# Different behaviour between group\_vars/all and vars\_files/myvars.yml **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [November 20, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/different-behaviour-between-group-vars-all-and-vars-files-myvars-yml/13948 "2013-11-20T21:23:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yoann\_DAVID](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/85e7bf/32.png) [@Yoann\_DAVID](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Yoann_DAVID)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/different-behaviour-between-group-vars-all-and-vars-files-myvars-yml/13948/1 "2013-11-20T21:23:43Z")
For the same playbook, if my variables are defined in a file (let name it myvars.yml) specified with vars\_files statement it works but if the same variables are defined in group\_vars/all it don’t. Example my playbook and it’s associated files using var\_files/myvars.yml playbook.yml > * * * > > - hosts: all > sudo: yes > vars\_files: > - myvars.yml > roles: > - usertest myvars.yml > * * * > > users: > > - username: timmy > gecos: Timmy > groups: > - group1 > - group2 > - username: tony > gecos: Tony > groups: > - group1 > - group3 roles/usertest/tasks/main.yml > - include: tasks\_user.yml user=$item > with\_items: $users roles/usertest/tasks/task\_user.yml (excerpt) > * * * > > - name: create user ${user.username} > action: user name=${user.username} comment=${user.gecos} > - name: “Create group” > group: name=$item state=present > with\_items: ${user.groups} > > - name: add user to groups > action: user name=${user.username} groups=$item append=yes > with\_items: ${user.groups} When I run it, everything fine : > PLAY [all] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > > GATHERING FACTS \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > ok: [127.0.0.1] > > TASK: [create user timmy] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > ok: [127.0.0.1] =\> (item={‘username’: ‘timmy’, ‘gecos’: ‘Timmy’, ‘groups’: [‘group1’, ‘group2’]}) > > TASK: [Create group] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > ok: [127.0.0.1] =\> (item=group1) > ok: [127.0.0.1] =\> (item=group2) > > TASK: [add user to groups] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > ok: [127.0.0.1] =\> (item=group1) > ok: [127.0.0.1] =\> (item=group2) > > TASK: [create user tony] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > ok: [127.0.0.1] =\> (item={‘username’: ‘tony’, ‘gecos’: ‘Tony’, ‘groups’: [‘group1’, ‘group3’]}) > > TASK: [Create group] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > ok: [127.0.0.1] =\> (item=group1) > ok: [127.0.0.1] =\> (item=group3) > > TASK: [add user to groups] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > ok: [127.0.0.1] =\> (item=group1) > ok: [127.0.0.1] =\> (item=group3) > > PLAY RECAP \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > 127.0.0.1 : ok=7 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=0 Now instead of using an external file to define my users setting I want to put them in group\_vars/all : playbook.yml : I remove vars\_files > * * * > > - hosts: all > sudo: yes > roles: > - usertest myvars.yml : deleted, users definition set in group\_vars/all instead (same yaml) > * * * > users: > > - username: timmy > gecos: Timmy > groups: > - group1 > - group2 > - username: tony > gecos: Tony > groups: > - group1 > - group3 roles/usertest/tasks/main.yml : nothing changed > - include: tasks\_user.yml user=$item > with\_items: $users roles/usertest/tasks/task\_user.yml (excerpt) : nothing changed > * * * > > - name: create user ${user.username} > action: user name=${user.username} comment=${user.gecos} > > - name: “Create group” > group: name=$item state=present > with\_items: ${user.groups} > > - name: add user to groups > action: user name=${user.username} groups=$item append=yes > with\_items: ${user.groups} And when I run it, $users is not expended or something like that : > PLAY [all] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > > GATHERING FACTS \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > ok: [127.0.0.1] > > TASK: [create user ${user.username}] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > ok: [127.0.0.1] =\> (item=$users) > > TASK: [Create group] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > fatal: [127.0.0.1] =\> with\_items expects a list > > FATAL: all hosts have already failed – aborting > > PLAY RECAP \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* > to retry, use: --limit @/Users/ydavid/playbook-test.retry > > 127.0.0.1 : ok=2 changed=0 unreachable=1 failed=0 It create a user named ${user.username} and fail on the loop over groups because as $user is not expanded $user.groups is not a list The problem comme from the association include and with\_item because group\_vars/all is readed correctly if I don’t use a loop Must I open an issue ? Or may I did something wrong ? Thanks for your help ---
