diff --git a/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/README.rst b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/README.rst
index 2654f74be3..304e87a0fb 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/README.rst
+++ b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/README.rst
@@ -37,3 +37,35 @@ Install and configure Ansible on a host via pip
    :zuul:rolevar:`install-ansible.install_ansible_openstacksdk_name`.  The
    special value "latest" will ensure ``state: latest`` is set for the
    package and thus the latest version is always installed.
+
+.. zuul:rolevar:: install_ansible_ara_enable
+   :default: false
+
+   Whether or not to install the ARA Records Ansible callback plugin
+
+.. zuul:rolevar:: install_ansible_ara_name
+   :default: ara
+
+   The name of the ARA package to install.  To install from
+   alternative sources, this can be a URL for a remote package.
+
+.. zuul:rolevar:: install_ansible_ara_version
+   :default: latest
+
+   Version of ARA to install.  Set this to empty (YAML ``null``) if
+   specifying versions via URL in
+   :zuul:rolevar:`install-ansible.install_ansible_ara_name`.  The
+   special value "latest" will ensure ``state: latest`` is set for the
+   package and hence the latest version is always installed.
+
+.. zuul:rolevar:: install_ansible_ara_config
+   :default: {"database": "sqlite:////var/cache/ansible/ara.sqlite"}
+
+   A dictionary of key-value pairs to be added to the ARA
+   configuration file
+
+   *database*: Connection string for the database (ex: mysql+pymysql://ara:password@localhost/ara)
+
+   For a list of available configuration options, see the `ARA documentation`_
+
+.. _ARA documentation: https://ara.readthedocs.io/en/stable/configuration.html
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/defaults/main.yaml b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/defaults/main.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8f0d0d3528
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/defaults/main.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+# Whether or not to install ARA
+install_ansible_ara_enable: false
+
+# See available configuration options in the ARA docs:
+# https://ara.readthedocs.io/en/stable/configuration.html
+# Note that this may be set in the private host vars when using mysql so we can
+# keep the credentials secret.
+install_ansible_ara_config:
+  # Connection string for ARA
+  # https://ara.readthedocs.io/en/stable/configuration.html#ara-database
+  # Ex: mysql+pymysql://ara:password@localhost/ara
+  database: "sqlite:////var/cache/ansible/ara.sqlite"
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/tasks/install_ara.yaml b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/tasks/install_ara.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..08bc34ee17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/tasks/install_ara.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+- name: Install pymysql for ara
+  pip:
+    name: pymysql
+    state: present
+  when: '"pymysql" in install_ansible_ara_config["database"]'
+
+# If ansible_install_ansible_ara_version is not defined it should be "latest"
+- name: Set ara default version to latest
+  set_fact:
+    install_ansible_ara_version: latest
+  when: install_ansible_ara_version is not defined
+
+# If a version is not explicitly set we want to make sure to
+# completely omit the version argument to pip, as it will be coming
+# from the long-form install_ansible_ara_name variable.  Additionally,
+# if the version is the special value "latest", then we also want to
+# omit any version number, but also set the package state to "latest".
+- name: Set ARA version for installation
+  set_fact:
+    _install_ansible_ara_version: '{{ install_ansible_ara_version }}'
+  when: install_ansible_ara_version not in ('', 'latest')
+
+- name: Set ARA package state for installation
+  set_fact:
+    _install_ansible_ara_state: latest
+  when: install_ansible_ara_version == 'latest'
+
+- name: Install ARA
+  pip:
+    name: '{{ install_ansible_ara_name | default("ara") }}'
+    version: '{{ _install_ansible_ara_version | default(omit) }}'
+    state: '{{ _install_ansible_ara_state | default(omit) }}'
+
+# For configuring the callback plugins location in ansible.cfg
+- name: Get ARA's location for callback plugins
+  command: python3 -m ara.setup.callback_plugins
+  register: install_ansible_ara_callback_plugins
+  changed_when: false
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/tasks/main.yaml b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/tasks/main.yaml
index cd56a8e80b..983bdb2013 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/tasks/main.yaml
+++ b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/tasks/main.yaml
@@ -74,9 +74,13 @@
     group: root
     mode: 0775
 
+- name: Set up the ARA callback
+  include_tasks: install_ara.yaml
+  when: install_ansible_ara_enable
+
 - name: Copy ansible.cfg in to place
-  copy:
-    src: ansible.cfg
+  template:
+    src: ansible.cfg.j2
     dest: /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg
 
 # NOTE(mordred) The copy of the openstack inventory plugin from 2.6 is busted.
diff --git a/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/files/ansible.cfg b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/templates/ansible.cfg.j2
similarity index 73%
rename from playbooks/roles/install-ansible/files/ansible.cfg
rename to playbooks/roles/install-ansible/templates/ansible.cfg.j2
index 3032de298b..0dd890f613 100644
--- a/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/files/ansible.cfg
+++ b/playbooks/roles/install-ansible/templates/ansible.cfg.j2
@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@
 inventory=/opt/system-config/inventory/openstack.yaml,/opt/system-config/inventory/groups.yaml,/etc/ansible/hosts/emergency.yaml
 library=/usr/share/ansible
 log_path=/var/log/ansible/ansible.log
-callback_plugins=/etc/ansible/callback_plugins
-callback_whitelist=profile_tasks, timer
 inventory_plugins=/etc/ansible/inventory_plugins
 roles_path=/opt/system-config/roles:/etc/ansible/roles
 retry_files_enabled=False
@@ -11,6 +9,12 @@ retry_files_save_path=
 gathering=smart
 fact_caching=jsonfile
 fact_caching_connection=/var/cache/ansible/facts
+callback_whitelist=profile_tasks, timer
+{% if install_ansible_ara_enable %}
+callback_plugins=/etc/ansible/callback_plugins:{{ install_ansible_ara_callback_plugins.stdout }}
+{% else %}
+callback_plugins=/etc/ansible/callback_plugins
+{% endif %}
 
 [inventory]
 enable_plugins=yaml,yamlgroup,advanced_host_list,ini
@@ -25,3 +29,10 @@ pipelining = True
 
 [callback_profile_tasks]
 task_output_limit = 50
+
+{% if install_ansible_ara_enable %}
+[ara]
+{% for k, v in install_ansible_ara_config.items() %}
+{{ k }}={{ v }}
+{% endfor %}
+{% endif %}