How to Add Windows Support¶

This guide provides a practical, step-by-step example of how to modify the execution environment to add support for automating Windows systems. This involves adding a new Ansible collection and its required Python and system-level dependencies.

Prerequisites¶

A successfully built base execution environment, as described in the Getting Started tutorial.

Outcome¶

An EE image capable of connecting to Windows hosts via WinRM and authenticating with Kerberos where required.

Step 1: Add the Windows Ansible Collection¶

The community.windows and ansible.windows collections contain the necessary modules for Windows automation.

Open the files/requirements.yml file.
Uncomment or add the community.windows and ansible.windows collections:

collections:
  # ... other collections
  - name: community.windows # windows
  - name: ansible.windows # windows

Step 2: Add the Python Dependency for WinRM¶

Windows automation with Ansible uses the Python Windows Remote Management (WinRM) protocol. The pywinrm library is required for this.

Open the files/requirements.txt file.
Uncomment the pywinrm package:

# (Optional) Windows automation - connectivity requirements https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/user_guide/windows_winrm.html#what-is-winrm
pywinrm>=0.3.0

Step 3: Add System-Level Dependencies for Kerberos¶

For secure authentication with Windows hosts, you will likely need Kerberos support.

Open the files/bindep.txt file.
Uncomment the Kerberos packages:

# (Optional) Windows Authentication - Kerberos
# https://docs.ansible.com/automation-controller/latest/html/administration/kerberos_auth.html
krb5-libs [platform:rpm]
krb5-workstation [platform:rpm]
krb5-devel [platform:rpm]

Step 4: Rebuild the Execution Environment¶

Now that you have added the new dependencies, you must rebuild the image for the changes to take effect.

Run the build command from the root of the repository:

make build

Your new execution environment image will now contain the necessary components to automate Windows systems.

Verification¶

Test connectivity from the controller: ansible -i hosts windows -m win_ping -e "ansible_connection=winrm".
Confirm Kerberos libraries are present in the container if using domain auth.

Rollback¶

Revert edits in files/requirements.yml, files/requirements.txt, and files/bindep.txt and rebuild.