# Get specifics from Ansible output **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [November 30, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/get-specifics-from-ansible-output/19895 "2015-11-30T11:19:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![K\_de\_Jong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/51bf81/32.png) [@K\_de\_Jong](https://forum.ansible.com/u/K_de_Jong)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/get-specifics-from-ansible-output/19895/1 "2015-11-30T11:19:13Z")
First of all, this is what I’m trying to do. I want to check first if certain directories are in fact directories and not symlinks. If they happen to be directories I want to rename them to {{ item }}.old and then after that task I want to run a task that will replace the dirs with symlinks. My approach to do this now is to collect the stat information from a list of directories. Then I want to iterate through the information collected by Ansible and if the item is a dir (sym.stat.isdir == True) then I want to move it. After that task is complete I’ll run a new task that will create the symlinks to replace the dirs. But I have a problem with the iteration process. A single directory is no problem, but it becomes unclear for me when a list of directories with the stat module is used. I assume this is possible, what’s the use of this information if you can’t use it 🙂 So this is what I’ve already tried. The following task: - name: check if home dirs are symlinks stat: path=/home/keesj/{{ item }} with\_items: - Documents - Music - Pictures - Videos register: sym tags: sym - debug: var=sym.results tags: sym Has as output: [root@defiant Ansible]# ansible-playbook -i hosts site.yml -t sym PLAY [192.168.124.126] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* GATHERING FACTS \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* Enter passphrase for key ‘/root/.ssh/id\_rsa’: ok: [192.168.124.126] TASK: [common | check if home dirs are symlinks] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* ok: [192.168.124.126] =\> (item=Documents) ok: [192.168.124.126] =\> (item=Music) ok: [192.168.124.126] =\> (item=Pictures) ok: [192.168.124.126] =\> (item=Videos) TASK: [common | debug var=sym.results] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* ok: [192.168.124.126] =\> { “var”: { “sym.results”: [ { “changed”: false, “invocation”: { “module\_args”: “path=/home/keesj/Documents”, “module\_complex\_args”: {}, “module\_name”: “stat” }, “item”: “Documents”, “stat”: { “atime”: 1448615699.9801893, “ctime”: 1448462998.0985308, “dev”: 64768, “exists”: true, “gid”: 1000, “gr\_name”: “keesj”, “inode”: 1449767, “isblk”: false, “ischr”: false, “isdir”: true, “isfifo”: false, “isgid”: false, “islnk”: false, “isreg”: false, “issock”: false, “isuid”: false, “mode”: “0755”, “mtime”: 1448462998.0985308, “nlink”: 2, “path”: “/home/keesj/Documents”, “pw\_name”: “keesj”, “rgrp”: true, “roth”: true, “rusr”: true, “size”: 4096, “uid”: 1000, “wgrp”: false, “woth”: false, “wusr”: true, “xgrp”: true, “xoth”: true, “xusr”: true } }, { “changed”: false, “invocation”: { “module\_args”: “path=/home/keesj/Music”, “module\_complex\_args”: {}, “module\_name”: “stat” }, “item”: “Music”, “stat”: { “atime”: 1448615700.0871918, “ctime”: 1448462998.0985308, “dev”: 64768, “exists”: true, “gid”: 1000, “gr\_name”: “keesj”, “inode”: 1449768, “isblk”: false, “ischr”: false, “isdir”: true, “isfifo”: false, “isgid”: false, “islnk”: false, “isreg”: false, “issock”: false, “isuid”: false, “mode”: “0755”, “mtime”: 1448462998.0985308, “nlink”: 2, “path”: “/home/keesj/Music”, “pw\_name”: “keesj”, “rgrp”: true, “roth”: true, “rusr”: true, “size”: 4096, “uid”: 1000, “wgrp”: false, “woth”: false, “wusr”: true, “xgrp”: true, “xoth”: true, “xusr”: true } }, { “changed”: false, “invocation”: { “module\_args”: “path=/home/keesj/Pictures”, “module\_complex\_args”: {}, “module\_name”: “stat” }, “item”: “Pictures”, “stat”: { “atime”: 1448615700.1171927, “ctime”: 1448462998.0985308, “dev”: 64768, “exists”: true, “gid”: 1000, “gr\_name”: “keesj”, “inode”: 1449769, “isblk”: false, “ischr”: false, “isdir”: true, “isfifo”: false, “isgid”: false, “islnk”: false, “isreg”: false, “issock”: false, “isuid”: false, “mode”: “0755”, “mtime”: 1448462998.0985308, “nlink”: 2, “path”: “/home/keesj/Pictures”, “pw\_name”: “keesj”, “rgrp”: true, “roth”: true, “rusr”: true, “size”: 4096, “uid”: 1000, “wgrp”: false, “woth”: false, “wusr”: true, “xgrp”: true, “xoth”: true, “xusr”: true } }, { “changed”: false, “invocation”: { “module\_args”: “path=/home/keesj/Videos”, “module\_complex\_args”: {}, “module\_name”: “stat” }, “item”: “Videos”, “stat”: { “atime”: 1448615700.1201928, “ctime”: 1448462998.0985308, “dev”: 64768, “exists”: true, “gid”: 1000, “gr\_name”: “keesj”, “inode”: 1449770, “isblk”: false, “ischr”: false, “isdir”: true, “isfifo”: false, “isgid”: false, “islnk”: false, “isreg”: false, “issock”: false, “isuid”: false, “mode”: “0755”, “mtime”: 1448462998.0985308, “nlink”: 2, “path”: “/home/keesj/Videos”, “pw\_name”: “keesj”, “rgrp”: true, “roth”: true, “rusr”: true, “size”: 4096, “uid”: 1000, “wgrp”: false, “woth”: false, “wusr”: true, “xgrp”: true, “xoth”: true, “xusr”: true } } ] } } PLAY RECAP \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* 192.168.124.126 : ok=3 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=0 It would be nice if these items could be read with a with\_items: and then iterate through it. But nothing I haven’t been successful in finding a way to do that. This may be something? But again, I’m stuck, tried a lot of things to get some info out of it, but nothing. Also can’t find any documentation about it for Ansible. - debug: var=sym.items tags: sym [root@defiant Ansible]# ansible-playbook -i hosts site.yml -t sym PLAY [192.168.124.126] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* GATHERING FACTS \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* ok: [192.168.124.126] TASK: [common | check if home dirs are symlinks] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* ok: [192.168.124.126] =\> (item=Documents) ok: [192.168.124.126] =\> (item=Music) ok: [192.168.124.126] =\> (item=Pictures) ok: [192.168.124.126] =\> (item=Videos) TASK: [common | debug var=sym.items] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* ok: [192.168.124.126] =\> { “var”: { “sym.items”: “\” } } Any suggestions?