Getting started with Ansible Content Collections

Learning path | 5 resources | Published on April 29, 2024
Craig Brandt

Discover Ansible Content Collections through practical examples that explain their advantages, and then create and use them in your Ansible automation.

This learning path is based on Ansible Core version 2.16. However, the content is relevant for later versions.

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  1. Overview: Getting started with Ansible Content Collections
  2. What are Ansible Content Collections and what are their benefits Page
  3. Ansible Content Collection structure and its components Page
  4. Finding and installing collections and using them in playbooks Page
  5. Creating and publishing Ansible Content Collections Page

Overview: Getting started with Ansible Content Collections

Ansible_Content_Collections featured_image

Ansible Content Collections are the essential building blocks of automation. They provide a distributable format to package automation content, such as modules, playbooks, plugins, roles, and related documentation, making sharing easier across teams.

Your Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform subscription includes Red Hat Ansible Certified Content and Ansible validated content that we continuously publish with our partners.

This learning path will introduce core Ansible Content Collection concepts and explain why they are essential to automating at scale. It will also cover more about using, creating, and publishing content collections to private automation hub.

Prerequisites:

  • A basic understanding of Ansible core concepts and playbooks. You will find helpful learning paths on our Ansible learning hub page.
  • The ansible-galaxy  CLI tool installed on your workstation. Follow the Ansible installation guide for help. 
  • An integrated development environment (IDE), such as Visual Studio Code, or tools like Vim for manipulating files
  • Access to a command-line terminal.
  • Credentials to access Ansible automation hub.
  • Optional: If using Visual Studio Code, install the Ansible VS Code extension. Please review the Getting Started section in the Ansible Visual Studio Code Extension learning path or the documentation for more information.

In this learning path, you will:

  • Learn about Ansible Content Collections and why they’re essential.
  • Learn more about collection components and folder structure.
  • Learn how to find collections and use them in a playbook.
  • Learn how to create a collection.
  • Learn how to prepare and publish your collection in a repository.