# calling external program and get output into a variable ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [September 27, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935 "2012-09-27T19:07:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PePe\_Amengual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@PePe\_Amengual](https://forum.ansible.com/u/PePe_Amengual)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/1 "2012-09-27T19:07:29Z")
Hi. is there a way to call a python program ( or any other script) and get the output on a variable ? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/2 "2012-09-27T19:12:28Z")
Absolutely. See 'register' in the playbook or advanced playbook docs. - action: command /usr/bin/foo   register: output\_var Now you can use ${output\_var.stdout} and ${output\_var.rc} etc ---
**Author:** ![PePe\_Amengual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@PePe\_Amengual](https://forum.ansible.com/u/PePe_Amengual)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/3 "2012-09-27T20:32:31Z")
mmm I seem to have a problem with it. I have this simple python program : import easygui as eg import sys dirselected = eg.diropenbox( “Select the directory”, “Select your code folder”) print dirselected Then I rum my playbook and it does this : > EXEC mkdir -p /tmp/ansible-1348777248.45-142411373373698 && chmod a+rx /tmp/ansible-1348777248.45-142411373373698 && echo /tmp/ansible-1348777248.45-142411373373698 > REMOTE\_MODULE command python directoryselection.py > PUT /var/folders/Qe/QeNdcg29HPqHD66XBLccbU+++TI/-Tmp-/tmpqSbSHB TO /tmp/ansible-1348777248.45-142411373373698/command > EXEC chmod a+rx /tmp/ansible-1348777248.45-142411373373698/command > EXEC sudo -u jamengual -s /tmp/ansible-1348777248.45-142411373373698/command > EXEC rm -rf /tmp/ansible-1348777248.45-142411373373698/ > ok: [localhost] =\> {“changed”: true, “cmd”: [“python”, “directoryselection.py”], “delta”: “0:00:11.392053”, “end”: “2012-09-27 13:20:59.943390”, “rc”: 0, “start”: “2012-09-27 13:20:48.551337”, “stderr”: “”, “stdout”: “/Users/jamengual/Sites”} so I think that is actually storing the output “/Users/jamengual/Sites” in the register, but when I use that variable “shared\_folder” in another part playbook I get this : ASK: [Creating shared folder if doesn’t exist] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* EXEC mkdir -p /tmp/ansible-1348777260.56-266741542297489 && chmod a+rx /tmp/ansible-1348777260.56-266741542297489 && echo /tmp/ansible-1348777260.56-266741542297489 REMOTE\_MODULE file state=directory path={u’changed’: True, u’end’: u’2012-09-27 13:20:59.943390’, u’stdout’: u’/Users/jamengual/Sites’, u’cmd’: [u’python’, u’directoryselection.py’], u’rc’: 0, u’start’: u’2012-09-27 13:20:48.551337’, u’stderr’: u’‘, u’delta’: u’0:00:11.392053’, ‘invocation’: {‘module\_name’: ‘command’, ‘module\_args’: u’python directoryselection.py’}} PUT /var/folders/Qe/QeNdcg29HPqHD66XBLccbU+++TI/-Tmp-/tmpxeWrac TO /tmp/ansible-1348777260.56-266741542297489/file EXEC chmod a+rx /tmp/ansible-1348777260.56-266741542297489/file EXEC sudo -u jamengual -s /tmp/ansible-1348777260.56-266741542297489/file EXEC rm -rf /tmp/ansible-1348777260.56-266741542297489/ failed: [localhost] =\> {“failed”: true, “msg”: “this module requires key=value arguments”} So I don’t know if I’m going something wrong in my python program or the register is not getting the value ? My Playbook looks like this : - name: Selecting code folder to share with VM action: command python directoryselection.py register: shared\_folder … … - name: Creating shared folder if doesn’t exist action: file state=directory path=$shared\_folder Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![PePe\_Amengual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@PePe\_Amengual](https://forum.ansible.com/u/PePe_Amengual)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/4 "2012-09-27T21:09:13Z")
Ohhh…I’m getting a dictionary with the results…now is where my python abilities do not play well… How can I get the value of the stdout in a variable in ansible ? Thanks. P.S: I know that this might be a python question, sorry for being so annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/5 "2012-09-27T21:11:16Z")
Templating here isn't really a python thing. You can just do: ${shared\_folder.stdout} ---
**Author:** ![PePe\_Amengual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@PePe\_Amengual](https://forum.ansible.com/u/PePe_Amengual)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:14pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/6 "2012-09-27T21:14:47Z")
Ohhh man that is simple!!! and it works… ---
**Author:** ![PePe\_Amengual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@PePe\_Amengual](https://forum.ansible.com/u/PePe_Amengual)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/7 "2012-09-27T21:28:56Z")
and can I use {{ shared\_folder.stdout }} on a template file ? I’m getting an error now for that. or maybe reassign that value to another variable ? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/8 "2012-09-27T21:40:11Z")
