pantheon-ai/ansible-validator

Comprehensive toolkit for validating, linting, testing, and automating Ansible playbooks, roles, and collections. Use this skill when working with Ansible files (.yml, .yaml playbooks, roles, inventories), validating automation code, debugging playbook execution, performing dry-run testing with check mode, or working with custom modules and collections.

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Ansible Module Alternatives

Name: pantheon-ai/ansible-validator
Author: pantheon-ai

Overview

This guide provides replacement alternatives for deprecated or legacy Ansible modules. Use this reference when ansible-lint reports deprecated module warnings or when updating older playbooks to modern best practices.

Quick Detection

Use the FQCN checker script to automatically detect non-FQCN module usage:

# Scan a playbook
bash scripts/check_fqcn.sh playbook.yml

# Scan a role
bash scripts/check_fqcn.sh roles/webserver/

# Scan entire directory
bash scripts/check_fqcn.sh .

The script identifies modules using short names and provides specific FQCN migration recommendations.

Deprecated Modules and Replacements

Package Management

Deprecated Module	Replacement	Notes
`apt` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.apt`	Use FQCN for clarity
`yum` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.yum` or `ansible.builtin.dnf`	dnf preferred for RHEL 8+
`pip` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.pip`	Use FQCN
`easy_install`	`ansible.builtin.pip`	easy_install is deprecated in Python
`homebrew`	`community.general.homebrew`	Moved to community.general
`zypper`	`community.general.zypper`	Moved to community.general
`apk`	`community.general.apk`	Moved to community.general

File Operations

Deprecated Module	Replacement	Notes
`copy` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.copy`	Use FQCN
`file` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.file`	Use FQCN
`template` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.template`	Use FQCN
`lineinfile` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.lineinfile`	Use FQCN
`blockinfile` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.blockinfile`	Use FQCN
`synchronize`	`ansible.posix.synchronize`	Moved to ansible.posix
`acl`	`ansible.posix.acl`	Moved to ansible.posix

Service Management

Deprecated Module	Replacement	Notes
`service` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.service` or `ansible.builtin.systemd`	Use systemd for systemd-based systems
`systemd` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.systemd`	Use FQCN
`sysvinit`	`ansible.builtin.service`	service module handles sysvinit

User and Group Management

Deprecated Module	Replacement	Notes
`user` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.user`	Use FQCN
`group` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.group`	Use FQCN
`authorized_key` (short name)	`ansible.posix.authorized_key`	Moved to ansible.posix

Networking

Deprecated Module	Replacement	Notes
`get_url` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.get_url`	Use FQCN
`uri` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.uri`	Use FQCN
`iptables`	`ansible.builtin.iptables`	Use FQCN
`ufw`	`community.general.ufw`	Moved to community.general
`firewalld`	`ansible.posix.firewalld`	Moved to ansible.posix

Command Execution

Deprecated Module	Replacement	Notes
`command` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.command`	Use FQCN; prefer specific modules
`shell` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.shell`	Use FQCN; prefer specific modules
`raw` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.raw`	Use FQCN; use only when necessary
`script` (short name)	`ansible.builtin.script`	Use FQCN

Cloud Providers

Deprecated Module	Replacement	Notes
`ec2`	`amazon.aws.ec2_instance`	Use amazon.aws collection
`ec2_ami`	`amazon.aws.ec2_ami`	Use amazon.aws collection
`ec2_vpc`	`amazon.aws.ec2_vpc_net`	Use amazon.aws collection
`azure_rm_*`	`azure.azcollection.*`	Use azure.azcollection
`gcp_*`	`google.cloud.*`	Use google.cloud collection
`docker_container`	`community.docker.docker_container`	Use community.docker collection
`docker_image`	`community.docker.docker_image`	Use community.docker collection

Database

Deprecated Module	Replacement	Notes
`mysql_db`	`community.mysql.mysql_db`	Use community.mysql collection
`mysql_user`	`community.mysql.mysql_user`	Use community.mysql collection
`postgresql_db`	`community.postgresql.postgresql_db`	Use community.postgresql collection
`postgresql_user`	`community.postgresql.postgresql_user`	Use community.postgresql collection
`mongodb_*`	`community.mongodb.*`	Use community.mongodb collection

Monitoring and Logging

Deprecated Module	Replacement	Notes
`nagios`	`community.general.nagios`	Use community.general collection
`zabbix_*`	`community.zabbix.*`	Use community.zabbix collection

FQCN Migration

Why Use Fully Qualified Collection Names (FQCN)?

Clarity: Explicitly shows which collection provides the module
Conflict Prevention: Avoids naming conflicts between collections
Future-Proofing: Prevents breakage when modules move between collections
Best Practice: Recommended by Ansible for all new playbooks

Migration Examples

# Old style (deprecated)
- name: Install nginx
  apt:
    name: nginx
    state: present

# New style (recommended)
- name: Install nginx
  ansible.builtin.apt:
    name: nginx
    state: present

# Old style (deprecated)
- name: Configure firewall
  ufw:
    rule: allow
    port: '443'

# New style (recommended)
- name: Configure firewall
  community.general.ufw:
    rule: allow
    port: '443'

Installing Required Collections

When migrating to FQCN modules, ensure the required collections are installed:

# Install common collections
ansible-galaxy collection install ansible.posix
ansible-galaxy collection install community.general
ansible-galaxy collection install community.docker
ansible-galaxy collection install community.mysql
ansible-galaxy collection install community.postgresql
ansible-galaxy collection install amazon.aws
ansible-galaxy collection install azure.azcollection
ansible-galaxy collection install google.cloud

Or create a requirements.yml:

---
collections:
  - name: ansible.posix
    version: ">=1.5.0"
  - name: community.general
    version: ">=6.0.0"
  - name: community.docker
    version: ">=3.0.0"
  - name: community.mysql
    version: ">=3.0.0"
  - name: community.postgresql
    version: ">=2.0.0"

Then install with:

ansible-galaxy collection install -r requirements.yml

Checking for Deprecated Modules

Use ansible-lint to identify deprecated modules in your playbooks:

# Check for deprecated module usage
ansible-lint --profile production playbook.yml

# Show rule documentation for deprecated modules
ansible-lint -L | grep deprecated

Version Compatibility Notes

Ansible 2.9: Last version with many modules in ansible.builtin
Ansible 2.10+: Collections separated from core
Ansible 2.12+: Many deprecated modules removed from core
Ansible 2.14+: FQCN strongly recommended for all modules

Resources

Install with Tessl CLI

npx tessl i pantheon-ai/ansible-validator

assets

references

best_practices.md

common_errors.md

module_alternatives.md

security_checklist.md

scripts

SKILL.md

tile.json

pantheon-ai/ansible-validator

module_alternatives.md.css-3qkkll{font-size:var(--chakra-font-sizes-sm);font-weight:var(--chakra-font-weights-normal);color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-300);}references/

Ansible Module Alternatives

Overview

Quick Detection

Deprecated Modules and Replacements

Package Management

File Operations

Service Management

User and Group Management

Networking

Command Execution

Cloud Providers

Database

Monitoring and Logging

FQCN Migration

Why Use Fully Qualified Collection Names (FQCN)?

Migration Examples

Installing Required Collections

Checking for Deprecated Modules

Version Compatibility Notes

Resources

module_alternatives.mdreferences/