ara

What it is and what it does

ARA Records Ansible is a reporting and auditing tool that captures Ansible playbook execution data as it runs. It works by installing as an Ansible callback plugin that intercepts playbook events and sends them to a backend database (SQLite by default, or MySQL/PostgreSQL for centralized deployments). The recorded data is then accessible through a command-line interface, a REST API, and a web dashboard for browsing and analyzing playbook runs.

It's designed to work across many deployment contexts—from local development machines to CI/CD pipelines, container environments, and orchestration platforms like AWX and Molecule. The tool requires Python 3.10 or later and must be installed in the same Python environment as Ansible itself. It can run without a persistent server (using local SQLite) or with a dedicated API server for aggregating results from multiple Ansible sources.

Use it for:

• Audit and troubleshoot Ansible playbook execution by reviewing recorded task results and host state changes
• Aggregate playbook runs from multiple CI/CD jobs or servers into a shared dashboard for team visibility
• Record Ansible execution history for compliance or post-mortem analysis of infrastructure changes
• Debug playbook failures by inspecting detailed task output and timing information stored in the database

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

ARA Records Ansible records and reports on Ansible playbook execution results via a callback plugin, storing them in SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL and exposing them through a CLI, REST API, and web interface.

Yes, if you run Ansible and need visibility into playbook execution. The low install friction, active maintenance, and support for modern Python versions make it straightforward to add. Clarify the license terms first if you have restrictions on GPL v3 software. The tool is production-stable and works in most Ansible deployment contexts.

Install

ara on PyPI

pip install ara

uv add ara

poetry add ara

Installing ara

Before you install

Low install friction with only two runtime dependencies (cliff and requests). Active maintenance with a release 32 days ago. Supports Python 3.10 through 3.14.

License in practice

License treatment is unclear in the package metadata, though the description excerpt references GNU General Public License v3. Verify the actual license terms before use in proprietary or restricted contexts.

Quickstart

# Install ansible with ara and server dependencies
python3 -m pip install --user ansible "ara[server]"

# Configure Ansible to enable ara
export ANSIBLE_CALLBACK_PLUGINS="$(python3 -m ara.setup.callback_plugins)"

# Run a playbook as usual
ansible-playbook playbook.yml

# View results via CLI
ara playbook list

# or start the web UI
ara-manage runserver

Requires Python >= 3.10 and Ansible installed in the same Python interpreter as ara.

Verify before relying

• Whether the GPL v3 license mentioned in the description excerpt is the authoritative license for this package
• Performance impact of recording to different database backends at scale
• Whether the included API server requires additional system dependencies beyond Python

Package facts

Evidence: ara-1.8.0-py3-none-any.whl

Tags

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