Ansible New Ee

ansible-new-ee v2.0.3

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Ansible New Execution Environment

Create a new Ansible execution environment (EE) project using ansible-creator and customize it for the user's needs.

Gather inputs

Ask the user for:

1. EE name — a descriptive name for the execution environment (snake_case) — required
2. Target path — where to create the EE project (default: ./<ee_name>)
3. Base image — the container base image (default: quay.io/fedora/fedora:latest). Common choices:
   • quay.io/fedora/fedora:latest
   • registry.redhat.io/ansible-automation-platform/ee-minimal-rhel9:latest
   • registry.redhat.io/ansible-automation-platform/ee-supported-rhel9:latest
4. ansible-core version — pip version spec (default: ansible-core)
5. Python packages — additional Python dependencies (list)
6. System packages — additional system/RPM dependencies (list)
7. Galaxy collections — Ansible collections to include (list of namespace.name entries)
8. Galaxy roles — Ansible roles to include (optional list)
9. Additional build steps — any extra Dockerfile/Containerfile steps (optional)
10. Container tags — tags for the built image (default: <ee_name>)

Optional: Collection dependency validation

If the ensure_collection MCP tool is available in your tool list (provided by the ansible-know MCP server) AND the user specified Galaxy collections in step 7 above, perform the following validation step. If this tool is not available, skip this section entirely.

Step 1 — Validate collections on Galaxy

For each collection the user listed, call ensure_collection(collection_namespace=<namespace.name>).

• Success — the collection exists. Extract the version field from the response (this is the latest version installed from Galaxy). Offer to pin it as a minimum version (e.g., >=2.2.0).
• Error (response contains error field) — the collection was not found on Galaxy. Warn the user and ask whether to remove it from the list or proceed anyway (it may be available from a private Automation Hub or SCM source).

Step 2 — Present validation summary

Show a summary table of the validation results:

Update the user's collection list with validated names and version pins before proceeding to the scaffolding strategy.

Dependency introspection

Before scaffolding, check if the current project contains existing Ansible content that can inform the EE dependencies:

• Collections — scan for galaxy.yml or collections/requirements.yml in the project. If found, extract collection names and offer to include them automatically.
• Roles — scan for roles/*/meta/main.yml to find role dependencies and collections they reference.
• Python dependencies — scan collection and role requirements.txt files, or setup.cfg/pyproject.toml for Python dependencies used by custom modules or plugins.
• System dependencies — scan for bindep.txt files in collections or roles.

Present the discovered dependencies to the user and ask which to include.

Scaffolding strategy

1. Build the ansible-creator init execution_env command using CLI flags to pre-populate the EE definition:

   ansible-creator init execution_env <path> \
     --ee-name <ee_name> \
     --ee-base-image <base_image> \
     --ee-collections <collection1> \
     --ee-collections "<collection2:>=version>" \
     --ee-python-deps <pkg1> \
     --ee-python-deps <pkg2> \
     --ee-system-packages <pkg1> \
     --scm-provider <github|gitlab>
   

   Flag details:

   • --ee-name — from Gather inputs step 1
   • --ee-base-image — from step 3
   • --ee-collections — repeatable, one per collection. Use the name:version format for version-pinned collections (e.g., --ee-collections "ansible.posix:>=2.2.0"). Collections without version pins use just the name (e.g., --ee-collections ansible.posix)
   • --ee-python-deps — repeatable, one per Python package from step 5 and any discovered via dependency introspection
   • --ee-system-packages — repeatable, one per system package from step 6 and any discovered via dependency introspection
   • --scm-provider — github or gitlab based on CI/CD choice

   If --ee-collections or other flags are not recognized (ansible-creator < 26.6.1), fall back to the base command ansible-creator init execution_env <path> without flags and customize execution-environment.yml manually after generation.

   If ansible-creator is not installed at all, fall back to creating the directory structure manually and inform the user they can install it with pip install ansible-creator or use the ansible-dev-tools devcontainer for future use.

2. Customize execution-environment.yml if the CLI flags did not fully populate it (older ansible-creator or manual fallback). When CLI flags were used, verify the generated file matches user inputs and adjust only if needed.

