Ansible Remove Windows User: win_user Module state=absent (Examples)

How to Remove a local user on Windows-like systems with Ansible?

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

See also: Ansible Change Windows User Password: win_user Module (Examples)

Ansible remove local user account

• ansible.windows.win_user • Manages local Windows user accounts

Today we're talking about Ansible module win_user. The full name is ansible.windows.win_user, which means that is part of the collection of modules specialized to interact with Windows target host. It's a module pretty stable and out for years. It works in Windows and Windows Server operating systems. It manages local Windows user accounts. For Linux target use the user module instead.

Parameters

• name _string_ - user name • state _string_ - present/absent

The only required is "name", which is the user name. The "state" parameter allows us to create or delete a user. For our use case, we need to use the "absent" option.

## Playbook

How to Remove a local user on Windows-like systems with Ansible Playbook. I'm going to show you how to automate the deletion of the "example" user on my Playbook Windows machine.

code

---
- name: windows user remove
  hosts: all
  vars:
    usr_name: 'example'
  tasks:
    - name: delete local user
      ansible.windows.win_user:
        name: "{{ usr_name }}"
        state: absent

execution

ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/win/inventory windows/user_remove.yml
PLAY [windows user remove] ************************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [WindowsServer]
TASK [delete local user] **************************************************************************
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 windows/user_remove.yml
PLAY [windows user remove] ************************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] ****************************************************************************
ok: [WindowsServer]
TASK [delete local user] **************************************************************************
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

code with ❤️ in GitHub

See also: Ansible Create Windows Local User: win_user Module (Complete Guide)

Conclusion

Now you know how to Remove a local user on Windows-like systems with Ansible.

Remove Windows User Examples

Remove user and their profile

- name: Remove user
  ansible.windows.win_user:
    name: olduser
    state: absent
- name: Remove user profile directory
  ansible.windows.win_file:
    path: C:\Users\olduser
    state: absent

Remove multiple users

- name: Remove decommissioned accounts
  ansible.windows.win_user:
    name: "{{ item }}"
    state: absent
  loop:
    - contractor1
    - temp_user
    - test_account

Safe removal with backup

- name: Backup home before removal
  ansible.windows.win_shell: |
    Compress-Archive -Path "C:\Users\{{ target_user }}" -DestinationPath "C:\Backup\{{ target_user }}.zip"
  ignore_errors: true
- name: Remove user
  ansible.windows.win_user:
    name: "{{ target_user }}"
    state: absent

Disable instead of delete

- name: Disable user account
  ansible.windows.win_user:
    name: suspended_user
    state: present
    account_disabled: true

See also: Create Local Groups on Windows with Ansible Playbooks

win_user vs win_domain_user

| Module | Manages | Requires | |--------|---------|----------| | win_user | Local accounts | Nothing extra | | win_domain_user | AD domain accounts | Domain controller |

Force Logoff Before Removal

- name: Force logoff user
  ansible.windows.win_shell: |
    query user | Select-String "{{ target_user }}" | ForEach-Object {
      logoff ($_ -split '\s+')[3]
    }
  ignore_errors: true
- name: Remove user
  ansible.windows.win_user:
    name: "{{ target_user }}"
    state: absent

FAQ

Does removing a user delete their files?

win_user with state: absent removes the account but may leave the profile at C:\Users\username. Delete it separately with win_file.

How do I remove a user from LDAP/AD?

Use microsoft.ad.user with state: absent and delegate to a domain controller.

How do I audit user removal?

- name: Log removal
  ansible.windows.win_shell: |
    Add-Content -Path "C:\Logs\audit.log" -Value "$(Get-Date): Removed {{ target_user }}"

Related Articles

• the Ansible inventory deep-dive • Ansible Windows playbook patterns