community.general.ini_file module – Tweak settings in INI files

Note

This module is part of the community.general collection (version 9.4.0).

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.general.

To use it in a playbook, specify: community.general.ini_file.

Synopsis 

Manage (add, remove, change) individual settings in an INI-style file without having to manage the file as a whole with, say, ansible.builtin.template or ansible.builtin.assemble.
Adds missing sections if they don’t exist.
This module adds missing ending newlines to files to keep in line with the POSIX standard, even when no other modifications need to be applied.

Parameters 

Parameter	Comments
allow_no_value boolean	Allow option without value and without ‘=’ symbol. Choices: `false` ← (default) `true`
attributes aliases: attr string	The attributes the resulting filesystem object should have. To get supported flags look at the man page for `chattr` on the target system. This string should contain the attributes in the same order as the one displayed by `lsattr`. The `=` operator is assumed as default, otherwise `+` or `-` operators need to be included in the string.
backup boolean	Create a backup file including the timestamp information so you can get the original file back if you somehow clobbered it incorrectly. Choices: `false` ← (default) `true`
create boolean	If set to `false`, the module will fail if the file does not already exist. By default it will create the file if it is missing. Choices: `false` `true` ← (default)
exclusive boolean added in community.general 3.6.0	If set to `true` (default), all matching `option` lines are removed when `state=absent`, or replaced when `state=present`. If set to `false`, only the specified `value`/`values` are added when `state=present`, or removed when `state=absent`, and existing ones are not modified. Choices: `false` `true` ← (default)
follow boolean added in community.general 7.1.0	This flag indicates that filesystem links, if they exist, should be followed. `follow=true` can modify `path` when combined with parameters such as `mode`. Choices: `false` ← (default) `true`
group string	Name of the group that should own the filesystem object, as would be fed to `chown`. When left unspecified, it uses the current group of the current user unless you are root, in which case it can preserve the previous ownership.
ignore_spaces boolean added in community.general 7.5.0	Do not change a line if doing so would only add or remove spaces before or after the `=` symbol. Choices: `false` ← (default) `true`
mode any	The permissions the resulting filesystem object should have. For those used to `/usr/bin/chmod` remember that modes are actually octal numbers. You must give Ansible enough information to parse them correctly. For consistent results, quote octal numbers (for example, `'644'` or `'1777'`) so Ansible receives a string and can do its own conversion from string into number. Adding a leading zero (for example, `0755`) works sometimes, but can fail in loops and some other circumstances. Giving Ansible a number without following either of these rules will end up with a decimal number which will have unexpected results. As of Ansible 1.8, the mode may be specified as a symbolic mode (for example, `u+rwx` or `u=rw,g=r,o=r`). If `mode` is not specified and the destination filesystem object does not exist, the default `umask` on the system will be used when setting the mode for the newly created filesystem object. If `mode` is not specified and the destination filesystem object does exist, the mode of the existing filesystem object will be used. Specifying `mode` is the best way to ensure filesystem objects are created with the correct permissions. See CVE-2020-1736 for further details.
modify_inactive_option boolean added in community.general 8.0.0	By default the module replaces a commented line that matches the given option. Set this option to `false` to avoid this. This is useful when you want to keep commented example `key=value` pairs for documentation purposes. Choices: `false` `true` ← (default)
no_extra_spaces boolean	Do not insert spaces before and after ‘=’ symbol. Choices: `false` ← (default) `true`
option string	If set (required for changing a `value`), this is the name of the option. May be omitted if adding/removing a whole `section`.
owner string	Name of the user that should own the filesystem object, as would be fed to `chown`. When left unspecified, it uses the current user unless you are root, in which case it can preserve the previous ownership. Specifying a numeric username will be assumed to be a user ID and not a username. Avoid numeric usernames to avoid this confusion.
path aliases: dest path / required	Path to the INI-style file; this file is created if required.
section string	Section name in INI file. This is added if `state=present` automatically when a single value is being set. If being omitted, the `option` will be placed before the first `section`. Omitting `section` is also required if the config format does not support sections.
section_has_values list / elements=dictionary added in community.general 8.6.0	Among possibly multiple sections of the same name, select the first one that contains matching options and values. With `state=present`, if a suitable section is not found, a new section will be added, including the required options. With `state=absent`, at most one `section` is removed if it contains the values.
option string / required	Matching `section` must contain this option.
value string	Matching `section_has_values[].option` must have this specific value.
values list / elements=string	The string value to be associated with an `section_has_values[].option`. Mutually exclusive with `section_has_values[].value`. `section_has_values[].value=v` is equivalent to `section_has_values[].values=[v]`.
selevel string	The level part of the SELinux filesystem object context. This is the MLS/MCS attribute, sometimes known as the `range`. When set to `_default`, it will use the `level` portion of the policy if available.
serole string	The role part of the SELinux filesystem object context. When set to `_default`, it will use the `role` portion of the policy if available.
setype string	The type part of the SELinux filesystem object context. When set to `_default`, it will use the `type` portion of the policy if available.
seuser string	The user part of the SELinux filesystem object context. By default it uses the `system` policy, where applicable. When set to `_default`, it will use the `user` portion of the policy if available.
state string	If set to `absent` and `exclusive` set to `true` all matching `option` lines are removed. If set to `absent` and `exclusive` set to `false` the specified `option=value` lines are removed, but the other `option`s with the same name are not touched. If set to `present` and `exclusive` set to `false` the specified `option=values` lines are added, but the other `option`s with the same name are not touched. If set to `present` and `exclusive` set to `true` all given `option=values` lines will be added and the other `option`s with the same name are removed. Choices: `"absent"` `"present"` ← (default)
unsafe_writes boolean	Influence when to use atomic operation to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target filesystem object. By default this module uses atomic operations to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target filesystem objects, but sometimes systems are configured or just broken in ways that prevent this. One example is docker mounted filesystem objects, which cannot be updated atomically from inside the container and can only be written in an unsafe manner. This option allows Ansible to fall back to unsafe methods of updating filesystem objects when atomic operations fail (however, it doesn’t force Ansible to perform unsafe writes). IMPORTANT! Unsafe writes are subject to race conditions and can lead to data corruption. Choices: `false` ← (default) `true`
value string	The string value to be associated with an `option`. May be omitted when removing an `option`. Mutually exclusive with `values`. `value=v` is equivalent to `values=[v]`.
values list / elements=string added in community.general 3.6.0	The string value to be associated with an `option`. May be omitted when removing an `option`. Mutually exclusive with `value`. `value=v` is equivalent to `values=[v]`.

