AWX-TUI: A Terminal User Interface for AWX — Install and Getting Started Guide

Introduction

The Ansible community has a new tool: AWX-TUI, a terminal user interface for managing AWX instances directly from your terminal. Built with Python and the Textual framework, it brings multi-instance support, real-time dashboards, and job management to your command line.

Announced by Andrew Potozniak from the Ansible engineering team at Red Hat, awx-tui has quickly gained community attention with its polished interface and practical feature set.

See also: AWX Behind Reverse Proxy: Nginx, Traefik, Caddy & Apache Setup Guide

What is AWX-TUI?

AWX-TUI is a text-based user interface that connects to your AWX API and provides: • Multi-instance management — Connect to and switch between multiple AWX instances • Real-time dashboards — Classic and sleek dashboard views showing job status • Job management — View historic and active jobs, launch templates, view logs • Project management — Browse, create, and sync projects • Inventory browsing — View and manage inventories • Job template operations — Create, edit, and launch job templates • API explorer — Advanced API mode for direct AWX API interaction • Debug console — Built-in debugging tools

Requirements

• Python 3.12+ • AWX 21.x+ • Linux, macOS, or WSL2 on Windows • Recommended terminal size: 188×40 (188 columns × 40 rows)

See also: Create Ansible AWX Superuser in Docker: Admin Account Setup (Guide)

Installation

Clone and Set Up

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ansible-community/awx-tui
cd awx-tui
# Create virtual environment
python -m venv ~/.venv-awx-tui
source ~/.venv-awx-tui/bin/activate
# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

Run AWX-TUI

python -m awx_tui.main

Configuration

Option 1: Environment Variables

export AWX_HOST=https://awx.example.com
export AWX_TOKEN=your-api-token-here
export AWX_VERIFY_SSL=true
python -m awx_tui.main

Option 2: Command-Line Arguments

python -m awx_tui.main --host https://awx.example.com --token your-token

Option 3: Configuration File

cp ./config.yaml.example ~/.config/awx-tui/config.yaml

Edit the configuration file with your AWX instance details. This method supports multiple instances.

See also: Install Ansible AWX Operator for Kubernetes (K8s) and OpenShift (OCP) - Ansible AWX

Key Features

Multi-Instance Support

AWX-TUI can manage multiple AWX instances simultaneously. Configure each instance in your config.yaml and switch between them from the interface.

Dashboard Views

Two dashboard styles are available: • Classic — Traditional overview with job counts and status • Sleek — Modern, compact view with key metrics

Job Management

• View historical job runs with status and timestamps • Monitor active/running jobs in real-time • Launch jobs directly from templates • View job logs and events

Create Mode

Create resources directly from the TUI: • Job templates • Projects • Preview API payloads before submission

How AWX-TUI Was Built

AWX-TUI was "substantially coded by Large Language Models (LLMs) with human review," as noted in the repository. The vibe-coding team includes Andrew Potozniak, John Mitchell, John Barker, and Daniel Brennand — all from Red Hat's Ansible engineering team.

The project uses AI Attribution to transparently credit AI involvement in the codebase.

AWX-TUI vs AWX Web UI vs awxkit

| Feature | AWX-TUI | AWX Web UI | awxkit (CLI) | |---------|---------|------------|--------------| | Interface | Terminal (TUI) | Web browser | Command line | | Multi-instance | ✅ | ❌ (one per tab) | ❌ | | Real-time dashboard | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | | SSH-friendly | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | | Create resources | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | | API explorer | ✅ | Limited | ✅ |

When to Use AWX-TUI

AWX-TUI is ideal when: • You work primarily in the terminal (SSH sessions, tmux) • You manage multiple AWX instances and want a unified view • You need quick job status checks without opening a browser • You're on a remote server without GUI access

Community and Contributing

AWX-TUI follows the Ansible Code of Conduct. You can: • Report issues on GitHub • Discuss on the Ansible Forum • Contribute code following the project guidelines

Conclusion

AWX-TUI fills a gap in the AWX ecosystem by providing a rich terminal interface for automation engineers who live in the command line. Its multi-instance support, real-time dashboards, and creation capabilities make it a valuable addition to any AWX administrator's toolkit. Install it today and bring your AWX management into the terminal.

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