blockinfile help

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1

Hello,
I am trying to update nginx file, I need to add 4 more lines before the ; I tried blockinfile, lineinfile, replace and sed but I am unable to get the required output
ex: the below one is some part of my nginx file,
log_format main '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] “$request” ’
'$status $body_bytes_sent “$http_referer” ’
‘“$http_user_agent” “$http_x_forwarded_for”’;

I need to add '$request_time ’ '$upstream_response_time ’ ‘$upstream_connect_time’ ‘$upstream_header_time’ to the existing line before the ;
blockinfile is somewhat worked but the nginx file end up having ; after ‘“$http_user_agent” “$http_x_forwarded_for”’
my desired output is
log_format main '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] “$request” ’
'$status $body_bytes_sent “$http_referer” ’
‘“$http_user_agent” “$http_x_forwarded_for”’ '$request_time ’ '$upstream_response_time ’ ‘$upstream_connect_time’ ‘$upstream_header_time’ ;

someone please help me with a solution, I have lot of servers across multiple environments which cannot be done manually.

2

Something like this, perhaps:

    - name: Do the a.b.replace thing
      ansible.builtin.replace:
        path: narmada-0.txt
        regexp: '^log_format +main +[^;]+;\n'
        replace: 'log_format main {{ bits | map("quote") | join("\n     ") }};\n'
      vars:
        bits:
          - '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] "$request" '
          - '$status $body_bytes_sent "$http_referer" '
          - '"$http_user_agent" "$http_x_forwarded_for"'
          - '$request_time '
          - '$upstream_response_time '
          - '$upstream_connect_time'
          - '$upstream_header_time'
3

Thankyou, I tried the above playbook, there is no syntax error but it is not changing anything.

4

Then, um, fix what’s wrong. (?) I’d be more specific, but you didn’t give me much to work with. Post the task and relevant variables.
Note the “path:” I used on my localhost isn’t what you need.
Also, I didn’t add the those extra data you want to add:

'$request_time ’ '$upstream_response_time ’ ‘$upstream_connect_time’ ‘$upstream_header_time’

it should be obvious where that would go, but if not, post with some details - tasks, variables, and output - and we’ll help you get it working.
One last thing if you aren’t already doing it: use “-D” or “–diff” on the command line to see the changes.

5

yes, I modified the playbook to my data accordingly …

6
  • name: replace log_format settings on nginx
    ansible.builtin.replace:
    path: /nginx/nginx.conf
    regexp: ‘^log_format +main +[^;]+;\n’
    replace: ‘log_format main {{ bits | map(“quote”) | join("\n ") }};\n’
    vars:
    bits:
  • '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] “$request” ’
  • '$status $body_bytes_sent “$http_referer” ’
  • ‘“$http_user_agent” “$http_x_forwarded_for”’
  • '$request_time ’
  • '$upstream_response_time ’
  • ‘$upstream_connect_time’
  • ‘$upstream_header_time’

ansible-playbook -i inventory nginxupdate.yml

PLAY [update nginx.config] *****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

TASK [ replace log_format settings on nginx ] ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [servername]

PLAY RECAP *********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
servername :ok=1 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0

7

Add “-vv” and “–diff” to your command line.

Can you show us the relevant portion of the file /nginx/nginx.conf so we can try to reproduce? (And you really have that in the root? I’d expect /etc or /opt or /opt/local before /nginx, but, whatever.)

8

yes the path is /etc/nginx/nginx.conf, in my earlier email I removed that.
this is the portion from the existing nginx file
http {
log_format main '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] “$request” ’
'$status $body_bytes_sent “$http_referer” ’
‘“$http_user_agent” “$http_x_forwarded_for”’;

access_log /var/log/nginx/access.log main;

}

9

There’s the problem, and also why it’s so important to include all the relevant details up front.

The regexp starts with “^log_format”, i.e. it’s expecting the ‘l’ of “log” to be in the first column, but you’ve got leading white space before “log_format”. Change the regexp line thus:

          regexp: '^\s*log_format +main +[^;]+;\n'

‘\s*’ is zero or more white space characters.

You’ll probably want to add some spaces or tabs to the front of the “replace:” string too.

10

oh man, this is awesome it worked like a charm, you saved lot of my time

log_format main '$remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] “$request” ’
'$status $body_bytes_sent “$http_referer” ’
‘“$http_user_agent” “$http_x_forwarded_for”’
'$request_time ’
'$upstream_response_time ’
‘$upstream_connect_time’
‘$upstream_header_time’;