ansible.windows.win_updates_module.rst

ansible.windows.win_updates

Download and install Windows updates

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

Synopsis

• Searches, downloads, and installs Windows updates synchronously by automating the Windows Update client.

Parameters

Parameter	Choices/Defaults	Comments
_output_path string		Internal use only.
_wait boolean	Choices: no ← yes	Internal use only.
accept_list list / elements=string		A list of update titles or KB numbers that can be used to specify which updates are to be searched or installed. If an available update does not match one of the entries, then it is skipped and not installed. Each entry can either be the KB article or Update title as a regex according to the PowerShell regex rules. The accept list is only validated on updates that were found based on category_names. It will not force the module to install an update if it was not in the category specified. The alias whitelist is deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2023-06-01. aliases: whitelist
category_names list / elements=string	Default: ["CriticalUpdates", "SecurityUpdates", "UpdateRollups"]	A scalar or list of categories to install updates from. To get the list of categories, run the module with state=searched. The category must be the full category string, but is case insensitive. Some possible categories are Application, Connectors, Critical Updates, Definition Updates, Developer Kits, Feature Packs, Guidance, Security Updates, Service Packs, Tools, Update Rollups, Updates, and Upgrades. Since v1.7.0 the value * will match all categories.
log_path path		If set, win_updates will append update progress to the specified file. The directory must already exist.
reboot boolean	Choices: no ← yes	Ansible will automatically reboot the remote host if it is required and continue to install updates after the reboot. This can be used instead of using a ansible.windows.win_reboot task after this one and ensures all updates for that category is installed in one go. Async does not work when reboot=yes.
reboot_timeout integer	Default: 1200	The time in seconds to wait until the host is back online from a reboot. This is only used if reboot=yes and a reboot is required.
reject_list list / elements=string		A list of update titles or KB numbers that can be used to specify which updates are to be excluded from installation. If an available update does match one of the entries, then it is skipped and not installed. Each entry can either be the KB article or Update title as a regex according to the PowerShell regex rules. The alias blacklist is deprecated and will be removed in a release after 2023-06-01. aliases: blacklist
server_selection string	Choices: default ← managed_server windows_update	Defines the Windows Update source catalog. default Use the default search source. For many systems default is set to the Microsoft Windows Update catalog. Systems participating in Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or similar corporate update server environments may default to those managed update sources instead of the Windows Update catalog. managed_server Use a managed server catalog. For environments utilizing Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or similar corporate update servers, this option selects the defined corporate update source. windows_update Use the Microsoft Windows Update catalog.
skip_optional boolean added in 1.8.0	Choices: no ← yes	Skip optional updates where the update has BrowseOnly set by Microsoft. Microsoft documents show that BrowseOnly means that the update should not be installed automatically and appear as optional updates.
state string	Choices: installed ← searched downloaded	Controls whether found updates are downloaded or installed or listed This module also supports Ansible check mode, which has the same effect as setting state=searched
use_scheduled_task boolean	Choices: no ← yes	This option is deprecated and no longer does anything since v1.7.0 of this collection. The option will be removed in a release after 2023-06-01.

Notes

Note

• :ref:`ansible.windows.win_updates <ansible.windows.win_updates_module>` must be run by a user with membership in the local Administrators group.
• :ref:`ansible.windows.win_updates <ansible.windows.win_updates_module>` will use the default update service configured for the machine (Windows Update, Microsoft Update, WSUS, etc).
• By default :ref:`ansible.windows.win_updates <ansible.windows.win_updates_module>` does not manage reboots, but will signal when a reboot is required with the reboot_required return value. reboot can be used to reboot the host if required in the one task.
• :ref:`ansible.windows.win_updates <ansible.windows.win_updates_module>` can take a significant amount of time to complete (hours, in some cases). Performance depends on many factors, including OS version, number of updates, system load, and update server load.
• Beware that just after :ref:`ansible.windows.win_updates <ansible.windows.win_updates_module>` reboots the system, the Windows system may not have settled yet and some base services could be in limbo. This can result in unexpected behavior. Check the examples for ways to mitigate this.
• More information about PowerShell and how it handles RegEx strings can be found at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2007.11.powershell.aspx.
• The current module doesn't support Systems Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). See ansible-collections#194

