ansible.windows.win_command_module.rst

ansible.windows.win_command

Executes a command on a remote Windows node

• Synopsis
• Parameters
• Notes
• See Also
• Examples
• Return Values
• Status

Synopsis

• The win_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 $env:HOME and operations like "<", ">", "|", and ";" will not work (use the :ref:`ansible.windows.win_shell <ansible.windows.win_shell_module>` module if you need these features).
• For non-Windows targets, use the :ref:`ansible.builtin.command <ansible.builtin.command_module>` module instead.

Parameters

Parameter	Choices/Defaults	Comments
chdir path		Set the specified path as the current working directory before executing a command.
creates path		A path or path filter pattern; when the referenced path exists on the target host, the task will be skipped.
free_form string / required		The win_command module takes a free form command to run. There is no parameter actually named 'free form'. See the examples!
output_encoding_override string		This option overrides the encoding of stdout/stderr output. You can use this option when you need to run a command which ignore the console's codepage. You should only need to use this option in very rare circumstances. This value can be any valid encoding Name based on the output of [System.Text.Encoding]::GetEncodings(). See https://docs.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/system.text.encoding.getencodings.
removes path		A path or path filter pattern; when the referenced path does not exist on the target host, the task will be skipped.
stdin string		Set the stdin of the command directly to the specified value.

Notes

Note

• If you want to run a command through a shell (say you are using <, >, |, etc), you actually want the :ref:`ansible.windows.win_shell <ansible.windows.win_shell_module>` module instead. The :ref:`ansible.windows.win_command <ansible.windows.win_command_module>` module is much more secure as it's not affected by the user's environment.
• 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.

See Also

.. seealso::

   :ref:`ansible.builtin.command_module`
      The official documentation on the **ansible.builtin.command** module.
   :ref:`community.windows.psexec_module`
      The official documentation on the **community.windows.psexec** module.
   :ref:`ansible.builtin.raw_module`
      The official documentation on the **ansible.builtin.raw** module.
   :ref:`community.windows.win_psexec_module`
      The official documentation on the **community.windows.win_psexec** module.
   :ref:`ansible.windows.win_shell_module`
      The official documentation on the **ansible.windows.win_shell** module.

Examples

- name: Save the result of 'whoami' in 'whoami_out'
  ansible.windows.win_command: whoami
  register: whoami_out

- name: Run command that only runs if folder exists and runs from a specific folder
  ansible.windows.win_command: wbadmin -backupTarget:C:\backup\
  args:
    chdir: C:\somedir\
    creates: C:\backup\

- name: Run an executable and send data to the stdin for the executable
  ansible.windows.win_command: powershell.exe -
  args:
    stdin: Write-Host test

Return Values

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

Key	Returned	Description
cmd string	always	The command executed by the task Sample: rabbitmqctl join_cluster rabbit@main
delta string	always	The command execution delta time Sample: 0:00:00.325771
end string	always	The command execution end time Sample: 2016-02-25 09:18:26.755339
msg boolean	always	changed Sample: True
rc integer	always	The command return code (0 means success)
start string	always	The command execution start time Sample: 2016-02-25 09:18:26.429568
stderr string	always	The command standard error Sample: ls: cannot access foo: No such file or directory
stdout string	always	The command standard output Sample: Clustering node rabbit@slave1 with rabbit@main ...
stdout_lines list	always	The command standard output split in lines Sample: ["u'Clustering node rabbit@slave1 with rabbit@main ...'"]

Status

Authors

• Matt Davis (@nitzmahone)