Installation
Choose an installation method for AnsibleForms
For administrators setting up a new instance: pick an installation method, then follow its page.
In this section
AnsibleForms supports several installation methods, each described on its own page:
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Installer | One command that installs a controller or a Runner on Docker, Podman, Kubernetes or natively, then upgrades and backs it up |
| Native | The installer’s install without containers: Node.js, MariaDB and Ansible on the server, AnsibleForms as systemd services |
| Docker | Install MySQL and run the pre-built Docker image with the required environment variables |
| Docker Compose | Download the docker-compose project and use docker-compose to start both MySQL and AnsibleForms |
| From source | Install all dependencies manually, then build and start the code |
| Kubernetes | Install the Helm chart and use Kubernetes to start AnsibleForms and its MySQL database |
Recommendation The installer, since 7.3.0, is the quickest way to a working instance: it sets up the Docker Compose project on Docker or Podman, or one of the other methods, from a few questions. The Docker images include all dependencies.
curl -fsSL https://ansibleforms.com/install | sh
To move an existing installation to a newer release, see Upgrading.
Every method runs one RTE next to the app, the container (or service) that runs the playbooks. To add another one, on another host or in another datacenter, install a Runner with the installer: it dials AnsibleForms over one WebSocket (outbound, see Modes) and holds no database credentials. See also Runtime environments and its runbook An RTE in another datacenter.
Image tags
The image is published as ghcr.io/ansibleforms/ansibleforms on the GitHub Container Registry, which belongs to the project and does not rate-limit anonymous pulls. Every release from 7.0.0 on is published there only, and the 6.x releases are there too.
Since 7, playbooks run on an RTE, published in three layers next to the app (see The RTE images):
| Image | What it is |
|---|---|
ghcr.io/ansibleforms/ansibleforms | The web application and the API, without python or ansible |
ghcr.io/ansibleforms/ansibleforms-rte-base | The RTE without python or ansible: the base for your own |
ghcr.io/ansibleforms/ansibleforms-rte-core | The base with python, ansible-core and a few libraries: the one to add your collections to |
ghcr.io/ansibleforms/ansibleforms-rte-full | The core with the ansible package, its collections and libraries: the default RTE |
The four images are built in the same run and carry the same tags, so an RTE tag always matches the app’s.
The old Docker Hub repository, ansibleguy/ansibleforms, is no longer updated. It keeps its existing releases but receives no new versions of either line. If you pull from it, switch to ghcr.io/ansibleforms/ansibleforms with the same tag to keep receiving updates.
The following tags are available on each image; the RTE images start at 7.0.0, so they have no 6.x tags:
| Tag | Points to |
|---|---|
latest | the newest release of the newest major version |
7, 6 | the newest release of that major version |
7.0, 6.5 | the newest release of that minor version |
7.0.0, 6.5.5 | exactly that release |
latest-rc | the newest release candidate, or the newest release when that is newer; each candidate also has its own tag |
latest only moves forward: a patch for an older major version (for example a 6.5.x released after 7.0.0) moves 6 and 6.5, but never latest.
To stay on a major version, use its number (6) instead of latest.