community.windows.win_shortcut module – Manage shortcuts on Windows

Note

This module is part of the community.windows collection (version 2.4.0).

You might already have this collection installed if you are using the ansible package. It is not included in ansible-core. To check whether it is installed, run ansible-galaxy collection list.

To install it, use: ansible-galaxy collection install community.windows.

To use it in a playbook, specify: community.windows.win_shortcut.

Synopsis

  • Create, manage and delete Windows shortcuts

Parameters

Parameter

Comments

arguments

aliases: args

string

Additional arguments for the executable defined in src.

description

string

Description for the shortcut.

This is usually shown when hoovering the icon.

dest

path / required

Destination file for the shortcuting file.

File name should have a .lnk or .url extension.

directory

path

Working directory for executable defined in src.

hotkey

string

Key combination for the shortcut.

This is a combination of one or more modifiers and a key.

Possible modifiers are Alt, Ctrl, Shift, Ext.

Possible keys are [A-Z] and [0-9].

icon

path

Icon used for the shortcut.

File name should have a .ico extension.

The file name is followed by a comma and the number in the library file (.dll) or use 0 for an image file.

run_as_admin

boolean

When src is an executable, this can control whether the shortcut will be opened as an administrator or not.

Choices:

  • false ← (default)

  • true

src

string

Executable or URL the shortcut points to.

The executable needs to be in your PATH, or has to be an absolute path to the executable.

state

string

When absent, removes the shortcut if it exists.

When present, creates or updates the shortcut.

Choices:

  • "absent"

  • "present" ← (default)

windowstyle

string

Influences how the application is displayed when it is launched.

Choices:

  • "maximized"

  • "minimized"

  • "normal"

Notes

Note

  • The following options can include Windows environment variables: dest, args, description, dest, directory, icon src

  • Windows has two types of shortcuts: Application and URL shortcuts. URL shortcuts only consists of dest and src

See Also

See also

ansible.windows.win_file

Creates, touches or removes files or directories.

Examples

- name: Create an application shortcut on the desktop
  community.windows.win_shortcut:
    src: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe
    dest: C:\Users\Public\Desktop\Mozilla Firefox.lnk
    icon: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe,0

- name: Create the same shortcut using environment variables
  community.windows.win_shortcut:
    description: The Mozilla Firefox web browser
    src: '%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe'
    dest: '%Public%\Desktop\Mozilla Firefox.lnk'
    icon: '%ProgramFiles\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe,0'
    directory: '%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox'
    hotkey: Ctrl+Alt+F

- name: Create an application shortcut for an executable in PATH to your desktop
  community.windows.win_shortcut:
    src: cmd.exe
    dest: Desktop\Command prompt.lnk

- name: Create an application shortcut for the Ansible website
  community.windows.win_shortcut:
    src: '%ProgramFiles%\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe'
    dest: '%UserProfile%\Desktop\Ansible website.lnk'
    arguments: --new-window https://ansible.com/
    directory: '%ProgramFiles%\Google\Chrome\Application'
    icon: '%ProgramFiles%\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe,0'
    hotkey: Ctrl+Alt+A

- name: Create a URL shortcut for the Ansible website
  community.windows.win_shortcut:
    src: https://ansible.com/
    dest: '%Public%\Desktop\Ansible website.url'

Authors

  • Dag Wieers (@dagwieers)