How to move rename a file using an Ansible task on a remote system

Question

How is it possible to move rename a file directory using an Ansible module on a remote system  I don t want to use the command shell tasks and I don t want to copy the file from the local system to the remote system

User · Answer

You can Do It by --   Using Ad Hoc Command      ansible all -m command -a  mv  path to foo  path to bar    Or You if you want to do it by using playbook  - name  Move File foo to destination bar   command  mv  path to foo  path to bar

User · Answer

Bruce wasn t attempting to stat the destination to check whether or not to move the file if it was already there  he was making sure the file to be moved actually existed before attempting the mv   If your interest  like Tom s  is to only move if the file doesn t already exist  I think we should still integrate Bruce s check into the mix   - name  stat foo   stat  path  path to foo   register  foo stat  - name  Move foo to bar   command  creates  path to bar  mv  path to foo  path to bar   when  foo stat stat exists

User · Answer

- name  Move the src file to dest   command  mv  path to src  path to dest   args      removes   path to src     creates   path to dest  This runs the mv command only when  path to src exists and  path to dest does not  so it runs once per host  moves the file  then doesn t run again  I use this method when I need to move a file or directory on several hundred hosts  many of which may be powered off at any given time  It s idempotent and safe to leave in a playbook

User · Answer

On Windows   - name  Move old folder to backup win command   cmd exe  c move  Y    sourcePath       destinationFolderPath      To rename use rename or ren command instead

User · Answer

Another Option that has worked well for me is using the  synchronize module   Then remove the original directory using the file module   Here is an example from the docs   - synchronize      src   first absolute path     dest   second absolute path     archive  yes   delegate to      inventory hostname

User · Answer

Another way to achieve this is using file with state  hard   This is an example I got to work    - name  Link source file to another destination   file      src   path to source file     path   target path of file     state  hard   Only tested on localhost  OSX  though  but should work on Linux as well  I can t tell for Windows   Note that absolute paths are needed  Else it wouldn t let me create the link  Also you can t cross filesystems  so working with any mounted media might fail   The hardlink is very similar to moving  if you remove the source file afterwards   - name  Remove old file   file      path   path to source file     state  absent   Another benefit is that changes are persisted when you re in the middle of a play  So if someone changes the source  any change is reflected in the target file   You can verify the number of links to a file via ls -l  The number of hardlinks is shown next to the mode  e g  rwxr-xr-x 2  when a file has 2 links

User · Answer

From version 2 0  in copy module you can use remote src parameter   If True it will go to the remote target machine for the src   - name  Copy files from foo to bar   copy  remote src True src  path to foo dest  path to bar   If you want to move file you need to delete old file with file module  - name  Remove old files foo   file  path  path to foo state absent   From version 2 8 copy module remote src supports recursive copying

User · Answer

This is the way I got it working for me     Tasks    - name  checking if the file 1 exists      stat              path   path to foo abc xts      register  stat result    - name  moving file 1     command  mv  path to foo abc xts  tmp     when  stat result stat exists    True   the playbook above  will check if file abc xts exists before move the file to tmp folder

User · Answer

I have found the creates option in the command module useful  How about this   - name  Move foo to bar   command  creates  path to bar  mv  path to foo  path to bar   I used to do a 2 task approach using stat like Bruce P suggests  Now I do this as one task with creates  I think this is a lot clearer

User · Answer

The file module doesn t copy files on the remote system   The src parameter is only used by the file module when creating a symlink to a file   If you want to move rename a file entirely on a remote system then your best bet is to use the command module to just invoke the appropriate command   - name  Move foo to bar   command  mv  path to foo  path to bar   If you want to get fancy then you could first use the stat module to check that foo actually exists   - name  stat foo   stat  path  path to foo   register  foo stat  - name  Move foo to bar   command  mv  path to foo  path to bar   when  foo stat stat exists

User · Answer

This may seem like overkill  but if you want to avoid using the command module  which I do  because it using command is not idempotent  you can use a combination of copy and unarchive    Use tar to archive the file s  you will need  If you think ahead this actually makes sense  You may want a series of files in a given directory  Create that directory with all of the files and archive them in a tar  Use the unarchive module  When you do that  along with the destination  and remote src  keyword  you can place copy all of your files to a temporary folder to start with and then unpack them exactly where you want to

User · Answer

I know it s a YEARS old topic  but I got frustrated and built a role for myself to do exactly this for an arbitrary list of files  Extend as you see fit   main yml  - name  created destination directory   file      path   path to directory     state  directory     mode   0750  - include tasks  move yml   loop      - file1     - file2     - file3   move yml  - name  stat the file   stat      path     item      register  my file  - name  hard link the file into directory   file      src   original path to    item        dest   path to directory    item        state  hard   when  my file stat exists  - name  Delete the original file   file      path   original path to    item        state  absent   when  my file stat exists   Note that hard linking is preferable to copying here  because it inherently preserves ownership and permissions  in addition to not consuming more disk space for a second copy of the file

[ansible] How to move/rename a file using an Ansible task on a remote system

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