Documentation

command - Executes a command on a remote node

Synopsis

The command module takes the command name followed by a list of space-delimited arguments. The given command will be executed on all selected nodes. It will not be processed through the shell, so variables like $HOME and operations like "<", ">", "|", and "&" will not work (use the shell module if you need these features).

Options

parameter required default choices comments
chdir
no
    cd into this directory before running the command
    creates
    no
      a filename or (since 2.0) glob pattern, when it already exists, this step will not be run.
      executable
      no
        change the shell used to execute the command. Should be an absolute path to the executable.
        free_form
        yes
          the command module takes a free form command to run. There is no parameter actually named 'free form'. See the examples!
          removes
          no
            a filename or (since 2.0) glob pattern, when it does not exist, this step will not be run.
            warn
            (added in 1.8)
            no True
              if command warnings are on in ansible.cfg, do not warn about this particular line if set to no/false.

              Examples

              # Example from Ansible Playbooks.
              - command: /sbin/shutdown -t now
              
              # Run the command if the specified file does not exist.
              - command: /usr/bin/make_database.sh arg1 arg2 creates=/path/to/database
              
              # You can also use the 'args' form to provide the options. This command
              # will change the working directory to somedir/ and will only run when
              # /path/to/database doesn't exist.
              - command: /usr/bin/make_database.sh arg1 arg2
                args:
                  chdir: somedir/
                  creates: /path/to/database
              

              Notes

              Note

              If you want to run a command through the shell (say you are using <, >, |, etc), you actually want the shell module instead. The command module is much more secure as it’s not affected by the user’s environment.

              Note

              creates, removes, and chdir can be specified after the command. For instance, if you only want to run a command if a certain file does not exist, use this.

              This is a Core Module

              For more information on what this means please read Core Modules

              For help in developing on modules, should you be so inclined, please read Community Information & Contributing, Helping Testing PRs and Developing Modules.