ACTION REQUIRED: Ansible Collections Must Add CI Test Runs Against Devel Branch

Introduction

The Ansible community and its steering committee have announced a new requirement for all collections included in the Ansible community package. Starting now, collections must add CI test runs against the devel branch of ansible-core to maintain their inclusion status.

This is an ACTION REQUIRED change — collection maintainers need to update their CI pipelines to comply.

See also: New CI Requirement for Ansible Collections: Testing Against Devel Branch (2026)

What Changed

The new collection inclusion requirement mandates that every collection shipped as part of the Ansible community package must have automated CI test runs against the devel (development) branch of ansible-core. This ensures: • Early detection of breaking changes — Collections catch compatibility issues before ansible-core releases • Smoother Ansible package releases — Reduces the lag between ansible-core releases and the community package • Better quality assurance — Collections that pass devel tests are more likely to work with the next stable release

Why This Matters

In the past, when a new version of ansible-core was released (e.g., 2.21.0), the Ansible community package builders would discover that some included collections didn't work with the new core version. This created delays and quality issues.

By mandating devel branch testing, the community ensures that: Collections are continuously tested against upcoming ansible-core changes Maintainers are alerted early when their collection needs updates The Ansible package can ship promptly after a new core release

See also: Ansible 13.5.0 Released: What's New in the Community Package (March 2026)

How to Comply

If you maintain a collection included in the Ansible community package, you need to:

1. Add a CI Job for Devel Testing

Add a GitHub Actions workflow (or equivalent) that runs your collection's integration and unit tests against the devel branch of ansible-core:

# .github/workflows/ansible-devel.yml
name: CI (devel)
on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 6 * * 1'  # Weekly on Monday
  workflow_dispatch:
jobs:
  integration:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Set up Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v5
        with:
          python-version: '3.12'
      - name: Install ansible-core devel
        run: pip install https://github.com/ansible/ansible/archive/devel.tar.gz
      - name: Run tests
        run: ansible-test integration --color -v

2. Monitor and Fix Failures

• Review devel CI results regularly • File issues upstream if ansible-core changes break your collection • Update your collection code to maintain compatibility

3. Timeline

Collection maintainers should implement this requirement as soon as possible. Collections that fail to comply may be flagged for removal from the Ansible community package in future releases.

Links

• Ansible Community Forum Discussion • Ansible Collection Inclusion Requirements • Ansible Steering Committee

See also: Ansible check_mode: Dry Run & Test Playbooks Without Making Changes

Conclusion

This new CI requirement strengthens the Ansible ecosystem by ensuring collections are always tested against the latest ansible-core development branch. If you maintain a collection in the Ansible community package, add devel branch testing to your CI pipeline now. This proactive approach prevents compatibility surprises and keeps the Ansible package release process smooth and reliable.

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