ansible-galaxy install Command Reference

Install Ansible roles and collections from a requirements file.

ansible-galaxy install fetches the roles and collections your playbooks depend on, typically from a requirements.yml. It is the dependency step that runs before ansible-playbook in CI.

What it does

ansible-galaxy install downloads roles (and, with the collection subcommand, collections) from Galaxy or a Git source into a roles/collections path. Pinning versions in requirements.yml makes playbook runs reproducible across runners.

Common flags and usage

-r requirements.yml: install everything listed in the requirements file
ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml: install collections
-p PATH / --collections-path PATH: install into a specific directory
--force: reinstall even if already present
--ignore-errors: continue past individual install failures

Example

shell

- name: Install Ansible dependencies
  run: |
    ansible-galaxy install -r requirements.yml
    ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml

In CI

Run ansible-galaxy install before ansible-playbook so roles and collections are present; pin versions in requirements.yml for reproducibility. Cache the install path between runs to speed up pipelines, and install both roles and collections when your requirements file declares both.

Key takeaways

ansible-galaxy install fetches roles and collections from requirements.yml.
Pin versions so playbook runs are reproducible across CI runners.
Run it before ansible-playbook and cache the install path for speed.