Ansible Galaxy Roles Collections

Ansible Galaxy is the package manager for Ansible content. Instead of writing everything from scratch, install community roles and collections.

Roles vs Collections

Concept	Contains	Example
Role	Tasks, handlers, templates, vars for one purpose	`geerlingguy.docker`
Collection	Multiple roles, modules, plugins, playbooks	`community.general`

Collections are the modern standard. Roles still work but collections offer more.

Installing Roles

bash

# Install from Galaxy
ansible-galaxy role install geerlingguy.docker
ansible-galaxy role install geerlingguy.nginx

# Install specific version
ansible-galaxy role install geerlingguy.docker,6.1.0

# Install to custom path
ansible-galaxy role install geerlingguy.docker -p ./roles/

# List installed roles
ansible-galaxy role list

Use in Playbook

yaml

---
- hosts: webservers
  roles:
    - geerlingguy.docker
    - role: geerlingguy.nginx
      vars:
        nginx_vhosts:
          - listen: "80"
            server_name: "app.example.com"
            extra_parameters: |
              location / {
                  proxy_pass http://localhost:3000;
              }

Related Course

Master this topic with hands-on labs

Go beyond reading — build real projects in sandboxed environments with expert video guidance.

Browse Courses →

Installing Collections

bash

# Install collection
ansible-galaxy collection install community.general
ansible-galaxy collection install community.docker
ansible-galaxy collection install amazon.aws

# Specific version
ansible-galaxy collection install community.general:>=8.0.0

# List installed
ansible-galaxy collection list

Use Collection Modules

yaml

---
- hosts: all
  tasks:
    - name: Manage Docker container
      community.docker.docker_container:
        name: my-app
        image: my-app:latest
        state: started
        ports:
          - "3000:3000"

    - name: Create S3 bucket
      amazon.aws.s3_bucket:
        name: my-backup-bucket
        state: present
        region: eu-west-1

Requirements Files

roles/requirements.yml

yaml

---
roles:
  - name: geerlingguy.docker
    version: "6.1.0"
  - name: geerlingguy.nginx
    version: "3.2.0"
  - name: geerlingguy.certbot
  # From Git
  - name: my-custom-role
    src: https://github.com/myorg/ansible-role-custom.git
    version: v1.2.0
    scm: git

collections/requirements.yml

yaml

---
collections:
  - name: community.general
    version: ">=8.0.0"
  - name: community.docker
    version: ">=3.0.0"
  - name: amazon.aws
    version: ">=7.0.0"
  - name: ansible.posix
  # From Galaxy
  - name: my_namespace.my_collection
    source: https://galaxy.ansible.com

Install All

bash

ansible-galaxy role install -r roles/requirements.yml
ansible-galaxy collection install -r collections/requirements.yml

# Force reinstall
ansible-galaxy collection install -r collections/requirements.yml --force

Popular Collections

Collection	Purpose
`community.general`	1000+ modules for everything
`community.docker`	Docker container management
`community.kubernetes`	K8s resource management
`amazon.aws`	AWS services
`azure.azcollection`	Azure services
`google.cloud`	GCP services
`ansible.posix`	POSIX system tasks
`ansible.builtin`	Core modules (included by default)
`community.postgresql`	PostgreSQL management
`community.mysql`	MySQL management

Stay Updated

Get weekly IT automation tips

Docker, Ansible, Terraform, MLOps — curated insights delivered to your inbox. No spam.

Subscribe Free →

Creating a Role

bash

ansible-galaxy role init my_role

my_role/
  defaults/
    main.yml         # Default variables (lowest priority)
  files/              # Static files to copy
  handlers/
    main.yml         # Handlers (restart services, etc.)
  meta/
    main.yml         # Role metadata, dependencies
  tasks/
    main.yml         # Main task list
  templates/          # Jinja2 templates
  tests/
  vars/
    main.yml         # Variables (higher priority)

tasks/main.yml

yaml

---
- name: Install packages
  ansible.builtin.package:
    name: "{{ my_role_packages }}"
    state: present

- name: Deploy configuration
  ansible.builtin.template:
    src: config.conf.j2
    dest: /etc/myapp/config.conf
    owner: root
    group: root
    mode: "0644"
  notify: Restart myapp

- name: Ensure service is running
  ansible.builtin.service:
    name: myapp
    state: started
    enabled: true

defaults/main.yml

yaml

---
my_role_packages:
  - myapp
  - myapp-utils
my_role_port: 8080
my_role_log_level: info

meta/main.yml

yaml

---
galaxy_info:
  author: Your Name
  description: Install and configure MyApp
  license: MIT
  min_ansible_version: "2.14"
  platforms:
    - name: Ubuntu
      versions:
        - jammy
    - name: EL
      versions:
        - "9"
dependencies:
  - role: geerlingguy.docker

Project Structure

ansible-project/
  ansible.cfg
  inventory/
    production/
      hosts.yml
      group_vars/
    staging/
      hosts.yml
      group_vars/
  playbooks/
    site.yml
    webservers.yml
  roles/
    requirements.yml
    my_custom_role/
  collections/
    requirements.yml

ansible.cfg

ini

[defaults]
roles_path = ./roles
collections_path = ./collections

What's Next?

Our Ansible Automation in 30 Minutes course covers Galaxy roles, collections, and building reusable automation. First lesson is free.

---

Ready to go deeper? Check out our hands-on course: Ansible Quickstart — practical exercises you can follow along on your own machine.

Ready to learn by doing?

Stop reading tutorials — start building. Expert video courses with hands-on labs in real sandboxed environments.

Browse Courses View Pricing

Share this article

Luca Berton

Docker Captain, IT automation expert, Red Hat Summit & KubeCon speaker. Building hands-on education for DevOps engineers at CopyPasteLearn.

Website Twitter LinkedIn

DevOps

Explore topics

Browse more articles on the topics covered here.

#Ansible #Galaxy #Roles #Collections #Automation DevOps 26 kubernetes 10 cicd 5 infrastructure-as-code 5 Containers 4 Terraform 4 Configuration 3 IaC 3

Ansible Galaxy Roles Collections

Roles vs Collections

Installing Roles

Use in Playbook

Master this topic with hands-on labs

Installing Collections

Use Collection Modules

Requirements Files

roles/requirements.yml

collections/requirements.yml

Install All

Popular Collections

Get weekly IT automation tips

Creating a Role

tasks/main.yml

defaults/main.yml

meta/main.yml

Project Structure

ansible.cfg

What's Next?

Ready to learn by doing?

Related Articles

Ansible Roles Reusable Automation

Ansible vs Terraform When to Use

Ansible Inventory: Static and Dynamic

Ansible Handlers and Notifications

Ansible Infrastructure as Code Guide

Ansible Inventory Management Guide

Explore topics