skillfed

molecule-plugins

Molecule Plugins

molecule-plugins v26.7.15 1.3M downloads/30d#4,075 on PyPI162
Permissive license MIT Active released

What it is and what it does

molecule-plugins consolidates infrastructure driver plugins for molecule into a single unified distribution. Previously distributed as separate standalone packages, the drivers for azure, containers, docker, ec2, gce, openstack, podman, and vagrant are now available through optional extras. The package itself is a thin plugin registry; to use a driver you must install the corresponding extra.

This design keeps the base installation lightweight while giving fine-grained control over which infrastructure backends are needed. Plugins integrate with molecule's test orchestration through entry points, allowing test scenarios to target different platforms from a single test suite.

Use it for:

  • Test across multiple infrastructure backends by installing only the extras for platforms actually used
  • Migrate from standalone molecule-* packages to the unified plugin system
  • Set up local development testing with Vagrant while maintaining the same molecule interface
  • Run infrastructure-agnostic tests that can target different backends from a single suite
  • Manage Ansible testing in CI/CD pipelines without maintaining separate driver package dependencies

Worth the install?

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

Provides driver plugins for molecule that enable testing across multiple infrastructure platforms including Azure, Docker, Podman, EC2, GCE, OpenStack, Vagrant, and containers.

Yes, if you use molecule for Ansible testing and need support for multiple infrastructure backends. The unified plugin approach simplifies dependency management compared to installing separate packages, and active maintenance with releases within the last 30 days indicates ongoing support.

Install

molecule-plugins on PyPI

pip

pip install molecule-plugins

uv

uv add molecule-plugins

poetry

poetry add molecule-plugins

Installing molecule-plugins

Before you install

Low install friction with a pure-wheel distribution. Actively maintained with a release within the last 30 days and recent commits. Requires Python 3.10 or later and depends only on molecule.

License in practice

MIT license permits unrestricted use, modification, and distribution in both open-source and proprietary projects with minimal restrictions.

Quickstart

pip install 'molecule-plugins[docker]'

import molecule.config

# Plugins load automatically via molecule's entry point system

Python 3.10 or later required. Individual plugin extras (azure, ec2, docker, podman, etc.) must be explicitly installed; base install provides plugin infrastructure only.

Verify before relying

  • Whether base package without extras provides any usable functionality or if at least one extra is required
  • Performance characteristics when testing across multiple infrastructure platforms
  • Specific Ansible or molecule version compatibility requirements beyond the core dependency

Package facts

License MIT (permissive)
Python support supports the current Python release (>=3.10)
Install friction low — pure-Python wheel
Runtime dependencies 1 — molecule
Maintenance actively maintained — 30 days since the last release
Last repo commit
First released
Downloads 1,310,415/month — #4,075 on PyPI (30-day window, as of 2026-08-14)
Known vulnerabilities none known (OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14)

Evidence: molecule_plugins-26.7.15-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: ansible, testing, molecule, plugin

Development Status :: 5 - Production/StableEnvironment :: ConsoleIntended Audience :: DevelopersIntended Audience :: Information TechnologyIntended Audience :: System AdministratorsOperating System :: MacOSOperating System :: POSIXProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3 :: OnlyProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Topic :: Software Development :: Quality AssuranceTopic :: Software Development :: TestingTopic :: System :: Systems AdministrationTopic :: Utilities

Tags

molecule testing pluginsansible infrastructure driversmulti-cloud testingcontainer testing frameworkansible role validationinfrastructure testingplaybook testing drivers
ansible-testinginfrastructure-drivers

More Utilities packages