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Carters
Carters

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Install Ansible-Navigator & Podman on Ubuntu

#automation #ansible #ansiblenavigator #python312

Introduction

Ansible Navigator is a command-line tool that provides a text-based user interface (TUI) for running and managing Ansible playbooks, inventories, and configurations efficiently.

🔹 Purpose of Ansible Navigator:
✅ Simplifies Ansible usage with an interactive interface.
✅ Improves debugging by displaying structured outputs.
✅ Manages Ansible collections & execution environments easily.
✅ Enhances playbook execution with real-time feedback.

It is especially useful when working with automation in containerized environments using Ansible Execution Environments (EE). 🚀

Requirements for Linux machine

  • Either podman or Docker for Linux
  • Internet access (during initial installation)

Step 1: Install Ansible-navigator , python

To install Ansible Navigator on Ubuntu, follow these steps:

Update Your System

sudo apt update sudo apt upgrade -y
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Install Python3 and Pip

Ansible Navigator requires Python 3.8 or later. Install Python and Pip if they are not already installed:

sudo apt install python3 python3-pip -y sudo apt install python3.12-venv libonig-dev
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Install Ansible Navigator

You can install Ansible Navigator using pip . It is recommended to install it in a virtual environment to avoid conflicts with other Python packages.

  1. Option 1: Install Globally If you want to install Ansible Navigator globally, run: 
 sudo pip3 install ansible-navigator
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  1. Option 2: Install in a Virtual Environment
  • Create a virtual environment: 
python3 -m venv ansible3-env
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  • Activate the virtual environment: 
source ansible-env/bin/activate
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  • Install Ansible Navigator: 
pip3 install ansible-navigator
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Ansible-navigator Install

*Verify the Installation

After installation, verify that Ansible Navigator is installed correctly:

ansible-navigator --version
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Ansible-navig

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Step 2: Install Podman

Ansible Navigator is designed to run Ansible inside a containerized execution environment rather than directly on the local machine.
Podman is used as the default container runtime for executing these Ansible Execution Environments (EE).

Reasons Why Podman is Required:

  • Runs Ansible in a Container → Ansible Navigator executes playbooks inside a controlled environment, avoiding dependency conflicts.

  • Rootless Execution → Unlike Docker, Podman allows running containers without root privileges, improving security.

  • Lightweight Alternative to Docker → Works without a background daemon, making it more efficient.

Ansible Navigator may require additional dependencies like ansible-core or podman for certain features. Install them as needed:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y podman
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podman-edm

Resources
https://podman.io/docs/installation
https://ansible.readthedocs.io/projects/navigator/installation/

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