Attributes 

Attribute	Support	Description
check_mode	Support: full	Can run in `check_mode` and return changed status prediction without modifying target.
diff_mode	Support: full	Will return details on what has changed (or possibly needs changing in `check_mode`), when in diff mode.

Notes 

Note

While it is possible to add an option without specifying a value, this makes no sense.
As of community.general 3.2.0, UTF-8 BOM markers are discarded when reading files.

Examples 

- name: Ensure "fav=lemonade is in section "[drinks]" in specified file
  community.general.ini_file:
    path: /etc/conf
    section: drinks
    option: fav
    value: lemonade
    mode: '0600'
    backup: true

- name: Ensure "temperature=cold is in section "[drinks]" in specified file
  community.general.ini_file:
    path: /etc/anotherconf
    section: drinks
    option: temperature
    value: cold
    backup: true

- name: Add "beverage=lemon juice" is in section "[drinks]" in specified file
  community.general.ini_file:
    path: /etc/conf
    section: drinks
    option: beverage
    value: lemon juice
    mode: '0600'
    state: present
    exclusive: false

- name: Ensure multiple values "beverage=coke" and "beverage=pepsi" are in section "[drinks]" in specified file
  community.general.ini_file:
    path: /etc/conf
    section: drinks
    option: beverage
    values:
      - coke
      - pepsi
    mode: '0600'
    state: present

- name: Add "beverage=lemon juice" outside a section in specified file
  community.general.ini_file:
    path: /etc/conf
    option: beverage
    value: lemon juice
    state: present

- name: Remove the peer configuration for 10.128.0.11/32
  community.general.ini_file:
    path: /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf
    section: Peer
    section_has_values:
      - option: AllowedIps
        value: 10.128.0.11/32
    mode: '0600'
    state: absent

- name: Add "beverage=lemon juice" outside a section in specified file
  community.general.ini_file:
    path: /etc/conf
    option: beverage
    value: lemon juice
    state: present

- name: Update the public key for peer 10.128.0.12/32
  community.general.ini_file:
    path: /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf
    section: Peer
    section_has_values:
      - option: AllowedIps
        value: 10.128.0.12/32
    option: PublicKey
    value: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    mode: '0600'
    state: present

- name: Remove the peer configuration for 10.128.0.11/32
  community.general.ini_file:
    path: /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf
    section: Peer
    section_has_values:
      - option: AllowedIps
        value: 10.4.0.11/32
    mode: '0600'
    state: absent

- name: Update the public key for peer 10.128.0.12/32
  community.general.ini_file:
    path: /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf
    section: Peer
    section_has_values:
      - option: AllowedIps
        value: 10.4.0.12/32
    option: PublicKey
    value: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    mode: '0600'
    state: present

Authors

Jan-Piet Mens (@jpmens)
Ales Nosek (@noseka1)

community.general.ini_file module – Tweak settings in INI files

Synopsis

Parameters

Attributes

Notes

Examples