Ansible Troubleshooting Installation Issues on macOS and Python

Step-by-Step Guide to Resolve Python and Jinja2 Errors

Installation

Ansible is a powerful automation tool used by IT professionals to manage and configure systems, deploy software, and orchestrate more advanced IT tasks such as continuous deployments or zero-downtime rolling updates. However, installing and configuring Ansible can sometimes pose challenges, particularly on macOS systems managed by Homebrew. This guide provides a step-by-step solution to resolve a common issue related to the Jinja2 package dependency.

The Problem: ImportError for Jinja2

Many users encounter the following error when trying to execute Ansible commands on their macOS:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/opt/homebrew/bin/ansible", line 5, in <module>
    from ansible.cli.adhoc import main
  File "/opt/homebrew/lib/python3.11/site-packages/ansible/cli/__init__.py", line 73, in <module>
    jinja2_version = version('jinja2')
                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File…