Ansible win_stat: Check if File or Directory Exists on Windows (Examples) — Video Tutorial

How to check if a directory/folder exists on Windows-like systems 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 check directory exists on Windows-like systems - `ansible.windows.win_stat` - Get information about Windows files Let's talk about the Ansible module `win_stat`. The full name is `ansible.windows.win_stat`, 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 gets information about Windows files. For Linux target use the [`ansible.builtin.stat`](/articles/check-if-a-directory-exists-ansible-module-stat) module instead. Parameters & Return Values Mandatory Parameters - path string Main Return Values - stat complex - isdir The only mandatory parameter is "path" which is the filesystem full path of the object to check. The module returns a complex object, the property that is interesting for us is "isdir". This attribute is "true" if the object is a directory Links - [ansible.windows.win_stat](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/windows/win_stat_module.html) ## Playbook How to check if the "example" directory/folder exists on the Desktop of the user on Windows-like systems with Ansible Playbook. code ```yaml --- - name: check if is a directory hosts: all vars: directory: 'C:\Users\vagrant\Desktop\example' tasks: - name: Check the directory ansible.windows.win_stat: path: "{{ directory }}" register: dir_data - name: Directory found ansible.builtin.debug: msg: "Directory {{ directory }} present" when: dir_data.stat.isdir is defined and dir_data.stat.isdir ``` directory doesn't exist execution  ```bash ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/win/inventory check\ directory\ exists/directory_exists_windows.yml PLAY [check if is a directory] ******************************************************************** TASK [Gathering Facts] **************************************************************************** ok: [WindowsServer] TASK [Check the directory] ************************************************************************ ok: [WindowsServer] TASK [Directory found] **************************************************************************** skipping: [WindowsServer] PLAY RECAP **************************************************************************************** WindowsServer : ok=2 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=1 rescued=0 ignored=0 ansible-pilot $ ``` directory exist execution  ```bash ansible-pilot $ ansible-playbook -i virtualmachines/win/inventory check\ directory\ exist