Ansible is an open-source automation tool that can be used to automate various IT tasks such as configuration management, application deployment, and task automation.
It uses a simple, human-readable language called YAML {Yet Another Markup Language} to describe automation jobs, and it communicates with target systems over SSH, eliminating the need for a separate agent.
In the context of a CI/CD toolchain, Ansible can be used to automate various tasks related to the deployment of code changes to various environments, such as testing, staging, and production. For example, it can be used to automate the process of installing software dependencies, configuring servers, and deploying code changes to different environments.
Ansible can run on a wide variety of platforms, including macOS. It can be installed on a macOS system using the Homebrew package manager, by running the command "brew install ansible". Once installed, you can use Ansible to automate tasks on remote servers as well as on the local system.
