# Doc example of using list variable with with\_items? **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [July 14, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/doc-example-of-using-list-variable-with-with-items/11682 "2012-07-14T18:41:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Callender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5ac83/32.png) [@John\_Callender](https://forum.ansible.com/u/John_Callender)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 6:41pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/doc-example-of-using-list-variable-with-with-items/11682/1 "2012-07-14T18:41:30Z")
As one of the steps in a provisioning playbook, I want to have a host-specific list of data directories that are copied from a backup to the host being provisioned. One possible approach to doing that would be to have my inventory (“hosts”) file contain a host-specific list of directory names to populate for each host, and then iterate over that list using with\_items in a task. It sounds from the discussion here: [https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/ansible-project/h4bx0Mw6Pfw](https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/ansible-project/h4bx0Mw6Pfw) …and the issue here: [https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/345](https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/345) …like it should be possible in current ansible for me to define a list variable in my inventory file, then have: with\_items: $list\_var …in my task. But I don’t see an example of using a list variable with with\_items in the docs. Have I missed that? If it’s currently missing from the documentation, could it be added? ---
**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:** [July 14, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/doc-example-of-using-list-variable-with-with-items/11682/2 "2012-07-14T18:43:41Z")
"with\_items: $list" should be added to the docs about with\_items, yes, this has been a feature for a while. Send me a pull request to update the rst/ file in the doc project. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Callender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5ac83/32.png) [@John\_Callender](https://forum.ansible.com/u/John_Callender)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/doc-example-of-using-list-variable-with-with-items/11682/3 "2012-07-14T19:13:18Z")
I’m not sure how to define the list variable in my inventory file if I’m not using the YAML-format inventory file. If I were using YAML format, I assume I could do something like this: - host: saturn vars: - moons: - titan - iapetus - dione …and then access the list in my task like: with\_items: $moons but in the non-YAML hosts file, I’m not sure how to define a list variable. Let’s say I start like this: [saturnhosts] saturn …then might I do this? [saturnhosts:vars] moons=titan moons=iapetus moons=dione …or maybe this: [saturnhosts:vars] moons=titan iapetus dione …or something like this: [saturnhosts:vars] moons= titan iapetus dione ---
**Author:** ![John\_Callender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5ac83/32.png) [@John\_Callender](https://forum.ansible.com/u/John_Callender)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 8:44pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/doc-example-of-using-list-variable-with-with-items/11682/4 "2012-07-14T20:44:06Z")
After further poking around, I’m now suspicious that it’s not possible to define a list variable using the INI-style inventory file, though it looks like I can define one if I use the YAML-style inventory file. It seems like an unfortunate trap for the unwary that the INI-style inventory file (which I like for the way it makes it easy to define groups and group variables) would have the limitation that it doesn’t allow list variables. I may be able to accomplish my larger goal by defining my host-specific list-variables in a file imported with vars\_file. So, with hosts named after planets, could I perhaps do something like this? ---
**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:** [July 14, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/doc-example-of-using-list-variable-with-with-items/11682/5 "2012-07-14T20:58:15Z")
You can't -- Michael ---
**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:** [July 14, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/doc-example-of-using-list-variable-with-with-items/11682/6 "2012-07-14T21:00:29Z")
with\_items cannot use host specific vars at this time as all hosts get the same tasks. Use yaml and inventory vars. -- Michael ---
**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:** [July 15, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/doc-example-of-using-list-variable-with-with-items/11682/7 "2012-07-15T00:01:27Z")
In case you didn't infer from my other note, I just fixed this about not being able to use vars\_files + with\_items like I just said you couldn't. (I have no plan to make it so you can define lists or hashes in the INI file though) (Last email for today, I promise!) ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Wieers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/45deac/32.png) [@Dag\_Wieers](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Dag_Wieers)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 9:33am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/doc-example-of-using-list-variable-with-with-items/11682/8 "2012-07-15T09:33:41Z")
As a matter of completeness, the INI file format allows to make a group of groups, which the YAML syntax doesn't do (yet). We should probably add code for this: - group: animals    groups: [cat, dog, mouse] which is the same as: - group: animals    groups:    - cat    - dog    - mouse I added this to the issue-tracker as: [https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/594](https://github.com/ansible/ansible/issues/594) ---
**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:** [July 15, 2012, 12:16pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/doc-example-of-using-list-variable-with-with-items/11682/9 "2012-07-15T12:16:15Z")
> As a matter of completeness, the INI file format allows to make a group > of groups, which the YAML syntax doesn't do (yet). +1, would like to see someone add this.