Ansible
Open-source, agentless IT automation tool that configures servers and deploys apps from YAML playbooks.
- Verified facts
- 5 of 5
- Alternatives ranked
- 3
- Approved reviews
- 0
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About Ansible
Ansible is an open-source automation engine used to configure servers, install software, roll out application releases and orchestrate multi-step IT changes. You write playbooks in YAML that describe the state a machine should be in, and Ansible pushes small modules to the target machines over SSH (or PowerShell remoting for Windows), runs them and cleans up afterwards. Nothing has to be installed on the managed machines beyond Python, which is the main difference from agent-based tools such as Puppet. A large library of community collections covers cloud providers, network gear, Kubernetes and VMware. Ansible itself is free under the GPL and runs as a command-line tool on Linux, macOS or BSD; Windows can be managed but can only act as the control machine through WSL. Red Hat, which sponsors the project, sells Ansible Automation Platform on subscription for organisations that want a web UI, role-based access, event-driven automation and support. It suits sysadmins and DevOps teams who want readable automation without running a central server.
Best for: Sysadmins and DevOps teams who want agentless server configuration and deployment in readable YAML.
Pros and cons
What works
- Agentless: managed machines only need SSH and Python
- Playbooks in YAML are easy to read and review
- Huge library of community collections for clouds and network devices
- Free and open source, with a paid Red Hat platform if needed
Why people leave
- Windows cannot be the control node without WSL
- Push model over SSH gets slow on very large fleets
- No built-in state tracking for cloud resources like Terraform has
Top Ansible alternatives
See all 3- 1
Terraform62.6Better fit when the job is provisioning cloud resources and tracking them in state.
- 2
Pulumi57.2Write infrastructure in TypeScript, Python or Go instead of YAML playbooks.
- 3
Chef Infra40.0Agent-based model continuously enforces configuration and fixes drift across large fleets.
Why people left Ansible
In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.
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Ansible: common questions
Is Ansible free?
Yes. Ansible is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.
Is Ansible open source?
Yes. The source code is on GitHub at ansible/ansible. You can also run it on your own server.
What platforms does Ansible run on?
Ansible is available for Linux, macOS and Self-hosted.
What are the best alternatives to Ansible?
The highest-ranked Ansible alternatives right now are Terraform, Pulumi and Chef Infra. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.