Managing Files and Directories

1. Copying Files

Parameter	Description	Example
src	Source file path on the controller	`/path/to/source/file.txt`
dest	Destination file path on the managed node	`/tmp/file.txt`
mode	Permissions for the destination file	`0644`
owner	Owner of the destination file	`root`
group	Group of the destination file	`root`

Example: Copying a file from controller to managed node

- name: Copy file from controller to managed node
  copy:
    src: /local/path/file.txt
    dest: /remote/path/file.txt
    mode: '0644'
    owner: root
    group: root

Example: Copying a file with different permissions

- name: Copy file with executable permissions
  copy:
    src: /local/script.sh
    dest: /usr/local/bin/script.sh
    mode: '0755'

Note: The copy module does not support recursive copying of directories. Use the archive or synchronize modules for directory operations.

2. Creating Directories

Parameter	Description	Example
path	Path to the directory to create	`/opt/myapp/config`
state	State of the directory (must be `directory`)	`directory`
mode	Permissions for the directory (e.g., `0755`)	`0755`
owner	Owner of the directory (e.g., `root`)	`ansible`
group	Group of the directory (e.g., `ansible`)	`ansible`

Example: Create a directory with specific permissions and ownership

- name: Create directory with permissions
  ansible.builtin.file:
    path: /opt/myapp/config
    state: directory
    mode: '0755'
    owner: ansible
    group: ansible

3. Creating Symlinks

Parameter	Description	Example
src	Path to the source file or directory	`/etc/nginx/sites-available/default`
dest	Path where the symlink should be created	`/etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default`
state	Must be `link` to create a symlink	`link`
force	Overwrite existing files or symlinks at dest	`true`

Example: Creating a symlink

- name: Create a symlink
  ansible.builtin.file:
    src: /etc/nginx/sites-available/default
    dest: /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default
    state: link

Note: The file module with state: link creates a symbolic link. Ensure the source path exists before creating the symlink.

4. Setting Permissions

Property	Description	Values
mode	Sets file or directory permissions using octal or symbolic notation.	`0644`, `u=rw,g=r,o=r`
owner	Specifies the user that owns the file or directory.	`root`, `ansible`
group	Specifies the group that owns the file or directory.	`root`, `ansible`

Example: Setting File Permissions

- name: Set file permissions
  ansible.builtin.copy:
    src: /etc/ansible/config.ini
    dest: /etc/ansible/config.ini
    mode: '0644'
    owner: ansible
    group: ansible

Example: Setting Directory Permissions

- name: Set directory permissions
  ansible.builtin.file:
    path: /var/log/ansible
    state: directory
    mode: '0755'
    owner: ansible
    group: ansible

Note: The mode parameter supports both octal (e.g., 0644) and symbolic (e.g., u=rw,g=r,o=r) notation.

5. Setting Ownership

Parameter	Description	Values
owner	Sets the user owner of the file or directory	`string`
group	Sets the group owner of the file or directory	`string`
recursive	Applies ownership changes recursively to subdirectories and files	`true` or `false`

Example: Setting Ownership of a File

- name: Set ownership of a file
  ansible.builtin.file:
    path: /etc/myfile.txt
    owner: www-data
    group: www-data

Example: Setting Ownership Recursively

- name: Set ownership recursively
  ansible.builtin.file:
    path: /var/www/html
    owner: www-data
    group: www-data
    recursive: true

Note: The owner and group parameters can be specified as either user/group names or numeric IDs (UID/GID).

6. Removing Files

Parameter	Description	Default
name	Path to the file or directory to remove	Required
state	Whether the file or directory should exist (must be `absent` to remove)	`present`
force	If `true`, remove read-only files and directories	`false`
recurse	If `true`, remove directories recursively	`false`

Example: Remove a file

- name: Remove a file
  ansible.builtin.file:
    path: /tmp/example.txt
    state: absent

Example: Remove a directory recursively

- name: Remove a directory and its contents
  ansible.builtin.file:
    path: /tmp/example_dir
    state: absent
    recurse: true

Note: The file module is used here to remove files or directories. For removing files based on patterns, consider using find module in combination with file.

