Change the User Primary Group on Linux - Ansible module user
How to automate the changing of the primary group of a user "example" from "example" group to "users" group on a target the Linux with few lines of Ansible playbook code.
How to Change the User Primary Group on Linux with Ansible?
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 the User Primary Group on Linux
ansible.builtin.user
- Manage user accounts
Today we’re talking about Ansible module user
.
The full name is ansible.builtin.user, which means that is part of the collection of modules “builtin” with ansible and shipped with it.
It’s a module pretty stable and out for years, it manages user accounts.
It supports a huge variety of Linux distributions, SunOS and macOS, and FreeBSD.
For Windows, use the ansible.windows.win_user
module instead.
Parameters
- name string - username
- group string - user’s primary group (only one)
- groups list / elements=string - list of groups the user will be added to
- append boolean - no/yes - If yes, add the user to the groups specified in groups. If no, replace.
This module has many parameters, let me highlight the useful for our use case. The only required is “name”, which is the username. The primary group is specified in the “group” parameter, every user need to be part of only one group. The “groups” parameter specifies the list of additional groups that the user will be added to. This type of group sometimes is called also “secondary”, “additional” or “supplementary”. The parameter “append” is very important. With the “yes” option, the user is going to be added to the specified groups. With the “no” option, all group members are going to be overwritten with the specified groups. So to recap is you specify the “no” option you are going to lose all the previous group associations, please be careful!
Links
The Best Resources For Ansible
Certifications
- Coursera Pro - Unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs—all included in your subscription
Video Course
Printed Book
-
Ansible For VMware by Examples
-
Ansible for Kubernetes by Example
-
Hands-on Ansible Automation
-
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform
eBooks
- Ansible by Examples: 200+ Automation Examples For Linux and Windows System Administrator and DevOps
- Ansible Cookbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Unleashing the Power of Ansible via Best Practices, Troubleshooting, and Linting Rules with Luca Berton
- Terraform By Example: A Practical Approach for Beginners to Learn Cloud Infrastructure with Terraform
- 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 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
How to change the User Primary Group on Linux with Ansible Playbook.
code
- user_group_changeprimary.yml
---
- name: user module demo
hosts: all
become: true
vars:
myuser: "example"
mygroup: "users"
tasks:
- name: change primary group
ansible.builtin.user:
name: "{{ myuser }}"
group: "{{ mygroup }}"
execution
$ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/demo/inventory users_and_groups/user_group_changeprimary.yml
PLAY [user module demo] ***************************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [change primare group] ***********************************************************************
changed: [demo.example.com]
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
demo.example.com : ok=2 changed=1 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0
ansible-pilot $
before execution
$ ssh [email protected]
Last login: Wed Dec 15 13:00:47 2021 from 192.168.0.101
[devops@demo ~]$ sudo su
[root@demo devops]# cat /etc/os-release
NAME="Red Hat Enterprise Linux"
VERSION="8.5 (Ootpa)"
ID="rhel"
ID_LIKE="fedora"
VERSION_ID="8.5"
PLATFORM_ID="platform:el8"
PRETTY_NAME="Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.5 (Ootpa)"
ANSI_COLOR="0;31"
CPE_NAME="cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos"
HOME_URL="https://www.redhat.com/"
DOCUMENTATION_URL="https://access.redhat.com/documentation/red_hat_enterprise_linux/8/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugzilla.redhat.com/"
REDHAT_BUGZILLA_PRODUCT="Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8"
REDHAT_BUGZILLA_PRODUCT_VERSION=8.5
REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT="Red Hat Enterprise Linux"
REDHAT_SUPPORT_PRODUCT_VERSION="8.5"
[root@demo devops]# getent passwd | grep example
example:x:1002:1002:Ansible example:/home/example:/bin/bash
[root@demo devops]# id example
uid=1002(example) gid=1002(example) groups=1002(example),10(wheel)
[root@demo devops]# groups example
example : example wheel
[root@demo devops]#
after execution
$ ssh [email protected]
[devops@demo ~]$ sudo su
[root@demo devops]# getent passwd | grep example
example:x:1002:100:Ansible example:/home/example:/bin/bash
[root@demo devops]# id example
uid=1002(example) gid=100(users) groups=100(users),10(wheel)
[root@demo devops]# groups example
example : users wheel
[root@demo devops]#
Recap
Now you know how to change the User Primary Group on Linux with Ansible. Subscribe to the YouTube channel, Medium, and Website, X (formerly Twitter) to not miss the next episode of the Ansible Pilot.
Academy
Learn the Ansible automation technology with some real-life examples in my
My book Ansible By Examples: 200+ Automation Examples For Linux and Windows System Administrator and DevOps
Donate
Want to keep this project going? Please donate