Chapter 16. Ansible variables

ansible_connection

The connection plugin used for the task on the target host.

This can be the name of any of ansible connection plugin. SSH protocol types are smart, ssh or paramiko.

Default = smart

ansible_host

The ip or name of the target host to use instead of inventory_hostname.

ansible_port

The connection port number, if not, the default (22 for ssh).

ansible_user

The user name to use when connecting to the host.

ansible_password

The password to use to authenticate to the host.

Never store this variable in plain text.

Always use a vault.

ansible_ssh_private_key_file

Private key file used by ssh. Useful if using multiple keys and you do not want to use an SSH agent.

ansible_ssh_common_args

This setting is always appended to the default command line for sftp, scp, and ssh. Useful to configure a ProxyCommand for a certain host (or group).

ansible_sftp_extra_args

This setting is always appended to the default sftp command line.

ansible_scp_extra_args

This setting is always appended to the default scp command line.

ansible_ssh_extra_args

This setting is always appended to the default ssh command line.

ansible_ssh_pipelining

Determines if SSH pipelining is used. This can override the pipelining setting in ansible.cfg.

ansible_ssh_pass

ansible_ssh_user

This variable sets the SSH user for the installer to use and defaults to root. This user must allow SSH-based authentication without requiring a password. If using SSH key-based authentication, then the key must be managed by an SSH agent.

ansible_ssh_executable

(added in version 2.2)

This setting overrides the default behavior to use the system ssh. This can override the ssh_executable setting in ansible.cfg.

ansible_shell_type

The shell type of the target system. You should not use this setting unless you have set the ansible_shell_executable to a non-Bourne (sh) compatible shell. By default commands are formatted using sh-style syntax. Setting this to csh or fish causes commands executed on target systems to follow the syntax of those shells instead.

ansible_shell_executable

This sets the shell that the ansible controller uses on the target machine, and overrides the executable in ansible.cfg which defaults to /bin/sh.

You should only change if it is not possible to use /bin/sh, that is, if /bin/sh is not installed on the target machine or cannot be run from sudo.

ansible_check_mode

Boolean that indicates if we are in check mode or not

ansible_dependent_role_names

The names of the roles currently imported into the current play as dependencies of other plays

ansible_limit

Contents of the --limit CLI option for the current execution of Ansible

ansible_loop

A dictionary or map containing extended loop information when enabled using loop_control.extended

ansible_loop_var

The name of the value provided to loop_control.loop_var. Added in 2.8

ansible_index_var

The name of the value provided to loop_control.index_var. Added in 2.9

ansible_parent_role_names

When the current role is being executed by means of an include_role or import_role action, this variable contains a list of all parent roles, with the most recent role. In other words, the role that included or imported this role is the first item in the list. When multiple inclusions occur, the first item in this list is the last role (the role that included this role). It is also possible for a specific role to exist more than once in this list.

For example: When role A includes role B, inside role B, ansible_parent_role_names will equal ['A']. If role B then includes role C, the list becomes ['B', 'A'].

ansible_parent_role_paths

When the current role is being executed by means of an include_role or import_role action, this variable contains a list of all parent roles paths, with the most recent role (in other words, the role that included/imported this role) being the first element in the list. See, ansible_parent_role_names for the order of items in this list.

ansible_play_batch

List of active hosts in the current play run limited by the serial, aka batch. Failed or unreachable hosts are not considered active.

ansible_play_hosts

List of hosts in the current play run, not limited by the serial. Failed or unreachable hosts are excluded from this list.

ansible_play_hosts_all

List of all the hosts that were targeted by the play

ansible_play_role_names

The names of the roles currently imported into the current play. This list does not contain the role names that are implicitly included through dependencies.

ansible_play_name

The name of the currently executed play. Added in 2.8. (name attribute of the play, not file name of the playbook.)

ansible_search_path

Current search path for action plugins and lookups, in other words, where we search for relative paths when you do template: src=myfile

ansible_version

Dictionary or map that contains information about the current running version of ansible, it has the following keys: full, major, minor, revision and string.