7. Creating Empty Files

Option	Values	Description
dest	`path/to/file`	Path to the file to create
state	`touch`	Ensures the file exists; creates it if missing
mode	`0644`	Permissions for the new file (optional)
owner	`user`	User owner of the file (optional)
group	`group`	Group owner of the file (optional)

Example: Creating an empty file

- name: Create an empty file
  ansible.builtin.file:
    path: /tmp/example.txt
    state: touch
    mode: '0644'

8. Using Templates

Property	Description	Example
src	Path to the template file on the Ansible control node	`src: templates/file.j2`
dest	Path where the rendered template will be placed on the remote host	`dest: /etc/myapp/config.conf`
mode	Permissions for the rendered file (e.g., `0644`)	`mode: '0644'`
owner	Owner of the rendered file	`owner: appuser`
group	Group of the rendered file	`group: appgroup`

Example: Basic Template Usage

- name: Render config file from template
  ansible.builtin.template:
    src: templates/app.conf.j2
    dest: /etc/myapp/config.conf
    mode: '0644'
    owner: appuser
    group: appgroup

Example: Template with Variables

- name: Render config with variables
  ansible.builtin.template:
    src: templates/database.conf.j2
    dest: /etc/myapp/db.conf
    mode: '0640'
  vars:
    db_host: "{{ hostvars[inventory_hostname]['db_host'] }}"
    db_port: "{{ hostvars[inventory_hostname]['db_port'] }}"

Note: Template files must end with .j2 to be recognized by Ansible.

Example: Template with Loop

- name: Create multiple config files
  ansible.builtin.template:
    src: templates/service.conf.j2
    dest: "/etc/services/{{ item.name }}.conf"
  loop:
    - { name: web, port: 80 }
    - { name: api, port: 8080 }

Example: Template with Conditionals

- name: Render config based on OS
  ansible.builtin.template:
    src: templates/{{ ansible_os_family }}.conf.j2
    dest: /etc/myapp/config.conf
  when: ansible_os_family == 'RedHat'

9. Synchronizing Files

Option	Values	Description
src	`string`	Source directory or file path to synchronize from
dest	`string`	Destination directory or file path to synchronize to
mode	`string`	Synchronization mode: `push`, `pull`, or `sync`
delete	`bool`	If `true`, delete files in dest that don't exist in src
checksum	`bool`	If `true`, compare file checksums before syncing
recursive	`bool`	If `true`, sync subdirectories recursively

Example: Synchronizing Files

- name: Synchronize files from local to remote
  ansible.builtin.synchronize:
    src: /local/path/
    dest: /remote/path/
    delete: yes
    recursive: yes

Note: The synchronize module uses rsync under the hood, so all rsync options are supported.

10. Finding Files

Option	Values	Notes
find	`find`	Module to search for files and directories
file_pattern	`pattern`	Pattern to match files (e.g., `*.txt`)
file_path	`path`	Directory to search in
file_recursive	`recursive`	Search subdirectories recursively

Example: Find all .log files in /var/log

- name: Find all .log files in /var/log
  find:
    file_pattern: "*.log"
    file_path: "/var/log"
    file_recursive: yes
  register: log_files

- name: Display found files
  debug:
    var: log_files.files

11. Replacing Content

Parameter	Description	Default
src	Path to a local file to replace content with	None
content	Literal content to write to the file	None
dest	Path to the destination file	None
backup	Create a backup before replacing	false

Example: Replace file content from local source

- name: Replace content from local file
  ansible.builtin.copy:
    src: /local/file.txt
    dest: /remote/file.txt
    backup: yes

Example: Replace content with literal string

- name: Replace content with literal string
  ansible.builtin.copy:
    content: |
      Line 1
      Line 2
      Line 3
    dest: /remote/file.txt

12. Modifying Lines

Option	Values	Description
path	`string`	Path to the file to modify
line	`string`	The line content to ensure exists in the file
insertbefore	`string`	Insert the line before this pattern (regex)
insertafter	`string`	Insert the line after this pattern (regex)
firstmatch	`boolean`	Only match the first occurrence of the line
backup	`boolean`	Create a backup before modifying the file

Example: Ensure a line exists in a config file

- name: Ensure log level is set
  lineinfile:
    path: /etc/myapp/config.ini
    line: "log_level = INFO"
    backup: true

Example: Insert a line before a specific pattern

- name: Insert a new setting before a section
  lineinfile:
    path: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf
    line: "    proxy_cache_valid 200 302 404 60m;"
    insertbefore: "    location / {"

Note: The lineinfile module is idempotent and will not duplicate lines if they already exist.