Summary
Ansible AWX is the open-source web-based interface and API server for Ansible that enables teams to manage, schedule, and audit automation jobs with role-based access control.
What is Ansible AWX?
AWX is the upstream community project from which Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform (formerly Ansible Tower) is built. It provides a graphical dashboard, REST API, and workflow engine on top of core Ansible, making automation accessible to teams without deep CLI knowledge.
Key features include job templates that standardize how playbooks are executed, workflow templates that chain multiple jobs together, and an inventory management UI. AWX stores credentials securely and can integrate with LDAP or OAuth providers for authentication.
AWX is deployed as a containerized application on Kubernetes, making it straightforward to run in modern infrastructure. The REST API enables integration with CI/CD pipelines and ITSM tools.
Why is Ansible AWX relevant?
- Visibility: Centralised dashboard shows job history, logs, and status across the entire fleet
- Access control: RBAC ensures that only authorised teams can run specific playbooks
- Scheduling: Jobs can be triggered on a schedule or via webhooks from external systems
- Auditability: Every automation run is logged with the user, time, and outcome