Read a file into a variable on host - Ansible lookup plugin file

How to automate the reading of example.txt file on Ansible host, assign to a variable and use in your Ansible Playbook code.

February 16, 2022

Access the Complete Video Course and Learn Quick Ansible by 200+ Practical Lessons

#ansible #plugin #lookup #file #example #read

How to read a file into a variable on the host 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 read a file into a variable

ansible.builtin.file
read file contents

Let’s deep dive into the Ansible lookup plugin file. Plugins are a way to expand the Ansible functionality. With lookup plugins specifically, you can load variables or templates with information from external sources. The full name is ansible.builtin.file, it’s part of ansible-core and is included in all Ansible installations. The purpose of the file lookup plugin is to read file contents.

Parameters and Return Values

Parameters

_terms string - path(s) of files to read

Return Values

_raw list - content of file(s)

The parameters of the lookup plugin file. The only required parameter is the default “_terms”, with the path(s) of files to read. The normal usage is to assign the lookup plugin to a variable name that you could use in your playbook.

The Best Resources For Ansible

Video Course

Learn Ansible Automation in 250+examples & practical lessons: Learn Ansible with some real-life examples of how to use the most common modules and Ansible Playbook

Printed Book

Ansible For VMware by Examples: A Step-by-Step Guide to Automating Your VMware Infrastructure

eBooks

demo

Read a file into a variable on the host with Ansible Playbook.

code

---
- name: read file on host
  hosts: all
  vars:
   contents: "{{ lookup('file','example.txt') }}"
  tasks:
   - name: print file
     ansible.builtin.debug:
      msg: "the content of file is {{ contents }}"

execution

ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/demo/inventory variables/read-file.yml
PLAY [read file on host] **************************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [print file] *********************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com] => {
    "msg": "the content of file is example contents"
}
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
demo.example.com           : ok=2    changed=0    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0
ansible-pilot $

idempotency

ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/demo/inventory variables/read-file.yml
PLAY [read file on host] **************************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [print file] *********************************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com] => {
    "msg": "the content of file is example contents"
}
PLAY RECAP ****************************************************************************************
demo.example.com           : ok=2    changed=0    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0
ansible-pilot $

code with ❤️ in GitHub

Recap

Now you know how to read a file into a variable on host with Ansible. Subscribe to the YouTube channel, Medium, Website, Twitter, and Substack to not miss the next episode of the Ansible Pilot.