Change local user password on Windows-like systems - Ansible module win_user
How to automate the password changing of the local user “example” on Windows-like systems using Ansible Playbook and module win_user.


How to change user passwords on Windows-like systems with Ansible?
Password change is a mundane task that every System Administrator needs to perform regularly for your user base. Using Ansible you could simplify your workflow and maintain consistent your IT infrastructure fleet. I’m going to show you a live demo with some simple Ansible code. I’m Luca Berton and welcome to today’s episode of Ansible Pilot,
Ansible changes local user password
ansible.windows.win_user
- Manages local Windows user accounts
Today we’re talking about the Ansible module win_user
.
The full name is ansible.windows.win_user
, which means that is part of the collection of modules specialized to interact with Windows target host.
It’s a module pretty stable and out for years.
It works in Windows and Windows Server operating systems.
It manages local Windows user accounts.
For Linux target use the user
module instead.
Parameters
- name string - user name
- state string - present/absent
- password string - cleartext password
- update_password string - always / on_create
The only required is “name”, which is the user name. The “state” parameter allows us to create or delete a user, in our use case the default it’s already set to “present” to create a user. The “password” set the password in cleartext. So easily specify what password assign to the user, no hash function is needed. The “update_password” parameter specifies when the module will update the user password. “always” option will update passwords if they differ, “on_create” will only set the password for newly created users.
Links
The Best Resources For Ansible
Video Course
Printed Book
eBooks
- Ansible by Examples: 200+ Automation Examples For Linux and Windows System Administrator and DevOps
- Ansible For Windows By Examples: 50+ Automation Examples For Windows System Administrator And DevOps
- Ansible For Linux by Examples: 100+ Automation Examples For Linux System Administrator and DevOps
- Ansible Linux Filesystem By Examples: 40+ Automation Examples on Linux File and Directory Operation for Modern IT Infrastructure
- Ansible For Containers and Kubernetes By Examples: 20+ Automation Examples To Automate Containers, Kubernetes and OpenShift
- Ansible For Security by Examples: 100+ Automation Examples to Automate Security and Verify Compliance for IT Modern Infrastructure
- Ansible Tips and Tricks: 10+ Ansible Examples to Save Time and Automate More Tasks
- Ansible Linux Users & Groups By Examples: 20+ Automation Examples on Linux Users and Groups Operation for Modern IT Infrastructure
- Ansible For PostgreSQL by Examples: 10+ Examples To Automate Your PostgreSQL database
- Ansible For Amazon Web Services AWS By Examples: 10+ Examples To Automate Your AWS Modern Infrastructure
- Ansible Automation Platform By Example: A step-by-step guide for the most common user scenarios
demo
Change user password on Windows-like systems with Ansible Playbook. I’m going to show you how to automate the password of local user “example” with an autogenerated one and verify on the Windows side with a successful login.
code
---
- name: windows change password
hosts: all
vars:
usr_name: 'example'
usr_password: 'SMJAo$%8AzU6'
tasks:
- name: change password
ansible.windows.win_user:
name: "{{ usr_name }}"
password: "{{ usr_password }}"
execution
ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/win/inventory windows/user_changepassword.yml
PLAY [windows change password] ********************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [WindowsServer]
TASK [change password] ****************************************************************************
changed: [WindowsServer]
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
WindowsServer : ok=2 changed=1 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0
ansible-pilot $
idempotency
ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/win/inventory windows/user_changepassword.yml
PLAY [windows change password] ********************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [WindowsServer]
TASK [change password] ****************************************************************************
ok: [WindowsServer]
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
WindowsServer : ok=2 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0
ansible-pilot $
before execution
after execution
Recap
Now you know how to change local user passwords on Windows-like systems with Ansible. Subscribe to the YouTube channel, Medium, Website, Twitter, and Substack to not miss the next episode of the Ansible Pilot.
Academy
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