.. _httpapi_plugins:

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:

Adding httpapi plugins
-------------------------

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:

Using httpapi plugins
------------------------

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:

Viewing httpapi plugins
-----------------------

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
