Ansible lookup file Plugin: Read Local File Content into Variable (Guide) — Video Tutorial

How to read a file into a variable on the host 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. 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. ## Playbook Read a file into a variable on the host with Ansible Playbook. code ```yaml --- - 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 ```bash 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 ```bash 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](https://github.com/lucab85/ansible-pilot/) Conclusion Now you know how to read a file into a variable on