In a template you need to either use the same syntax: ${shared\_folder.stdout} OR {{ shared\_folder['stdout'] }} as Jinja2 is essentially python code inside the "{{" and "}}" ---
**Author:** ![PePe\_Amengual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@PePe\_Amengual](https://forum.ansible.com/u/PePe_Amengual)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/9 "2012-09-27T21:58:48Z")
I tried both no dice… my template file looks like this: config.vm.share\_folder “v-data”, “${shared\_folder.stdout}”, “${shared\_folder.stdout}” and the task looks like this : - name: Configuring template for Vagrant file action: template src=$local\_dir/ansible-vagrant/templates/Vagrantfile.j2 dest=$local\_dir/Vagrantfile and the cat of the Vagranfile after creation : config.vm.share\_folder “v-data”, “{u’changed’: True, u’end’: u’2012-09-27 14:57:49.037671’, u’stdout’: u’/Developer’, u’cmd’: [u’python’, u’directoryselection.py’], u’rc’: 0, u’start’: u’2012-09-27 14:57:46.636426’, u’stderr’: u’‘, u’delta’: u’0:00:02.401245’, ‘invocation’: {‘module\_name’: ‘command’, ‘module\_args’: u’python directoryselection.py’}}”, “{u’changed’: True, u’end’: u’2012-09-27 14:57:49.037671’, u’stdout’: u’/Developer’, u’cmd’: [u’python’, u’directoryselection.py’], u’rc’: 0, u’start’: u’2012-09-27 14:57:46.636426’, u’stderr’: u’‘, u’delta’: u’0:00:02.401245’, ‘invocation’: {‘module\_name’: ‘command’, ‘module\_args’: u’python directoryselection.py’}}” if I use any other variable predefined my template works fine. Thanks for all the help. ---
**Author:** ![PePe\_Amengual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@PePe\_Amengual](https://forum.ansible.com/u/PePe_Amengual)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/10 "2012-09-27T23:34:06Z")
mmmmm doesn’t work and base on the jinja2 examples it is in the right format. could be a bug or something like that ? ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/11 "2012-09-28T02:00:22Z")
this works fine: ---
**Author:** ![PePe\_Amengual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@PePe\_Amengual](https://forum.ansible.com/u/PePe_Amengual)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 3:48am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/12 "2012-09-28T03:48:07Z")
I just added : gather\_facts: False And it worked!!! could you explain why ? ---
**Author:** ![jpmens1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jpmens1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/jpmens1)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2012, 8:31am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/13 "2012-09-28T08:31:40Z")
> I just added : > > gather\_facts: False > > And it worked!!! > > could you explain why ? It works either way.         -JP ---
**Author:** ![PePe\_Amengual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@PePe\_Amengual](https://forum.ansible.com/u/PePe_Amengual)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/14 "2012-10-15T23:50:52Z")
Hi guys. I have been trying to resolve this issue and for some reason I’m still getting the same error. so I have this now: - name: Configuring template for Vagrant file action: template src=$local\_dir/ansible-vagrant/templates/Vagrantfile.j2 dest=$local\_dir/Vagrantfile - name: Creating nginx virtual host config for VM action: template src=$local\_dir/ansible-vagrant/templates/projectname.j2 dest=$local\_dir/ansible-vagrant/projectname\_vhost The first file gets created just fine with the proper path in the template but the second one adds this to the vhost config : root {u’changed’: True, u’end’: u’2012-10-15 16:21:52.672658’, u’stdout’: u’/Users/jamengual/Sites/projectname/meedan-projectname/drupal’, u’cmd’: [u’python’, u’directoryselection.py’], u’rc’: 0, u’start’: u’2012-10-15 16:21:41.577213’, u’stderr’: u’‘, u’delta’: u’0:00:11.095445’, ‘invocation’: {‘module\_name’: u’command’, ‘module\_args’: u’python directoryselection.py’}, ‘stdout\_lines’: [u’/Users/jamengual/Sites/projectname/meedan-projectname/drupal’]}; is only the second time that I use the same variable for another template file. Any ideas ? ---
**Author:** ![PePe\_Amengual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@PePe\_Amengual](https://forum.ansible.com/u/PePe_Amengual)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 12:09am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/15 "2012-10-16T00:09:09Z")
Please ignore it was a freaking TYPO!!! Thanks to diff for that. ---
**Author:** ![Nick\_Doyle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9fc348/32.png) [@Nick\_Doyle](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Nick_Doyle)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 1:03am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/calling-external-program-and-get-output-into-a-variable/11935/16 "2014-02-20T01:03:27Z")
For future people, I just found a neat way to do this without having to add “.stdout” to your templates. - name: get gridfs host ip from name (required for nginx gridfs module) shell: ‘ping -q -c 1 -t 1 {{ gridfs\_host }} | grep PING | sed -e “s/)._//" | sed -e "s/._(//”’ register: gridfs\_ip\_command when: gridfs\_ip is not defined - name: set gridfs ip set\_fact: gridfs\_ip={{ gridfs\_ip\_command.stdout }} when: gridfs\_ip is not defined