>Ansible
Documentation
Ansible features
Ansible capabilities, execution limits and links to the guides for using them.
Register a playbook, choose its inventory and credentials, and launch it through a job template. Start with your first Ansible job for a guided run. Read execution flows to understand launch gates, runner assignment and inventory synchronization.
Capabilities
| Capability | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Ad hoc commands | Run an allowed module against selected inventory hosts without registering a playbook. Limits: Modules are restricted by an allowlist. Ad hoc jobs do not install repository Galaxy requirements. |
| Azure identity for playbooks | Read Azure resources using an attached credential, organization federation or the runner environment. Limits: An attached Azure credential takes precedence over organization OIDC. Azure role assignments are still required. |
| Cloud and Git inventories | Refresh hosts from cloud inventory plugins or a Git repository, with sync history and per-source merge controls. Limits: Inventory syncs execute on platform infrastructure, not self-hosted agent pools. Azure sources can use federated identity. |
| Constructed inventories | Combine existing inventories and derive groups, variables and a host subset for a job. Limits: Hosts and groups are derived from input inventories, not edited directly. |
| Credentials and multiple vaults | Store built-in credential types and attach multiple credentials, including distinct vault IDs, to templates. Limits: One credential per type, except vault credentials with distinct vault IDs. Custom credential types are not supported. |
| Galaxy collections and roles | Install repository requirements before jobs, with per-project caching on platform and self-hosted runners. Limits: An installation failure is reported but the play still runs. Private servers require runner network access and configuration. |
| Job and workflow notifications | Send start, success and failure notifications over webhook, email or Microsoft Teams. Limits: Private webhook and Teams destinations require an operator opt-in. There is no Slack channel type. |
| Job templates and execution | Reuse launch settings, apply timeout and concurrency controls, split hosts into slices, and inspect task output in matrix, timeline or stream views. Limits: Job output is polled while the job runs. A disabled template refuses every launch path. |
| Playbook registration and sync | Register a playbook or bulk-import a repository, then choose a cached snapshot or fresh checkout for execution. Limits: Cached mode can still clone on a snapshot miss or an older agent. Fresh mode fetches branch HEAD at execution, not a pinned webhook commit. |
| Provisioning callbacks | Let a provisioned host request a template launch limited to that host. Limits: The template must allow callbacks and the requesting host must already be in its inventory. |
| Repository-triggered jobs | Launch an opted-in job template from a GitHub or Azure DevOps push. Limits: Fresh mode fetches branch HEAD at job execution; it does not pin the webhook commit. Cached mode can race snapshot synchronization. |
| Scheduled automation | Schedule job templates, inventory-source syncs and workflows. Limits: Use a dedicated inventory-source schedule. The source form's Sync Schedule field does not activate recurring syncs. Playbook-sync scheduling is not supported. |
| Self-hosted Ansible execution | Run jobs and ad hoc commands on agents that can reach your private hosts. Limits: Choose the pool on the job template or ad hoc launch. Inventory syncs still execute on platform infrastructure. |
| Static inventories | Define hosts and groups directly and use the inventory when launching a playbook. |
| Workflows and approvals | Chain jobs, inventory syncs and approval gates with success/failure branches and convergence rules. Limits: Configure graph nodes and edges through the API. Nested workflows and launch-time survey prompts are not supported. |
Further reading
All platform features includes OpenTofu and shared platform capabilities. Use the API explorer for operation schemas, or the Stackweaver changelog for released changes.
The current limitations reference describes unsupported behavior. Use the central changelog's Ansible entries for verified release impact and actions.