Installing Ansible and setting up a control node

Install the package or the pip distribution, configure ansible.cfg with a predictable precedence, set up SSH keys and become, install collections, and check connectivity.

Which Ansible to install

# a control node needs Python; the managed nodes need only SSH and Python
python3 -m venv ~/.venvs/ansible
source ~/.venvs/ansible/bin/activate
pip install "ansible-core==2.17.*"

# the community bundle adds hundreds of collections on top of core
pip install "ansible==10.*"

ansible --version
# note the config file path it reports: that is the one it will actually read

Package	Contains	Choose when
`ansible-core`	The engine, a small set of built-in modules	You install exactly the collections you need
`community` bundle	`ansible-core` plus many collections	You want broad coverage out of the box
Distribution package	Whatever version the OS ships	Usually too old for new collections

Never install Ansible on the managed nodes. It is agentless by design and pushes modules over SSH at runtime.
ansible-core moves fast and periodically removes deprecated modules, so pin the version in a requirements file and in CI.
The control node does the work, so its Python version matters more than the targets'.

Configuration and precedence

# ./ansible.cfg in the project directory: the most useful place for it
[defaults]
inventory            = ./inventory/hosts.ini
roles_path           = ./roles
collections_path     = ./collections
host_key_checking    = False
retry_files_enabled  = False
stdout_callback      = yaml
callbacks_enabled    = profile_tasks, timer
interpreter_python   = auto_silent
forks                = 20

[privilege_escalation]
become               = True
become_method        = sudo
become_user          = root
become_ask_pass      = False

[ssh_connection]
pipelining           = True
ssh_args             = -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s

Order	Location	Wins
1	`ANSIBLE_CONFIG` environment variable	Always wins
2	`ansible.cfg` in the current directory	The usual choice
3	`~/.ansible.cfg`	User default
4	`/etc/ansible/ansible.cfg`	Global default

ansible --version prints the config file in use. When a setting appears to be ignored, that line is the fastest way to find out why.

SSH, become and a first check

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "ansible-control-node"
ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub [email protected]

ansible all -i inventory/hosts.ini -m ping
ansible web -m setup -a 'filter=ansible_distribution*'
ansible-playbook -i inventory/hosts.ini site.yml --check --diff

# install collections and roles from a pinned requirements file
ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml -p ./collections
ansible-galaxy role install -r requirements.yml -p ./roles

💡

Use a dedicated automation user with a sudo rule rather than logging in as root. Set host_key_checking = False only in a development config; in production, distribute a known_hosts file so a changed host key fails loudly.

FAQ

What if the target has no Python?

The raw module runs over SSH with no Python at all, so the usual bootstrap is a raw task that installs Python, then gather_facts for everything afterwards.

Why is my config file ignored?

Ansible reads the first config it finds in its precedence order, starting from the current working directory. Run ansible --version from your project directory and check the reported path.

Collections, Galaxy and the module ecosystem Inventories and ad-hoc commands

Last refreshed 2026-09-18.

Installing Ansible and setting up a control node

Which Ansible to install

Configuration and precedence

SSH, become and a first check

FAQ

Related