`Galaxy <https://galaxy.ansible.com>`_, is a free site for finding, downloading, and sharing community developed roles. Downloading roles from Galaxy is
a great way to jumpstart your automation projects.
You can also use the site to share roles that you create. By authenticating with the site using your GitHub account, you're able to *import* roles, making
them available to the Ansible community. Imported roles become available in the Galaxy search index and visible on the site, allowing users to
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* visit `Galaxy Settings <./intro_configuration.html#galaxy-settings>`_.
Be aware that by default Ansible downloads roles to the path specified by the environment variable *ANSIBLE_ROLES_PATH*. This can be set to a series of
directories (i.e. */etc/ansible/roles:~/.ansible/roles*), in which case the first writable path will be used. When Ansible is first installed it defaults
to */etc/ansible/roles*, which requires *root* privileges.
You can override this by setting the environment variable in your session, defining *roles_path* in an *ansible.cfg* file, or by using the *--roles-path* option.
The following provides an example of using *--roles-path* to install the role into the current working directory:
Beginning with Ansible 1.8 it is possible to install multiple roles by including the roles in a *requirements.yml* file. The format of the file is YAML, and the
Roles can also be dependent on other roles, and when you install a role that has dependencies, those dependenices 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 *username.role_name*. The more complex format used in *requirements.yml* is also supported, allowing you to provide src, scm, version and name.
Dependencies found in Galaxy can be specified as follows:
When dependencies are encountered by ``ansible-galaxy``, it will automatically install each dependency to the *roles_path*. To understand how dependencies
Use the ``init`` command to initialize the base structure of a new role, saving time on creating the various directories and main.yml files a role requires
If a directory matching the name of the role already exists in the current working directory, the init command will result in an error. To ignore the error
use the *--force* option. Force will create the above subdirectories and files, replacing anything that matches.
If you are creating a Container Enabled role, use the *--container-enabled* option. This will create the same directory structure as above, but populate it
with default files appropriate for a Container Enabled role. For instance, the README.md has a slightly different structure, the *.travis.yml* file tests
Using the ``import``, ``delete`` and ``setup`` commands to manage your roles on the Galaxy website requires authentication, and the ``login`` command
can be used to do just that. Before you can use the ``login`` command, you must create an account on the Galaxy website.
The ``login`` command requires using your GitHub credentials. You can use your username and password, or you can create a `personal access token <https://help.github.com/articles/creating-an-access-token-for-command-line-use/>`_. If you choose to create a token, grant minimal access to the token, as it is used just to verify identify.
The following shows authenticating with the Galaxy website using a GitHub username and password:
When you choose to use your username and password, your password is not sent to Galaxy. It is used to authenticates with GitHub and create a personal access token.
It then sends the token to Galaxy, which in turn verifies that your identity and returns a Galaxy access token. After authentication completes the GitHub token is
If you do not wish to use your GitHub password, or if you have two-factor authentication enabled with GitHub, use the *--github-token* option to pass a personal access token
The ``import`` command requires that you first authenticate using the ``login`` command. Once authenticated you can import any GitHub repository that you own or have
By default the name given to the role will be derived from the GitHub repository name. However, you can use the *--role-name* option to override this and set the name.
If the *--no-wait* option is present, the command will not wait for results. Results of the most recent import for any of your roles is available on the Galaxy web site
The ``delete`` command requires that you first authenticate using the ``login`` command. Once authenticated you can remove a role from the Galaxy web site. You are only allowed
to remove roles where you have access to the repository in GitHub.
You can create an integration or connection between a role in Galaxy and `Travis <http://travis-ci.org>`_. Once the connection is established, a build in Travis will
automatically trigger an import in Galaxy, updating the search index with the latest information about the role.
You create the integration using the ``setup`` command, but before an integration can be created, you must first authenticate using the ``login`` command; you will
also need an account in Travis, and your Travis token. Once you're ready, use the following command to create the integration:
The setup command requires your Travis token, however the token is not stored in Galaxy. It is used along with the GitHub username and repo to create a hash as described
in `the Travis documentation <https://docs.travis-ci.com/user/notifications/>`_. The hash is stored in Galaxy and used to verify notifications received from Travis.
The setup command enables Galaxy to respond to notifications. To configure Travis to run a build on your repository and send a notification, follow the
`Travis getting started guide <https://docs.travis-ci.com/user/getting-started/>`_.
