Troubleshooting Ansible: Resolving the "PowerShell Incompatible with the Sudo Become Plugin" Error

How to reproduce, troubleshoot, and fix "the PowerShell shell family is incompatible with the sudo become plugin" Ansible runtime error.

September 28, 2021

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#ansible #troubleshooting #become #windows #powershell #error #fatal

Introduction

Welcome back to Ansible Pilot! I’m Luca Berton, and today we’re diving into Ansible troubleshooting, focusing on the error that states “the PowerShell shell family is incompatible with the sudo become plugin.” Join me as we explore how to reproduce, troubleshoot, and fix this runtime error in Ansible.

The Demo

To better understand and solve the “the PowerShell shell family is incompatible with the sudo become plugin” error, let’s jump into a live demo.

Error Code

# incompatiblesudo_error.yml
---
- name: win_reboot module demo
  hosts: all
  become: true
  tasks:
    - name: reboot host(s)
      ansible.windows.win_reboot:

Error Execution

$ ansible-playbook -i win/inventory troubleshooting/incompatiblesudo_error.yml
PLAY [win_reboot module demo] *********************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
fatal: [WindowsServer]: FAILED! => {"msg": "The PowerShell shell family is incompatible with the sudo become plugin"}
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
WindowsServer              : ok=0    changed=0    unreachable=0    failed=1    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0

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Fix Code

# incompatiblesudo_fix.yml
--- 
- name: win_reboot module demo
  hosts: all
  become: false
  tasks:
    - name: reboot host(s)
      ansible.windows.win_reboot:

Fix Execution

$ ansible-playbook -i win/inventory troubleshooting/incompatiblesudo_fix.yml
PLAY [win_reboot module demo] *********************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [WindowsServer]
TASK [reboot host(s)] *****************************************************************************
changed: [WindowsServer]
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
WindowsServer              : ok=2    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0

Recap

In this troubleshooting guide, we successfully tackled the “PowerShell incompatible with the sudo become plugin” error in Ansible. By adjusting the playbook to disable the become plugin, we overcame the compatibility issue.

I hope this demonstration helps you effectively troubleshoot and resolve similar errors in your Ansible automation journey. If you found this information valuable, don’t forget to subscribe for more Ansible insights.

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