What is AnsibleForms
Self-service forms in front of Ansible and AWX, and when you need them
What it does
AnsibleForms puts a web form in front of a playbook or an AWX, AAP or Ascender template, so people can run automation without the command line.
A form collects the input, checks it, shapes it into extravars and launches the job. The data in a form can come from databases, REST APIs, files and other fields, and every launch is recorded in the job history with its output.
Typical uses
Teams use AnsibleForms to hand routine automation to the people who request it:
- Self-service requests : a virtual machine, a storage volume, a share or a user account, filled in by the requester
- Guarded operations : actions with approval points, so a second person signs off before the job runs
- Data-driven choices : dropdowns filled from a CMDB, a database or a REST API, cascaded from one field to the next
- Recurring jobs : forms run later or on a cron schedule, with the same validated input every time
- Automation for tools and agents : the REST API, the MCP server and the chat assistant launch the same forms
AnsibleForms or AWX surveys?
AWX, AAP and Ascender have surveys of their own. Which one fits depends on what the people who launch the jobs need.
A survey is enough when:
- the questions are fixed: text, numbers, passwords and choices from a static list
- the users already work in AWX, AAP or Ascender, and its permissions suit them
- you do not want to run and maintain another application and database
AnsibleForms helps when:
- the choices come from somewhere else: a database, a REST API, a file, or another field (cascaded dropdowns)
- the input needs validation, structure (lists, nested objects) or computed values before it reaches the playbook
- the jobs need approval points, scheduling, or several playbooks and templates run as steps from one form
- the users should not see AWX at all, or you also run playbooks without AWX
AnsibleForms launches AWX, AAP and Ascender templates, so the two work together: the forms collect and shape the input, and AWX keeps running the jobs.
Where to go next
The rest of this section explains the moving parts before you install:
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| How it works | The architecture, the steps of a launch, and where data is kept |
| Interface tour | Screenshots of every screen, from signing in to the administration pages |
| Concepts | The terms used across this documentation |
| Prerequisites | What you need before you install |