Documentation

ini_file - Tweak settings in INI files

Synopsis

Manage (add, remove, change) individual settings in an INI-style file without having to manage the file as a whole with, say, template or assemble. Adds missing sections if they don’t exist. Before version 2.0, comments are discarded when the source file is read, and therefore will not show up in the destination file.

Requirements (on host that executes module)

  • ConfigParser

Options

parameter required default choices comments
backup
no no
  • yes
  • no
Create a backup file including the timestamp information so you can get the original file back if you somehow clobbered it incorrectly.
dest
yes
    Path to the INI-style file; this file is created if required
    group
    no
      name of the group that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown
      mode
      no
        mode the file or directory should be. For those used to /usr/bin/chmod remember that modes are actually octal numbers (like 0644). Leaving off the leading zero will likely have unexpected results. As of version 1.8, the mode may be specified as a symbolic mode (for example, u+rwx or u=rw,g=r,o=r).
        option
        no
          if set (required for changing a value), this is the name of the option.
          May be omitted if adding/removing a whole section.
          others
          no
            all arguments accepted by the file module also work here
            owner
            no
              name of the user that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown
              section
              yes
                Section name in INI file. This is added if state=present automatically when a single value is being set.
                selevel
                no s0
                  level part of the SELinux file context. This is the MLS/MCS attribute, sometimes known as the range. _default feature works as for seuser.
                  serole
                  no
                    role part of SELinux file context, _default feature works as for seuser.
                    setype
                    no
                      type part of SELinux file context, _default feature works as for seuser.
                      seuser
                      no
                        user part of SELinux file context. Will default to system policy, if applicable. If set to _default, it will use the user portion of the policy if available
                        state
                        no present
                        • present
                        • absent
                        If set to absent the option or section will be removed if present instead of created.
                        value
                        no
                          the string value to be associated with an option. May be omitted when removing an option.

                          Examples

                          # Ensure "fav=lemonade is in section "[drinks]" in specified file
                          - ini_file: dest=/etc/conf section=drinks option=fav value=lemonade mode=0600 backup=yes
                          
                          - ini_file: dest=/etc/anotherconf
                                      section=drinks
                                      option=temperature
                                      value=cold
                                      backup=yes
                          

                          Notes

                          Note

                          While it is possible to add an option without specifying a value, this makes no sense.

                          Note

                          A section named default cannot be added by the module, but if it exists, individual options within the section can be updated. (This is a limitation of Python’s ConfigParser.) Either use template to create a base INI file with a [default] section, or use lineinfile to add the missing line.

                          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.