See Also

.. seealso::

   :ref:`chocolatey.chocolatey.win_chocolatey_module`
      The official documentation on the **chocolatey.chocolatey.win_chocolatey** module.
   :ref:`ansible.windows.win_feature_module`
      The official documentation on the **ansible.windows.win_feature** module.
   :ref:`community.windows.win_hotfix_module`
      The official documentation on the **community.windows.win_hotfix** module.
   :ref:`ansible.windows.win_package_module`
      The official documentation on the **ansible.windows.win_package** module.

Examples

- name: Install all updates and reboot as many times as needed
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_names: '*'
    reboot: yes

- name: Install all security, critical, and rollup updates without a scheduled task
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_names:
      - SecurityUpdates
      - CriticalUpdates
      - UpdateRollups

- name: Search-only, return list of found updates (if any), log to C:\ansible_wu.txt
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_names: SecurityUpdates
    state: searched
    log_path: C:\ansible_wu.txt

- name: Install all security updates with automatic reboots
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_names:
    - SecurityUpdates
    reboot: yes

- name: Install only particular updates based on the KB numbers
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_name:
    - SecurityUpdates
    accept_list:
    - KB4056892
    - KB4073117

- name: Exclude updates based on the update title
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_name:
    - SecurityUpdates
    - CriticalUpdates
    reject_list:
    - Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool for Windows
    - \d{4}-\d{2} Cumulative Update for Windows Server 2016

# Optionally, you can increase the reboot_timeout to survive long updates during reboot
- name: Ensure we wait long enough for the updates to be applied during reboot
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    reboot: yes
    reboot_timeout: 3600

# Search and download Windows updates
- name: Search and download Windows updates without installing them
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    state: downloaded

Return Values

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

Key		Returned	Description
failed_update_count integer		always	The number of updates that failed to install.
filtered_updates dictionary		success	Updates that were found but were filtered based on blacklist, whitelist or category_names. The return value is in the same form as updates, along with filtered_reason. Sample: see the updates return value
	filtered_reason string	always	The reason why this update was filtered. This value has been deprecated since 1.7.0, use filtered_reasons which contain a list of all the reasons why the update is filtered. Sample: skip_hidden
	filtered_reasons list / elements=string added in 1.7.0		A list of reasons why the update has been filtered. Can be accept_list, reject_list, hidden, category_names, or skip_optional. Sample: ['category_names', 'accept_list']
found_update_count integer		success	The number of updates found needing to be applied. Sample: 3
installed_update_count integer		success	The number of updates successfully installed or downloaded. Sample: 2
reboot_required boolean		success	True when the target server requires a reboot to complete updates (no further updates can be installed until after a reboot). Sample: True
updates dictionary		success	Updates that were found/installed. The key for each update is the id of the update.
	categories list / elements=string	always	A list of category strings for this update. Sample: ['Critical Updates', 'Windows Server 2012 R2']
	downloaded boolean added in 1.7.0	always	Was the update downloaded. Sample: True
	failure_hresult_code boolean	on install or download failure	The HRESULT code from a failed update. Sample: 2147942402
	failure_msg string added in 1.7.0	on install or download failure and not running with async	The error message with more details on the failure. Sample: Operation did not complete because there is no logged-on interactive user (WU_E_NO_INTERACTIVE_USER 0x80240020)
	id string	always	Internal Windows Update GUID. Sample: fb95c1c8-de23-4089-ae29-fd3351d55421
	installed boolean	always	Was the update successfully installed. Sample: True
	kb list / elements=string	always	A list of KB article IDs that apply to the update. Sample: ['3004365']
	title string	always	Display name. Sample: Security Update for Windows Server 2012 R2 (KB3004365)

Status

Authors

• Matt Davis (@nitzmahone)