---
title: Ansible Control Server connector
description: Use the Ansible Control Server connector to launch and monitor Ansible Automation Controller / AWX jobs.
url: https://docs-v3-preview.elastic.dev/elastic/kibana/tree/main/reference/connectors-kibana/ansible-controller-action-type
products:
  - Kibana
applies_to:
  - Elastic Cloud Serverless: Preview
  - Elastic Stack: Planned
---

# Ansible Control Server connector
The Ansible Control Server connector calls the [Ansible Automation Controller / AWX API](https://docs.ansible.com/automation-controller/latest/html/controllerapi/index.html) to list job templates, launch jobs, and diagnose failures via stdout and job events. It authenticates with a long-lived API bearer token and can verify the server TLS certificate against a pasted PEM CA.
<warning>
  This connector can perform any operation the configured token is authorized for, including launching jobs that mutate real infrastructure. There are no additional restrictions in Kibana: access is governed entirely by the token's Controller / AWX permissions. Prefer a least-privilege automation user scoped to specific templates and organizations.
</warning>


## Create connectors in Kibana

You can create connectors in **Stack Management > Connectors**.

### Connector configuration

Ansible Control Server connectors have the following configuration properties:
<definitions>
  <definition term="API server URL">
    The base URL of the Controller / AWX server, for example `https://controller.example.com`. This host must be permitted by the [`xpack.actions.allowedHosts`](/elastic/kibana/tree/main/reference/configuration-reference/alerting-settings#action-settings) setting.
  </definition>
  <definition term="API base path">
    API root path prepended to typed actions. Use `/api/v2` for AWX, Tower, and AAP ≤2.4. Use `/api/controller/v2` for AAP 2.5+ platform gateway installs. Default: `/api/v2`.
  </definition>
</definitions>


### Authentication

**API token**
<definitions>
  <definition term="Token">
    A long-lived personal access token (PAT) or OAuth2 application token. The connector sends it in the `Authorization: Bearer <token>` header. Do **not** paste short-lived session cookies.
  </definition>
  <definition term="Server CA certificate (PEM)">
    Optional PEM-encoded certificate authority used to verify the server certificate.
  </definition>
  <definition term="Verification mode">
    How to verify the server TLS certificate: `full` (default), `certificate`, or `none` (not recommended).
  </definition>
</definitions>


## Test connectors

You can test connectors when you create or edit the connector in Kibana. The test requests the authenticated user (`GET …/me/`) to verify connectivity and authentication.

## Connection actions

The connector has the following actions:
<definitions>
  <definition term="request">
    Make an authenticated request to any Controller / AWX API path. Prefer typed actions when they fit.
  </definition>
  <definition term="listJobTemplates / getJobTemplate / getJobTemplateLaunchOptions">
    Discover templates and launch-time prompts (`ask_*`, survey defaults).
  </definition>
  <definition term="launchJobTemplate">
    Launch a job (`extra_vars`, `limit`, `inventory`, credentials, tags, and so on). Mutates infrastructure.
  </definition>
  <definition term="listJobs / getJob / getJobStdout / listJobEvents / cancelJob">
    Monitor and diagnose job runs. Stdout is capped for agent-safe context size.
  </definition>
  <definition term="listInventories / listHosts / listProjects / getMe">
    Inventory, host, project, and identity reads. Credential secret fields are scrubbed.
  </definition>
</definitions>


## Get API credentials

1. In Controller / AWX, create a dedicated automation user with execute permissions on the job templates the connector should use.
2. Create a personal access token for that user (User → Tokens), or an OAuth2 application token.
3. If the server uses a private CA, retrieve the CA certificate as PEM.
4. Enter the API server URL, API base path, token, and optional CA when configuring the connector in Kibana.