# Install ansible-builder with Homebrew, dnf, Nix, zypper

CLI tool for building Ansible Execution Environments (Containers). Version 3.1.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-15. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#ansible-builder.

## Install

```sh
sudo av install brew:ansible-builder
```

Additional install commands:

### macOS

- Homebrew (100%):

```sh
brew install ansible-builder
```

  Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata

### Linux

- dnf (92%):

```sh
sudo dnf install ansible-builder
```

  Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: ansible-builder from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst

- Nix (92%):

```sh
nix profile install nixpkgs#ansible-builder
```

  Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: ansible-builder from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix

- zypper (92%):

```sh
sudo zypper install ansible-builder
```

  Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: ansible-builder from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst

## Package facts

- **Package key:** brew:ansible-builder
- **Package manager:** Homebrew
- **Version:** 3.1.1
- **Source summary:** CLI tool for building Ansible Execution Environments (Containers)
- **Homepage:** <https://ansible-builder.readthedocs.io/>
- **Last updated:** 2026-07-15T09:44:06Z
- **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00

## Executables

- ansible-builder (alias)

## Install behavior

- Bottle: not available

## Freshness

- Page generated: 2026-08-03
- Package-manager version: 3.1.1
## Project history and usage

ansible-builder is the official Ansible tool for building execution environment container images. It turns an execution-environment definition file plus Ansible collections, Python requirements, system packages, and build steps into a reproducible image for automation controllers and command-line use.

### Project history

The official repository was created in 2020 as Ansible moved more automation runtime packaging into containerized execution environments. The README describes ansible-builder as a tool that automates building execution environments using schemas and tooling from Ansible collections and the user.

The documented execution environment definition evolved into a versioned YAML interface. Current docs describe `execution-environment.yml` or `.yaml` as the default definition file and document dependencies, images, build arguments, additional build files, and options such as `container_init` and `tags`.

### Adoption history

ansible-builder became important with Ansible Automation Platform and ansible-runner workflows, where playbooks need predictable Python, collection, and system dependencies inside a container image. Package managers carry it because users often prepare those images from developer workstations, CI jobs, or automation-controller build pipelines.

The Homebrew, Fedora, Nix, and openSUSE package entries reflect a cross-platform operational audience: people who already install Ansible tooling from OS package managers but need a dedicated CLI for execution environment images.

### How it is used

The usual workflow is to write `execution-environment.yml`, list Ansible Galaxy collections, Python requirements, bindep or RPM packages, and image settings, then run `ansible-builder build` to produce a container image using a backend such as Podman or Docker.

For package metadata, the important config surface is the definition file rather than a user dotfile. Credentials are not normally owned by ansible-builder itself; registry logins, Galaxy credentials, and automation secrets live in the surrounding container or Ansible tooling.

### Why package nerds care

ansible-builder is a packaging tool about packaging other automation dependencies. It sits at the boundary between Python packaging, Ansible collections, OS packages, and OCI container images, which makes it especially interesting to package maintainers.

It is also a good example of infrastructure tooling whose user-visible contract is a YAML schema. The CLI matters, but the package's long-term compatibility is mostly about what versions of the execution-environment schema it accepts.

### Timeline

- 2020: The official ansible-builder repository is created.
- 2021: 1.0.x releases establish the execution environment builder workflow.
- 2022: 1.1 and 1.2 releases continue the first stable line.
- 2023: 3.0.0 is released after beta and release-candidate builds.
- 2026: The repository remains active under the Ansible GitHub organization.

### Related projects

- Ansible Automation Platform and AWX consume execution environment images built with this workflow.
- ansible-runner is a related tool for running Ansible inside execution environments.
- Podman, Docker, Ansible Galaxy, and collection metadata are common adjacent tools in ansible-builder workflows.

### Sources

- <https://ansible.readthedocs.io/projects/builder/en/latest/definition>
- <https://api.github.com/repos/ansible/ansible-builder>
- <https://api.github.com/repos/ansible/ansible-builder/releases>
- <https://docs.ansible.com/projects/builder/en/stable/>
- <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ansible/ansible-builder/devel/README.md>
- source_facts.package-manager


## Security Notes

infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal.

- **Geiger risk:** orange / medium
- infrastructure mutation or orchestration signal


## Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.


## Configuration files

- Unix: execution-environment.yml, execution-environment.yaml
## Other Package-Manager Records

- Nix - ansible-builder: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: ansible-builder from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
- dnf - ansible-builder - 3.1.1-3.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: ansible-builder from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/07190dc5ae9f35ae73866675fed6d95fe6e8d9fe22c9d7cdf85862cb2ed24a4c-primary.xml.zst | A tool for building Ansible Execution Environments | https://ansible.readthedocs.io/projects/builder/en/stable/
- zypper - ansible-builder - 3.1.1-2.3: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: ansible-builder from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/50b07339cb64c8ed4091bdbabddadc1ff5737b090e478818a195b40d8a3292861a879139b4a3987c31109699fde9fbf4a716367ddf4eef77da75f96e3193d6ed-primary.xml.zst | An Ansible execution environment builder | https://github.com/ansible/ansible-builder


## Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/ansible-builder.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/ansible-builder.yml)


## Sources

- pkg.so package database
- Geiger risk classifier
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkgdb category and tag curation
- external package-manager database matches
- cross-ecosystem install command graph