Ansible AWS: Complete Guide to Cloud Automation (2026)
By Luca Berton · Published 2026-04-03 · Category: installation
Complete guide to automating AWS with Ansible. Manage EC2, S3, IAM, VPC, RDS, and Lambda with amazon.aws collection and practical examples.
Ansible's amazon.aws and community.aws collections let you automate your entire AWS infrastructure — from EC2 instances to S3 buckets to RDS databases.
Setup
Authentication
EC2 Instances
Launch an EC2 instance
Stop/Terminate instances
Security Groups
S3 Buckets
VPC Networking
RDS Databases
Dynamic Inventory
Complete Example: Web Application Stack
FAQ
Should I use Ansible or Terraform for AWS?
Use both: Terraform for infrastructure provisioning (VPCs, subnets, RDS), Ansible for configuration management (installing software, deploying apps). They complement each other.
How do I handle AWS credentials securely?
Use IAM roles for EC2 instances (no credentials needed), AWS SSO profiles, or Ansible Vault for encrypted credentials. Never put keys in plaintext.
Can Ansible replace CloudFormation?
For many use cases, yes. Ansible's AWS modules cover most services. CloudFormation has better drift detection and rollback. Choose based on your team's workflow.
Setup
Launch EC2 Instance
S3 Bucket
VPC and Networking
RDS Database
Dynamic Inventory
Key Modules
| Module | Purpose | |--------|---------| | ec2_instance | Manage EC2 instances | | s3_bucket | S3 buckets | | s3_object | S3 files | | ec2_vpc_net | VPCs | | ec2_vpc_subnet | Subnets | | ec2_security_group | Security groups | | rds_instance | RDS databases | | iam_role | IAM roles | | route53 | DNS records | | elb_application_lb | ALB |
FAQ
Ansible vs Terraform for AWS?
Terraform is purpose-built for AWS infrastructure with state management. Ansible can provision AWS resources but excels at post-provisioning configuration. Many teams use both.
How do I authenticate?
Environment variables (AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID), IAM instance profiles, ~/.aws/credentials, or aws_access_key/aws_secret_key in tasks.
Can I manage multiple AWS accounts?
Yes — use profile parameter or set credentials per task/play.
Install Collection
Configure Credentials
Launch EC2 Instance
Manage S3
Create VPC
Security Groups
Dynamic Inventory
RDS Database
IAM
FAQ
Do I need boto3?
Yes — all amazon.aws modules require boto3 and botocore Python packages on the controller.
How to use IAM roles instead of keys?
On EC2 instances with an IAM role, boto3 auto-discovers credentials. No access keys needed.
Can I manage multiple regions?
Yes — set region per task or use dynamic inventory with multiple regions.
Install Collection
Authentication
EC2 Instance
S3 Bucket
Security Group
VPC
IAM User
Dynamic Inventory
FAQ
How to use AWS profiles?
Set AWS_PROFILE environment variable or profile parameter in modules.
Costs from Ansible runs?
Ansible API calls to AWS are free. Costs come from resources you create (EC2, S3, etc.).
amazon.aws vs community.aws?
amazon.aws is maintained by Red Hat (certified). community.aws has additional community-contributed modules.
Related Articles • Ansible Galaxy Guide • Ansible Environment Variables Guide • Ansible Vault Guide • Ansible Inventory Guide • Ansible Loops Guide
Category: installation