# Comparing command line variable in import\_playbook **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [February 7, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/comparing-command-line-variable-in-import-playbook/37631 "2023-02-07T18:47:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Emanuel\_Gonzalez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@Emanuel\_Gonzalez](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Emanuel_Gonzalez)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/comparing-command-line-variable-in-import-playbook/37631/1 "2023-02-07T18:47:08Z")
I again, thank you all for your help, I’m really learning a lot. I have a new query. I am passing via “extra-vars” a variable called wc2env and I need to compare it with a string (stage or prod). Here is my playbook: hosts: all gather\_facts: no vars: wc2env: ‘{{ wc2env }}’ tasks: - name: “Validando si debo deployar dominio en PROD” ansible.builtin.import\_playbook: add\_carrier\_prod.yaml when: “{{ wc2env == ‘prod’ }}” - name: “Validando si debo deployar el dominio en STAGE” ansible.builtin.import\_playbook: add\_carrier\_stage.yaml when: “{{ wc2env == ‘stage’ }}” I run the playbook this way and for some reason the condition returns “false”: ansible-playbook -i hosts --extra-vars “wc2env=stage” alta\_carrier/playbook/tasks\_target.yaml Here the debug: PLAYBOOK: tasks\_target.yaml \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* Positional arguments: alta\_carrier/playbook/tasks\_target.yaml verbosity: 8 connection: smart timeout: 10 become\_method: sudo tags: (‘all’,) inventory: (‘/etc/ansible/webcheckin/hosts’,) extra\_vars: (‘wc2env=stage’,) forks: 50 step: True 4 plays in alta\_carrier/playbook/tasks\_target.yaml [WARNING]: conditional statements should not include jinja2 templating delimiters such as {{ }} or {% %}. Found: {{ wc2env == ‘prod’ }} skipping: [wc2-stage] =\> { “changed”: false, “skip\_reason”: “Conditional result was False” } I’m doing something wrong and I don’t realize they could help me. Regards, ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Wanderley](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/alex_wanderley/32/3232_2.png) [@Alex\_Wanderley](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Alex_Wanderley)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 6:57pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/comparing-command-line-variable-in-import-playbook/37631/2 "2023-02-07T18:57:39Z")
Hi, The error says all: “[WARNING]: conditional statements should not include jinja2 templating delimiters such as {{ }}” So, your “when” statement should look like: when: wc2env == ‘stage’ Something else: You are already passing on “wc2env” as an extra variable. You don’t need the lines below, declaring it again, in the playbook: vars: wc2env: ‘{{ wc2env }}’ Alex ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/original/1X/1882d9a01da5d8996a862359b0913cc568a39b84.svg) [@system](https://forum.ansible.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/comparing-command-line-variable-in-import-playbook/37631/3 "2023-02-07T19:03:02Z")
Alex pointed out your first mistake, but you also are using moustaches in ‘when’ when you shouldn’t when: wc2env == ‘prod’ conditionals are already in an implied template context. ---
**Author:** ![Emanuel\_Gonzalez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@Emanuel\_Gonzalez](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Emanuel_Gonzalez)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 12:55am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/comparing-command-line-variable-in-import-playbook/37631/4 "2023-02-08T00:55:48Z")
I’ve tried that way, but it doesn’t work either: nsible-playbook -i hosts --extra-vars “wc2env=stage carrier=LL” alta\_carrier/playbook/tasks\_targe t.yaml PLAYBOOK: tasks\_target.yaml \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* Positional arguments: alta\_carrier/playbook/tasks\_target.yaml verbosity: 5 connection: smart timeout: 10 become\_method: sudo tags: (‘all’,) inventory: (‘/etc/ansible/webcheckin/hosts’,) extra\_vars: (‘wc2env=stage carrier=XX’,) forks: 50 step: True 4 plays in alta\_carrier/playbook/tasks\_target.yaml TASK [Creating DataBase] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* task path: /etc/ansible/webcheckin/alta\_carrier/playbook/add\_carrier\_prod.yaml:6 skipping: [wc2-stage] =\> { “changed”: false, “skip\_reason”: “Conditional result was False” } Here the playbook: - name: “select target” hosts: all gather\_facts: no tasks: - name: “deploy prod” ansible.builtin.import\_playbook: add\_carrier\_prod.yaml when: wc2env == ‘prod’ - name: “deploy stage” ansible.builtin.import\_playbook: add\_carrier\_stage.yaml when: wc2env == ‘stage’ any sugestions? ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Rowe](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/walter_rowe/32/4506_2.png) [@Walter\_Rowe](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Walter_Rowe)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 12:19pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/comparing-command-line-variable-in-import-playbook/37631/5 "2023-02-08T12:19:08Z")
We need to see the entire output. This excerpt does not provide enough context. From what I see it is skipping the PROD because your wc2end is ‘stage’. That is expected. Walter ---
