AnsibleByExample

Create a directory in Linux — Ansible module file

Beginneransiblefilemoduledirectory
2024-01-013By Luca Berton

Lesson 1 of 15 in Foundations

Ansible Foundations to Production — full curriculum
  1. 1. Introduction to Ansible and Automation
  2. 2. Installing and Configuring Ansible
  3. 3. Running Ad-Hoc Commands
  4. 4. Writing Your First Playbook
  5. 5. Understanding and Using Modules
  6. 6. Variables and Facts
  7. 7. Conditionals and Loops
  8. 8. Handlers and Idempotency
  9. 9. Structuring Projects with Roles
  10. 10. Inventory Management
  11. 11. Using Ansible Vault for Secrets
  12. 12. Debugging and Troubleshooting
  13. 13. Real-World Automation Examples
  14. 14. Final Project: Deploy a Web Server
  15. 15. Bonus - What's Next with Ansible?
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How to create a directory with Ansible?

Ansible create a directory

ansible.builtin.file: Manage files and file properties

Today we're talking about the Ansible module file. The full name is ansible.builtin.file, which means that is part of the collection of modules "builtin" with ansible and shipped with it. It's a module pretty stable and out for years. It works in a different variety of operating systems. It manages files and file properties. For Windows targets, use the ansible.windows.win_file module instead.

Parameters

  • path string (dest, name) - file path
  • state string - file/absent/directory/hard/link/touch
  • mode/owner/group - permission
  • setype/seuser/selevel - SELinux

This module has some parameters to perform any tasks. The only required is "path", where you specify the filesystem path of the file you're going to edit. The state defines the type of object we are modifying, the default is "file" but for our use case, we need the "directory" option.

Demo

Let's jump into a real-life playbook on how to create a directory with Ansible.

code

  • create_directory.yml
---
- name: file module demo
  hosts: all
  vars:
    mydir: "~/example"
  tasks:
    - name: Creating a directory
      ansible.builtin.file:
        path: "{{ mydir }}"
        state: directory
        owner: devops
        group: users
        mode: '0644'

execution

$ ansible-playbook -i Playbook/inventory create\ directory/file.yml
PLAY [file module demo] *********************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] **********************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [Creating a directory] *****************************************************************
changed: [demo.example.com]
PLAY RECAP **********************************************************************************
demo.example.com           : ok=2    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0

before execution

$ ssh devops@demo.example.com
[devops@demo ~]$ ls -al
total 16
drwx------. 4 devops wheel  111 Nov 14 13:43 .
drwxr-xr-x. 5 root   root    50 Nov  8 17:07 ..
drwx------. 3 devops wheel   17 Sep  6 05:53 .ansible
-rw-------. 1 devops wheel 2849 Nov 14 13:43 .bash_history
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel   18 Dec  4  2020 .bash_logout
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  141 Dec  4  2020 .bash_profile
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  376 Dec  4  2020 .bashrc
drwx------. 2 devops wheel   94 Sep 16 10:09 .ssh
[devops@demo ~]$

after execution

$ ssh devops@demo.example.com
[devops@demo ~]$ ls -al
total 16
drwx------. 5 devops wheel  126 Nov 14 13:45 .
drwxr-xr-x. 5 root   root    50 Nov  8 17:07 ..
drwx------. 3 devops wheel   17 Sep  6 05:53 .ansible
-rw-------. 1 devops wheel 2861 Nov 14 13:44 .bash_history
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel   18 Dec  4  2020 .bash_logout
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  141 Dec  4  2020 .bash_profile
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel  376 Dec  4  2020 .bashrc
drwx------. 2 devops wheel   94 Sep 16 10:09 .ssh
drw-r--r--. 2 devops users    6 Nov 14 13:45 example

code with ❤️ in GitHub

Conclusion

Now you know how to create a directory in Linux with Ansible.

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