Ansible Create Symlink: file Module with state=link (Guide)

How to create a symbolic link with Ansible? I'm going to show you a live Playbook and some simple Ansible code. I'm Luca Berton and welcome to today's episode of Ansible Pilot

Ansible create a symbolic link

> ansible.builtin.file Manage files and file properties

Today we're talking about the Ansible module file. The full name is ansible.builtin.file, 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 works in a different variety of operating systems. It manages files and file properties. For a hardlink use see the following parameters of Ansible file module. For Windows targets, use the ansible.windows.win_file module instead.

See also: Ansible Create Hard Link & Symlink: file Module Guide

Parameters

• src string - symlink path • dest string - destination file path • state string - file/absent/symbolic link/hard/link/touch • mode/owner/group - permission • setype/seuser/selevel - SELinux

This module has some parameters to perform any tasks. The two required fields are "src" and "dest" which specify the filesystem paths of the link and the target file. The state defines the type of object we are modifying, the default is "file" but for our use case, we need the "link" option. Let me highlight also the permission and SELinux parameters.

## Playbook

Let's jump into a real-life playbook on how to create a symbolic link with Ansible.

code

• create_symlink.yml

---
- name: file module demo
  hosts: all
  vars:
    mylink: "~/example"
    mysrc: "/proc/cpuinfo"
  tasks:
    - name: Creating a symlink
      ansible.builtin.file:
        src: "{{ mysrc }}"
        dest: "{{ mylink }}"
        state: link

execution

$ ansible-playbook -i Playbook/inventory create\ symlink/file.yml
PLAY [file module demo] *********************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] **********************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [Creating a symlink] *******************************************************************
changed: [demo.example.com]
PLAY RECAP **********************************************************************************
demo.example.com           : ok=2    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0

before execution

$ ssh devops@demo.example.com
[devops@demo ~]$ ls -al
total 16
drwx------. 4 devops wheel  111 Nov 14 14:26 .
drwxr-xr-x. 5 root   root    50 Nov  8 17:07 ..
drwx------. 3 devops wheel   17 Sep  6 05:53 .ansible
-rw-------. 1 devops wheel 3055 Nov 14 14:26 .bash_history
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel   18 Dec  4  2020 .bash_logout
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  141 Dec  4  2020 .bash_profile
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  376 Dec  4  2020 .bashrc
drwx------. 2 devops wheel   94 Sep 16 10:09 .ssh
[devops@demo ~]$ 

after execution

$ ssh devops@demo.example.com
[devops@demo ~]$ ls -al
total 16
drwx------. 4 devops wheel  126 Nov 14 14:29 .
drwxr-xr-x. 5 root   root    50 Nov  8 17:07 ..
drwx------. 3 devops wheel   17 Sep  6 05:53 .ansible
-rw-------. 1 devops wheel 3067 Nov 14 14:28 .bash_history
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel   18 Dec  4  2020 .bash_logout
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  141 Dec  4  2020 .bash_profile
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  376 Dec  4  2020 .bashrc
drwx------. 2 devops wheel   94 Sep 16 10:09 .ssh
lrwxrwxrwx. 1 devops wheel   13 Nov 14 14:29 example -> /proc/cpuinfo
[devops@demo ~]$ cat example | less
[devops@demo ~]$ 

code with ❤️ in GitHub

Conclusion

Now you know how to create a symbolic link or soft link in Linux with Ansible.

See also: Ansible Create File with Content: copy Module content Parameter

Related Articles

• managing inventory in Ansible • file ownership and modes via ansible.builtin.file • the Ansible Windows reference