docs/docsite/rst/plugins/httpapi.rst
.. _httpapi_plugins:
.. contents:: :local: :depth: 2
Httpapi plugins tell Ansible how to interact with a remote device's HTTP-based API and execute tasks on the device.
Each plugin represents a particular dialect of API. Some are platform-specific (Arista eAPI, Cisco NXAPI), while others might be usable on a variety of platforms (RESTCONF). Ansible loads the appropriate httpapi plugin automatically based on the ansible_network_os variable.
.. _enabling_httpapi:
You can extend Ansible to support other APIs by dropping a custom plugin into the httpapi_plugins directory. See :ref:developing_plugins_httpapi for details.
.. _using_httpapi:
The httpapi plugin to use is determined automatically from the ansible_network_os variable.
Most httpapi plugins can operate without configuration. Additional options may be defined by each plugin.
Plugins are self-documenting. Each plugin should document its configuration options.
The following sample playbook shows the httpapi plugin for an Arista network device, assuming an inventory variable set as ansible_network_os=eos for the httpapi plugin to trigger off:
.. code-block:: yaml
hosts: leaf01 connection: httpapi gather_facts: false tasks:
name: type a simple arista command eos_command: commands: - show version | json register: command_output
name: print command output to terminal window debug: var: command_output.stdout[0]["version"]
See the full working example on GitHub <https://github.com/network-automation/httpapi>_.
.. _httpapi_plugin_list:
These plugins have migrated to collections on Ansible Galaxy <https://galaxy.ansible.com>_. If you installed Ansible version 2.10 or later using pip, you have access to several httpapi plugins.
You can use ansible-doc -t httpapi -l to see the list of available plugins.
Use ansible-doc -t httpapi <plugin name> to see plugin-specific documentation and examples.
.. seealso::
:ref:Ansible for Network Automation<network_guide>
An overview of using Ansible to automate networking devices.
:ref:Developing network modules<developing_modules_network>
How to develop network modules.
:ref:Communication<communication>
Got questions? Need help? Want to share your ideas? Visit the Ansible communication guide