Allow extension of supported ansible versions

This change will allow users to configure additional versions of
ansible that will be considered as supported.

.ansible-lint

@@ -122,3 +122,7 @@ task_name_prefix: "{stem} | "
 
 # Limit the depth of the nested blocks:
 # max_block_depth: 20
+
+# Also recognize these versions of Ansible as supported:
+# supported_ansible_also:
+#   - "2.14"

src/ansiblelint/cli.py

@@ -499,6 +499,7 @@ def merge_config(file_config: dict[Any, Any], cli_config: Options) -> Options:
         "enable_list": [],
         "only_builtins_allow_collections": [],
         "only_builtins_allow_modules": [],
+        "supported_ansible_also": [],
         # do not include "write_list" here. See special logic below.
     }
 

src/ansiblelint/config.py

@@ -174,6 +174,9 @@ class Options:  # pylint: disable=too-many-instance-attributes
     ignore_file: Path | None = None
     max_tasks: int = 100
     max_block_depth: int = 20
+    # Refer to https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/reference_appendices/release_and_maintenance.html#ansible-core-support-matrix
+    _default_supported = ["2.15.", "2.16.", "2.17."]
+    supported_ansible_also: list[str] = field(default_factory=list)
 
     @property
     def nodeps(self) -> bool:
@@ -186,6 +189,11 @@ def __post_init__(self) -> None:
         if self.nodeps:
             self.offline = True
 
+    @property
+    def supported_ansible(self) -> list[str]:
+        """Returns list of ansible versions that are considered supported."""
+        return sorted([*self._default_supported, *self.supported_ansible_also])
+
 
 options = Options()
 

src/ansiblelint/rules/meta_runtime.md

@@ -1,15 +1,21 @@
 # meta-runtime
 
-This rule checks the meta/runtime.yml `requires_ansible` key against the list of currently supported versions of ansible-core.
+This rule checks the meta/runtime.yml `requires_ansible` key against the list of
+currently supported versions of ansible-core.
 
 This rule can produce messages such as:
 
-- `meta-runtime[unsupported-version]` - `requires_ansible` key must refer to a currently supported version such as: >=2.14.0, >=2.15.0, >=2.16.0
-- `meta-runtime[invalid-version]` - `requires_ansible` is not a valid requirement specification
+- `meta-runtime[unsupported-version]` - `requires_ansible` key must refer to a
+  currently supported version such as: >=2.14.0, >=2.15.0, >=2.16.0
+- `meta-runtime[invalid-version]` - `requires_ansible` is not a valid
+  requirement specification
 
-Please note that the linter will allow only a full version of Ansible such `2.16.0` and not allow their short form, like `2.16`. This is a safety measure
-for asking authors to mention an explicit version that they tested with. Over the years we spotted multiple problems caused by the use of the short versions, users
-ended up trying an outdated version that was never tested against by the collection maintainer.
+Please note that the linter will allow only a full version of Ansible such
+`2.16.0` and not allow their short form, like `2.16`. This is a safety measure
+for asking authors to mention an explicit version that they tested with. Over
+the years we spotted multiple problems caused by the use of the short versions,
+users ended up trying an outdated version that was never tested against by the
+collection maintainer.
 
 ## Problematic code
 
@@ -19,7 +25,6 @@ ended up trying an outdated version that was never tested against by the collect
 requires_ansible: ">=2.9"
 ```
 
-
 ```yaml
 # runtime.yml
 ---
@@ -33,3 +38,15 @@ requires_ansible: "2.15"
 ---
 requires_ansible: ">=2.15.0"
 ```
+
+## Configuration
+
+In addition to the internal list of supported Ansible versions, users can
+configure additional values. This allows those that want to maintain content
+that requires a version of ansible-core that is already out of support.
+
+```yaml
+# Also recognize these versions of Ansible as supported:
+supported_ansible_also:
+  - "2.14"
+```

src/ansiblelint/rules/meta_runtime.py

@@ -30,12 +30,8 @@ class CheckRequiresAnsibleVersion(AnsibleLintRule):
     tags = ["metadata"]
     version_added = "v6.11.0 (last update)"
 
-    # Refer to https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/ansible-automation-platform
-    # Also add devel to this list
-    supported_ansible = ["2.15.", "2.16.", "2.17."]
-    supported_ansible_examples = [f">={x}0" for x in supported_ansible]
     _ids = {
-        "meta-runtime[unsupported-version]": f"'requires_ansible' key must refer to a currently supported version such as: {', '.join(supported_ansible_examples)}",
+        "meta-runtime[unsupported-version]": "'requires_ansible' key must refer to a currently supported version",
         "meta-runtime[invalid-version]": "'requires_ansible' is not a valid requirement specification",
     }
 
@@ -50,22 +46,26 @@ def matchyaml(self, file: Lintable) -> list[MatchError]:
         if file.kind != "meta-runtime":
             return []
 
-        version_required = file.data.get("requires_ansible", None)
+        requires_ansible = file.data.get("requires_ansible", None)
 
-        if version_required:
-            if not any(
-                version in version_required for version in self.supported_ansible
+        if requires_ansible:
+            if self.options and not any(
+                version in requires_ansible
+                for version in self.options.supported_ansible
             ):
+                supported_ansible = [f">={x}0" for x in self.options.supported_ansible]
+                msg = f"'requires_ansible' key must refer to a currently supported version such as: {', '.join(supported_ansible)}"
+
                 results.append(
                     self.create_matcherror(
-                        message=self._ids["meta-runtime[unsupported-version]"],
+                        message=msg,
                         tag="meta-runtime[unsupported-version]",
                         filename=file,
                     ),
                 )
 
             try:
-                SpecifierSet(version_required)
+                SpecifierSet(requires_ansible)
             except ValueError:
                 results.append(
                     self.create_matcherror(