Execute shell commands on target hosts
- The :ref:`ansible.windows.win_shell <ansible.windows.win_shell_module>` module takes the command name followed by a list of space-delimited arguments. It is similar to the :ref:`ansible.windows.win_command <ansible.windows.win_command_module>` module, but runs the command via a shell (defaults to PowerShell) on the target host.
- For non-Windows targets, use the :ref:`ansible.builtin.shell <ansible.builtin.shell_module>` module instead.
| Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments |
|---|---|---|
|
chdir
path
|
Set the specified path as the current working directory before executing a command
|
|
|
creates
path
|
A path or path filter pattern; when the referenced path exists on the target host, the task will be skipped.
|
|
|
executable
path
|
Change the shell used to execute the command (eg,
cmd).The target shell must accept a
/c parameter followed by the raw command line to be executed. |
|
|
free_form
string
/ required
|
The ansible.windows.win_shell module takes a free form command to run.
There is no parameter actually named 'free form'. See the examples!
|
|
|
no_profile
boolean
|
|
Do not load the user profile before running a command. This is only valid when using PowerShell as the executable.
|
|
output_encoding_override
string
|
This option overrides the encoding of stdout/stderr output.
You can use this option when you need to run a command which ignore the console's codepage.
You should only need to use this option in very rare circumstances.
This value can be any valid encoding
Name based on the output of [System.Text.Encoding]::GetEncodings(). See https://docs.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/system.text.encoding.getencodings. |
|
|
removes
path
|
A path or path filter pattern; when the referenced path does not exist on the target host, the task will be skipped.
|
|
|
stdin
string
|
Set the stdin of the command directly to the specified value.
|
Note
- If you want to run an executable securely and predictably, it may be better to use the :ref:`ansible.windows.win_command <ansible.windows.win_command_module>` module instead. Best practices when writing playbooks will follow the trend of using :ref:`ansible.windows.win_command <ansible.windows.win_command_module>` unless
win_shellis explicitly required. When running ad-hoc commands, use your best judgement. - WinRM will not return from a command execution until all child processes created have exited. Thus, it is not possible to use :ref:`ansible.windows.win_shell <ansible.windows.win_shell_module>` to spawn long-running child or background processes. Consider creating a Windows service for managing background processes. - Consider using :ref:`ansible.windows.win_powershell <ansible.windows.win_powershell_module>` if you want to capture the output from the PowerShell script as structured objects.
.. seealso::
:ref:`community.windows.psexec_module`
The official documentation on the **community.windows.psexec** module.
:ref:`ansible.builtin.raw_module`
The official documentation on the **ansible.builtin.raw** module.
:ref:`ansible.builtin.script_module`
The official documentation on the **ansible.builtin.script** module.
:ref:`ansible.builtin.shell_module`
The official documentation on the **ansible.builtin.shell** module.
:ref:`ansible.windows.win_command_module`
The official documentation on the **ansible.windows.win_command** module.
:ref:`ansible.windows.win_powershell_module`
The official documentation on the **ansible.windows.win_powershell** module.
:ref:`community.windows.win_psexec_module`
The official documentation on the **community.windows.win_psexec** module.
- name: Execute a command in the remote shell, stdout goes to the specified file on the remote
ansible.windows.win_shell: C:\somescript.ps1 >> C:\somelog.txt
- name: Change the working directory to somedir/ before executing the command
ansible.windows.win_shell: C:\somescript.ps1 >> C:\somelog.txt
args:
chdir: C:\somedir
- name: Run a command with an idempotent check on what it creates, will only run when somedir/somelog.txt does not exist
ansible.windows.win_shell: C:\somescript.ps1 >> C:\somelog.txt
args:
chdir: C:\somedir
creates: C:\somelog.txt
- name: Run a command under a non-Powershell interpreter (cmd in this case)
ansible.windows.win_shell: echo %HOMEDIR%
args:
executable: cmd
register: homedir_out
- name: Run multi-lined shell commands
ansible.windows.win_shell: |
$value = Test-Path -Path C:\temp
if ($value) {
Remove-Item -Path C:\temp -Force
}
New-Item -Path C:\temp -ItemType Directory
- name: Retrieve the input based on stdin
ansible.windows.win_shell: '$string = [Console]::In.ReadToEnd(); Write-Output $string.Trim()'
args:
stdin: Input messageCommon return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:
- Matt Davis (@nitzmahone)