**Author:** ![Emanuel\_Gonzalez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@Emanuel\_Gonzalez](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Emanuel_Gonzalez)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 12:56pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/comparing-command-line-variable-in-import-playbook/37631/6 "2023-02-08T12:56:36Z")
This is the entire output: ansible-playbook [core 2.12.9] config file = /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg configured module search path = [‘/home/emanuel/.ansible/plugins/modules’, ‘/usr/share/ansible/plugins/modules’] ansible python module location = /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/ansible ansible collection location = /home/emanuel/.ansible/collections:/usr/share/ansible/collections executable location = /usr/bin/ansible-playbook python version = 3.8.10 (default, Nov 14 2022, 12:59:47) [GCC 9.4.0] jinja version = 2.10.1 libyaml = True Using /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg as config file setting up inventory plugins host\_list declined parsing /etc/ansible/webcheckin/hosts as it did not pass its verify\_file() method script declined parsing /etc/ansible/webcheckin/hosts as it did not pass its verify\_file() method auto declined parsing /etc/ansible/webcheckin/hosts as it did not pass its verify\_file() method Not replacing invalid character(s) “{‘-’}” in group name (kiucargo-servers) [WARNING]: Invalid characters were found in group names but not replaced, use -vvvv to see details Parsed /etc/ansible/webcheckin/hosts inventory source with yaml plugin Loading collection community.mysql from /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/ansible\_collections/community/mysql Loading collection community.general from /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/ansible\_collections/community/general Loading callback plugin default of type stdout, v2.0 from /usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/ansible/plugins/callback/default.py Attempting to use ‘default’ callback. Skipping callback ‘default’, as we already have a stdout callback. Attempting to use ‘junit’ callback. Attempting to use ‘minimal’ callback. Skipping callback ‘minimal’, as we already have a stdout callback. Attempting to use ‘oneline’ callback. Skipping callback ‘oneline’, as we already have a stdout callback. Attempting to use ‘tree’ callback. PLAYBOOK: tasks\_target.yaml \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* Positional arguments: alta\_carrier/playbook/tasks\_target.yaml verbosity: 5 connection: smart timeout: 10 become\_method: sudo tags: (‘all’,) inventory: (‘/etc/ansible/webcheckin/hosts’,) extra\_vars: (‘wc2env=stage carrier=LL’,) forks: 50 step: True 4 plays in alta\_carrier/playbook/tasks\_target.yaml PLAY [Seleccionamos el destino] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* META: ran handlers META: ran handlers META: ran handlers PLAY [Creando DNS para nuevo carrier WC2 STAGE] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* META: ran handlers Perform task: TASK: Creating DataBase (N)o/(y)es/(c)ontinue: yes Perform task: TASK: Creating DataBase (N)o/(y)es/(c)ontinue: \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* TASK [Creating DataBase] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* task path: /etc/ansible/webcheckin/alta\_carrier/playbook/add\_carrier\_prod.yaml:6 skipping: [wc2-stage] =\> { “changed”: false, “skip\_reason”: “Conditional result was False” } Does this skipping: [wc2-stage] mean the playbook is skipping the stage server? This is my hosts file: kiucargo-servers: hosts: wc2-stage: ansible\_host: 172.x.x.x wc2-prod: ansible\_host: 172.x.x.x I understand that the import\_playbook parameter function should not matter the prod playbook, am I right? ---
**Author:** ![utoddl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/utoddl/32/249_2.png) [@utoddl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/utoddl)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 1:17pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/comparing-command-line-variable-in-import-playbook/37631/7 "2023-02-08T13:17:54Z")
You still haven’t shown us a task with the name “Creating DataBase”, which is what’s being skipped. Until you show us the tasks and their conditionals that go with the outputs, we can only guess. ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Rowe](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/walter_rowe/32/4506_2.png) [@Walter\_Rowe](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Walter_Rowe)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 1:28pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/comparing-command-line-variable-in-import-playbook/37631/8 "2023-02-08T13:28:15Z")
> task path: /etc/ansible/webcheckin/alta\_carrier/playbook/ **add\_carrier\_prod.yaml** :6 > skipping: [wc2-stage] =\> { > “changed”: false, > “skip\_reason”: “Conditional result was False” > } Look at the red text above. You have a prod task file. Your wc2env variable has a value of ‘stage’. Your task in the prod file has a condition of when wc2env == ‘prod’. Since wc2env == ‘stage’ this ‘prod’ task is the one being skipped. The skipping message means the task itself is being skipping because the condition you place on it evaluated to false. The task would only execute if the condition evaluated to true. You provided these two tasks in a prior message. > - name: “deploy prod” > ansible.builtin.import\_playbook: add\_carrier\_prod.yaml > when: wc2env == ‘prod’ > > - name: “deploy stage” > ansible.builtin.import\_playbook: add\_carrier\_stage.yaml > when: wc2env == ‘stage’ You are using ‘include\_playbook’. When you place a condition on ‘import\_playbook’ it does not skip importing the playbook when the condition is false. It effectively places that condition on every task inside the imported playbook. If you want to skip the import itself you should use include vs import. In one of my playbooks I have a series of include\_tasks tasks. The task files included are also ansible yaml files. Some of the include\_tasks tasks in my playbook have when clauses on them. If one of those ‘when’ clauses evaluates to false, the task file is NOT included. In your case if one of your include\_playbook ‘when’ clauses evaluates to false the playbook is still imported and all of the tasks are assigned the added condition from your import\_playbook task. Walter ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Rowe](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/walter_rowe/32/4506_2.png) [@Walter\_Rowe](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Walter_Rowe)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2023, 1:34pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/comparing-command-line-variable-in-import-playbook/37631/9 "2023-02-08T13:34:41Z")
Read this article for a more thorough explanation of import vs include and how conditions on them are handled. [https://www.devopsschool.com/blog/ansible-include-and-import-with-differences-explanined/](https://www.devopsschool.com/blog/ansible-include-and-import-with-differences-explanined/) Walter