**Author:** ![Serge\_van\_Ginderacht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@Serge\_van\_Ginderacht](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Serge_van_Ginderacht)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/different-behaviour-between-group-vars-all-and-vars-files-myvars-yml/13948/2 "2013-11-20T21:37:11Z")
​This is your problem. "include:" combined with "with\_items" is a non documented, non supported idiom. While this works​ when defined in a vars file ( = same variables for all hosts, where this can work in a consequent way0), it can't when defined at inventory level, which group\_vars/all is, and where you could give different variable values for different hosts: this can't work, as include+with items is parsed at the beginning, before inventory variables is looked at! Don't try both though, It is a deprecated feature in 1.4, and will probably be removed in 1.5. Serge ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan2](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan2)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/different-behaviour-between-group-vars-all-and-vars-files-myvars-yml/13948/3 "2013-11-20T22:24:48Z")
That, and also this syntax is incorrect because it uses legacy variables that will be going away: with\_items: ${user.groups} Do this: with\_items: user.groups Thanks! The official docs already don’t do this, but there are a lot of old not well updated articles on the internet. I strongly recommend starting with the official docs and [github.com/ansible/ansible-examples](http://github.com/ansible/ansible-examples) for looking at things when possible. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Yoann\_DAVID](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/85e7bf/32.png) [@Yoann\_DAVID](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Yoann_DAVID)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 8:27am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/different-behaviour-between-group-vars-all-and-vars-files-myvars-yml/13948/4 "2013-11-21T08:27:42Z")
Thanks for this answer this what I thought, but I wasn’t understood why it worked for one but not for the other, now I understand. I have to found an another way to do want I want but how ? How can I do nested loop ? I have n users et for each user m groups, the with\_items synthax cannot be used, this is why I’ve made an include/with\_items (first loop) than in my included playbook a with\_item on a task (second loop). Do you an idea to do this ? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Yoann\_DAVID](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/85e7bf/32.png) [@Yoann\_DAVID](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Yoann_DAVID)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 8:32am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/different-behaviour-between-group-vars-all-and-vars-files-myvars-yml/13948/5 "2013-11-21T08:32:45Z")
Thanks for those points, I admit the synthax of variable are quite unclear for me : - $myvar - ${myvar} - {{ myvar }} - myvar - myvar.nestedvar - mavar[“nestedvar”] So many synthax I had to re-read the doc. And +1 for old tuto on Internet, Ansible is quite young but it progress so quickly… ---
**Author:** ![Serge\_van\_Ginderacht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@Serge\_van\_Ginderacht](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Serge_van_Ginderacht)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2013, 8:33am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/different-behaviour-between-group-vars-all-and-vars-files-myvars-yml/13948/6 "2013-11-21T08:33:11Z")
​There are a couple of lookup plugins that allow you to do just that, with\_together and with\_nested​, the latter should be what you seek I think. ---
**Author:** ![Yoann\_DAVID](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/85e7bf/32.png) [@Yoann\_DAVID](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Yoann_DAVID)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 8:50am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/different-behaviour-between-group-vars-all-and-vars-files-myvars-yml/13948/7 "2013-11-22T08:50:27Z")
Ansible 1.4 just released add the ability to do what I want : [http://www.ansibleworks.com/docs/playbooks\_loops.html#looping-over-subelements](http://www.ansibleworks.com/docs/playbooks_loops.html#looping-over-subelements) Vive Ansible !! ---
**Author:** ![Serge\_van\_Ginderacht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@Serge\_van\_Ginderacht](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Serge_van_Ginderacht)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 8:55am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/different-behaviour-between-group-vars-all-and-vars-files-myvars-yml/13948/8 "2013-11-22T08:55:13Z")
> Ansible 1.4 just released add the ability to do what I want : > > [http://www.ansibleworks.com/docs/playbooks\_loops.html#looping-over-subelements](http://www.ansibleworks.com/docs/playbooks_loops.html#looping-over-subelements) Yeah, that's a very nice plugin :-D​​ Vive Ansible !! > ​Lu & approuvé :)​ ---
**Author:** ![Yoann\_DAVID](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/85e7bf/32.png) [@Yoann\_DAVID](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Yoann_DAVID)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/different-behaviour-between-group-vars-all-and-vars-files-myvars-yml/13948/9 "2013-11-22T16:13:32Z")
Done… my playbook to manage users is finished, if someone is interested, here it is : The configuration made in group\_vars : > users: > > - username: timmy > password: $6$rounds=60000$jnCPesFDgbvLtCL8$0p/F80qT/LlVutQ2QX4nSiTa6sRlKRVbpCBM4497PXJJLdIW16Nz1JyFpuszgYxvT5IV5eIas8toKtPdOnriy/ > userfullname: “Timmy” > groups: > - timmy > - sudo > - username: tony > password: $6$rounds=60000$jnCPesFDgbvLtCL8$0p/F80qT/LlVutQ2QX4nSiTa6sRlKRVbpCBM4497PXJJLdIW16Nz1JyFpuszgYxvT5IV5eIas8toKtPdOnriy/ > userfullname: Tony > groups: > - tony > - timmy And the tasks, the group task use the new with\_subelements directive… (sorry task name in french)