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).
  • For Windows targets, use the win_command module instead.

Parameters

Parameter Choices/Defaults Comments
argv
-
added in 2.6
Allows the user to provide the command as a list vs. a string. Only the string or the list form can be provided, not both. One or the other must be provided.
chdir
-
Change into this directory before running the command.
creates
-
A filename or (since 2.0) glob pattern. If it already exists, this step won't be run.
free_form
- / required
The command module takes a free form command to run. There is no parameter actually named 'free form'. See the examples!
removes
-
A filename or (since 2.0) glob pattern. If it already exists, this step will be run.
stdin
-
added in 2.4
Set the stdin of the command directly to the specified value.
warn
boolean
added in 1.8
    Choices:
  • no
  • yes ←
If command_warnings are on in ansible.cfg, do not warn about this particular line if set to no.

Notes

Note

  • If you want to run a command through the shell (say you are using <, >, |, etc), you actually want the shell module instead. Parsing shell metacharacters can lead to unexpected commands being executed if quoting is not done correctly so it is more secure to use the command module when possible.
  • 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.
  • Check mode is supported when passing creates or removes. If running in check mode and either of these are specified, the module will check for the existence of the file and report the correct changed status. If these are not supplied, the task will be skipped.
  • The executable parameter is removed since version 2.4. If you have a need for this parameter, use the shell module instead.
  • For Windows targets, use the win_command module instead.
  • For rebooting systems, use the reboot or win_reboot module.

See Also

See also

raw – Executes a low-down and dirty SSH command
The official documentation on the raw module.
script – Runs a local script on a remote node after transferring it
The official documentation on the script module.
shell – Execute commands in nodes.
The official documentation on the shell module.
win_command – Executes a command on a remote Windows node
The official documentation on the win_command module.

Examples

- name: return motd to registered var
  command: cat /etc/motd
  register: mymotd

- name: Run the command if the specified file does not exist.
  command: /usr/bin/make_database.sh arg1 arg2
  args:
    creates: /path/to/database

# You can also use the 'args' form to provide the options.
- name: 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

- name: use argv to send the command as a list.  Be sure to leave command empty
  command:
  args:
    argv:
      - echo
      - testing

- name: safely use templated variable to run command. Always use the quote filter to avoid injection issues.
  command: cat {{ myfile|quote }}
  register: myoutput

Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key Returned Description
cmd
list
 always
the cmd that was run on the remote machine

Sample:
['echo', 'hello']
delta
string
 always
cmd end time - cmd start time

Sample:
0.001529
end
string
 always
cmd end time

Sample:
2017-09-29 22:03:48.084657
start
string
 always
cmd start time

Sample:
2017-09-29 22:03:48.083128


Status

Red Hat Support

More information about Red Hat’s support of this module is available from this Red Hat Knowledge Base article.

Authors

  • Ansible Core Team
  • Michael DeHaan

Hint

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