Ansible win_file Module: Create & Manage Files on Windows (Guide)

By Luca Berton · Published 2024-01-01 · Category: troubleshooting

How to create and manage files on Windows with Ansible win_file module (ansible.windows.win_file). Create files, directories, symlinks on Windows.

Ansible win_file Module: Create & Manage Files on Windows (Guide)

How to create an empty file in Windows-like systems with Ansible?

Ansible creates an empty file

ansible.windows.win_file
Creates, touches, or removes files or directories

Today we're talking about the Ansible module win_file. The full name is ansible.windows.win_file, which means that is part of the collection of modules to interact with windows machines. It's a module pretty stable and out for years. It creates, touches, or removes files or directories. For Linux targets, use the ansible.builtin.file module) instead.

Parameters

path path - file path
state string - file/absent/directory/touch

This module has some parameters to perform any tasks. The only required is "path", where you specify the filesystem path of the file you're going to edit. The state defines the type of object we are modifying, the default is "file" but for our use case, we need the "touch" option.

Playbook

Create an empty file in Windows-like systems with Ansible playbook

code

---
- name: win_file module demo
  hosts: all
  become: false
  gather_facts: false
  vars:
    myfile: 'C:\Users\vagrant\Desktop\example.txt'
  tasks:
    - name: Creating an empty file
      ansible.windows.win_file:
        path: "{{ myfile }}"
        state: touch

execution

ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/win/inventory create\ file/file-windows.yml
PLAY [win_file module demo] ***********************************************************************
TASK [Creating an empty file] *********************************************************************
changed: [WindowsServer]
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
WindowsServer              : ok=1    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0
ansible-pilot $

idempotency not valid

ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/win/inventory create\ file/file-windows.yml
PLAY [win_file module demo] ***********************************************************************
TASK [Creating an empty file] *********************************************************************
changed: [WindowsServer]
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
WindowsServer              : ok=1    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0
ansible-pilot $