an API token for Ansible Galaxy

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

ansible-galaxy role install <role-name>

For example, to install the bsmeding.docker role, run:

ansible-galaxy role install bsmeding.docker

By default, Ansible Galaxy installs roles in the following directory:

~/.ansible/roles/

You can verify the installed roles by listing the directory:

ls ~/.ansible/roles/

Once installed, you can use the role in an Ansible playbook. Here’s an example docker-playbook.yaml that uses the bsmeding.docker role:

---
- hosts: all
  become: true
  roles:
    - bsmeding.docker

Run the playbook with:

ansible-playbook -i inventory.ini docker-playbook.yaml

If you want to share your own role on Ansible Galaxy, follow these steps:

Create a GitHub repository with a name following the format: ansible-role-<role-name> (e.g., ansible-role-docker).

Your repository should have the following structure:

ansible-role-docker/
│-- defaults/       # Default variables
│-- files/          # Static files
│-- handlers/       # Handlers for services
│-- meta/           # Role metadata
│-- tasks/          # Task definitions
│-- templates/      # Jinja2 templates
│-- vars/           # Role-specific variables
│-- README.md       # Documentation

You can generate this structure using:

ansible-galaxy role init ansible-role-docker

Push your role to GitHub:

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git branch -M main
git remote add origin https://github.com/<your-github-username>/ansible-role-docker.git
git push -u origin main

To upload your role to Ansible Galaxy, use:

ansible-galaxy role import <github-username> <repo-name> --token <your-api-token>

For example:

ansible-galaxy role import myusername ansible-role-docker --token myapitoken123

To upload a role, you need an API token from Ansible Galaxy. Follow these steps:

1. Go to Ansible Galaxy
2. Log in with your GitHub account.
3. Click on your profile and go to API Tokens.
4. Click Create Token.
5. Copy the generated token and use it in the ansible-galaxy role import command.

Note: Keep your API token secure and do not share it publicly.

To update an installed role, use:

ansible-galaxy role install <role-name> --force

For example:

ansible-galaxy role install bsmeding.docker --force

You can install multiple roles using a requirements.yml file:

- src: bsmeding.docker
- src: geerlingguy.nginx

Install all roles listed in the file with:

ansible-galaxy role install -r requirements.yml

Ansible Galaxy simplifies role management by allowing users to install, share, and maintain reusable roles. By following this guide, you can:

✅ Install and use roles from Ansible Galaxy
✅ Understand where roles are stored
✅ Publish your own roles to Ansible Galaxy
✅ Manage API tokens for authentication

Start leveraging Ansible Galaxy today to streamline your automation workflows! 🚀