3. Generate external dependency files (see below).

4. Update README.md with build and usage instructions.

5. Generate CI/CD pipeline if requested.

External dependency files

For anything beyond trivial EEs, generate external dependency files instead of inlining everything in execution-environment.yml. This is the recommended pattern for maintainability.

requirements.yml

Galaxy collections and roles:

---
collections:
  - name: ansible.netcommon
    version: ">=5.0.0"
  # <user collections with optional version pins>
roles: []
  # <user roles>

requirements.txt

Python package dependencies:

# Python dependencies for the execution environment
# <user python packages, one per line>

bindep.txt

System package dependencies in bindep format:

# System dependencies for the execution environment
openssh-clients [platform:centos-8 platform:rhel-8 platform:rhel-9]
sshpass [platform:centos-8 platform:rhel-8 platform:rhel-9]
# <user system packages with platform selectors>

If the user has few dependencies, inlining is acceptable. If there are more than 3 items in any category, use external files.

Customization of execution-environment.yml

Replace the sample content with user-specified values. Reference external dependency files when generated:

---
version: 3

images:
  base_image:
    name: <base_image>

dependencies:
  python_interpreter:
    package_system: python3
    python_path: /usr/bin/python3

  ansible_core:
    package_pip: <ansible_core_version>

  ansible_runner:
    package_pip: ansible-runner

  system: bindep.txt

  python: requirements.txt

  galaxy: requirements.yml

additional_build_steps:
  append_base:
    - RUN $PYCMD -m pip install -U pip
    # <user additional steps>

options:
  tags:
    - <ee_name>

When using inline dependencies (small EEs), use the original inline format instead of file references.

README.md content

Generate a README with:

• EE name and purpose
• Prerequisites (ansible-builder installation)
• Build instructions:

  ansible-builder build -t <ee_name> -f execution-environment.yml
  

• Usage instructions (with ansible-navigator, ansible-runner, and AAP/Controller)
• Included dependencies table (collections, Python packages, system packages)
• How to customize and extend
• CI/CD pipeline description (if GitHub Actions workflow is present)

CI/CD pipeline

If the user requested a CI/CD pipeline (ask during input gathering if not specified), generate a pipeline to build and push the EE image.

GitHub Actions (.github/workflows/ee-build.yml):

• Build job: ansible-builder build -t <ee_name> -f execution-environment.yml
• Test job: run ansible-navigator with the built image to verify it works
• Push job (on tag or main branch): push to the configured registry using podman push or docker push
• Support for multiple registries (quay.io, ghcr.io, registry.redhat.io, custom)
• Use secrets for registry credentials: REGISTRY_USERNAME, REGISTRY_PASSWORD

GitLab CI (.gitlab-ci.yml):

• Same stages adapted to GitLab CI syntax with $CI_REGISTRY variables

Only generate the pipeline for the platform the user chose. Include comments explaining required secrets and manual setup steps.

Post-creation validation

After creating all files, verify:

• execution-environment.yml is valid YAML with version 3 schema
• All collection names use namespace.name format
• Base image reference is valid
• YAML uses 2-space indent and true/false booleans
• No sample/placeholder dependencies remain unless the user wanted them
• External dependency files (if generated) are referenced correctly in execution-environment.yml
• bindep.txt uses valid platform selectors
• README includes working build command
• CI pipeline references correct image name and registry

Output

Report what was created:

• EE project path
• List of generated files (grouped: EE config, dependency files, CI, docs)
• The build command to run
• Any auto-detected dependencies that were included
• Any manual steps (e.g., authenticating to registries, configuring CI secrets, verifying bindep platform selectors)

Loading reference rules

Load CoP reference rules using this priority:

1. Bundled references — Read from this plugin's references/*.adoc files (coding_style.adoc).
2. Fetch from GitHub (if bundled files are missing) — Fetch from: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redhat-cop/automation-good-practices/main/coding_style/README.adoc
3. CLAUDE.md only (if GitHub is unreachable) — Use only the Ansible rules from CLAUDE.md. Warn: "Scaffolding may miss some best practices."
4. Stop (if no rules at all) — Report inability to scaffold and stop.

CLAUDE.md rules take precedence when present. AsciiDoc provides full context and examples.