ansible-scaffold-ee

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Ansible Scaffold 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>)

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. Run ansible-creator init execution_env <path> to generate the base skeleton. If ansible-creator is not installed, 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 based on user inputs.
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-scaffold 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)

Rules fallback

If the rules are not available locally (no CLAUDE.md with Ansible rules or redhat-cop-automation-good-practices-*.md), fetch them from https://github.com/redhat-cop/automation-good-practices as a fallback.