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molecule-docker

Molecule aids in the development and testing of Ansible roles

molecule-docker v2.1.0 605.7K downloads/30d#5,796 on PyPI75
Permissive license MIT Abandoned released

What it is and what it does

Molecule Docker Plugin is a driver that integrates Docker containers into Molecule's Ansible role testing workflow. It allows developers to provision and manage test containers as the target infrastructure for running Ansible playbooks and roles during development and validation cycles.

The plugin depends on the community.docker Ansible collection and the docker Python module to manage container lifecycle. It was designed to work with Molecule's standard testing patterns but is no longer actively maintained—the repository was archived and has received no updates since 2023-01-02. While it remains installable and may work with compatible versions of its dependencies, users should be aware that bug fixes and compatibility updates are no longer being released.

Use it for:

  • Test Ansible roles against multiple container images (CentOS, Ubuntu, Debian) in a single test run.
  • Develop and validate Ansible playbooks locally using Docker containers before deployment to production.
  • Integrate Ansible role testing into CI/CD pipelines using containerized test environments.
  • Verify role idempotency and handler behavior across different Linux distributions via Docker.

Worth the install?

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

Molecule Docker Plugin enables Docker containers as test infrastructure for Ansible role development and testing through Molecule's testing framework.

No. The package is abandoned (archived repository, no commits since 2023-01-02) and receives no maintenance. While it may still function with compatible versions of molecule, docker, and community.docker, there is no support pathway for bugs or compatibility issues. For new projects, use an actively maintained Molecule driver or container testing framework instead.

Install

molecule-docker on PyPI

pip

pip install molecule-docker

uv

uv add molecule-docker

poetry

poetry add molecule-docker

Installing molecule-docker

Before you install

Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel, but the package is abandoned as of 2023-01-02 with no active maintenance. The repository is archived and no updates have been released since the latest release on 2022-09-29.

License in practice

MIT license is permissive and imposes no significant restrictions on use, modification, or distribution.

Quickstart

pip install molecule-docker

from molecule_docker import driver
# Configure molecule.yml to use docker driver
# molecule test

Requires community.docker Ansible collection and a compatible version of the docker Python module; system-packaged Ansible versions may have incompatible dependencies.

Verify before relying

  • Whether the abandoned status and lack of maintenance since 2023-01-02 creates compatibility issues with current Ansible or Docker versions.
  • Whether community.docker collection updates have introduced breaking changes relative to this plugin's last release.
  • Current usability with Python 3.10 and 3.11 despite abandoned maintenance status.

Package facts

License MIT (permissive)
Python support supports the current Python release (>=3.8)
Install friction low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies 4 — molecule, docker, requests, selinux
Maintenance abandoned — 1,415 days since the last release
Last repo commit (repository archived)
First released
Downloads 605,728/month — #5,796 on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-14)
Known vulnerabilities none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14)

Evidence: molecule_docker-2.1.0-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: ansible, docker, testing, molecule

Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableEnvironment :: ConsoleIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: Information TechnologyIntended Audience :: System AdministratorsLicense :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseNatural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: System :: Systems AdministrationTopic :: Utilities

Tags

ansible role testing with dockermolecule docker drivercontainer-based ansible testingansible test automation dockermolecule provisioning dockeransible development testing containers
ansible-testingdocker-driverabandoned

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