---
id: molecule-plugins
version: "26.7.15"
license: MIT
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# molecule-plugins — Molecule Plugins

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 1.3M/mo

## 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 above — 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

pip install molecule-plugins
uv add molecule-plugins
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_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 1.3M/month (top 5,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

molecule testing plugins, ansible infrastructure drivers, multi-cloud testing, container testing framework, ansible role validation, infrastructure testing, playbook testing drivers, ansible-testing, infrastructure-drivers

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/molecule-plugins) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/molecule-plugins/)