Download a file in Windows-like systems - Ansible module win_get_url
How to automate the download of a file, verify the checksum and save wherever you want in Windows-like systems with Ansible module win_get_url.


How to download a file in Windows-like systems with Ansible?
I’m going to show you a live demo and some simple Ansible code. I’m Luca Berton and welcome to today’s episode of Ansible Pilot.
Ansible download a file in Windows-like systems
- ansible.windows.win_get_url
- Downloads file from HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP to node
Let’s talk about the Ansible module win_get_url
.
The full name is ansible.windows.win_get_url
, which means that is part of the collection of modules of Ansible to interact with Windows nodes.
It downloads files from HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP to node
For Linux targets, use the ansible.builtin.get_url
Ansible module instead.
Parameters
- url string - URL
- dest string - path
- force string - no/yes
- checksum_algorithm, checksum, checksum_url string - checksum_algorithm, checksum, checksum_url
- force_basic_auth/url_username/url_password/use_gssapi - HTTP basic auth/GSSAPI-Kerberos
- headers dictionary - custom HTTP headers
- http_agent string - “ansible-httpget”
- proxy_url, proxy_username, proxy_password, proxy_use_default_credential - proxy
The parameters of the win_get_url
module.
The two required parameters are url
and dest
.
The url
parameter specifies the URL of the resource you’re going to download.
The dest
parameter specifies the filesystem path where the resource is going to be saved on the target node.
Let’s deep dive into the “force” parameter.
If “dest” is a file, Ansible is going to download every time the file. If “dest” is a directory the default behavior is not to replace a file, until you toggle to yes
the force parameter.
The parameter “checksum” is very useful to validate the consistency of the downloaded file.
You could specify the algorithm under checksum_algorithm
, default SHA1, and directly the checksum or the checksum URL checksum_url
.
Another interesting parameter is “headers” which allows you to specify some custom HTTP headers.
Ansible presents himself as “ansible-httpget” in the web server logs, but you cust customize it in the “http_agent” parameter.
There are also additional parameters for the X509 authentication client certificate (.pfx).
Enterprise users could also specify the proxy
settings parameters.
Links
The Best Resources For Ansible
Certifications
Video Course
Printed Book
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
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 download a file in Windows-like systems with Ansible Playbook.
code
---
- name: win_get_url module demo
hosts: all
become: false
vars:
myurl: "https://releases.ansible.com/ansible/ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz"
mycrc: "https://releases.ansible.com/ansible/ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz.sha"
mycrc_algorithm: "sha256"
mydest: 'C:\Users\vagrant\Desktop\ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz'
tasks:
- name: download file
ansible.windows.win_get_url:
url: "{{ myurl }}"
dest: "{{ mydest }}"
checksum_algorithm: "{{ mycrc_algorithm }}"
checksum_url: "{{ mycrc }}"
execution
ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/win/inventory download\ file/win_get_url.yml
PLAY [win_get_url module demo] ********************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [WindowsServer]
TASK [download file] ******************************************************************************
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 download\ file/win_get_url.yml
PLAY [win_get_url module demo] ********************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [WindowsServer]
TASK [download file] ******************************************************************************
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 download a file in 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.
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