# Handler: In which order are Role Handlers executed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Get Help\ **Created:** [September 10, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399 "2024-09-10T13:23:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RayJin2000](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/rayjin2000/32/3641_2.png) [@RayJin2000](https://forum.ansible.com/u/RayJin2000)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/1 "2024-09-10T13:23:11Z")
Hi, We are currently asking ourselves in Team in which order handlers are executed from roles. We have several roles in a playbook with several handlers. In some playbooks, the handlers are executed in alphabetical order of the roles, but not in all playbooks. We can’t find anything in the documentation either: [Handlers: running operations on change — Ansible Community Documentation](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/playbook_guide/playbooks_handlers.html#notifying-handlers) ---
**Author:** ![shertel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/shertel/32/1241_2.png) [@shertel](https://forum.ansible.com/u/shertel)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2024, 1:30pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/2 "2024-09-10T13:30:39Z")
They are executed based on the order they are defined in. Here’s a relevant snippet from the documentation: > In the above example, the handlers are executed on task change in the following order: `Restart memcached`, `Restart apache`. Handlers are executed in the order they are defined in the `handlers` section, not in the order listed in the `notify` statement. ---
**Author:** ![RayJin2000](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/rayjin2000/32/3641_2.png) [@RayJin2000](https://forum.ansible.com/u/RayJin2000)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 7:17am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/3 "2024-09-11T07:17:47Z")
This is the Roles Part of our Playbook: ```auto roles: - role: elasticsearch-apikey - role: haproxy - role: executable-jar ``` This is the Result: ```auto RUNNING HANDLER [elasticsearch-apikey : esapikey_invalidate_keys] ************** Tuesday 30 July 2024 17:04:14 +0200 (0:00:01.281) 0:00:34.533 ********** ok: [server11-dev] RUNNING HANDLER [executable-jar : Executable_jar is restarted] ***************** Tuesday 30 July 2024 17:04:16 +0200 (0:00:01.590) 0:00:36.123 ********** changed: [server11-dev] RUNNING HANDLER [executable-jar : Executable_jar is alive] ********************* Tuesday 30 July 2024 17:04:16 +0200 (0:00:00.518) 0:00:36.641 ********** ok: [server11-dev] RUNNING HANDLER [haproxy : Haproxy Daemon reload] ****************************** Tuesday 30 July 2024 17:04:23 +0200 (0:00:07.031) 0:00:43.673 ********** ok: [server11-dev] RUNNING HANDLER [haproxy : Haproxy started] ************************************ Tuesday 30 July 2024 17:04:24 +0200 (0:00:00.850) 0:00:44.523 ********** ok: [server11-dev] RUNNING HANDLER [haproxy : Haproxy restarted] ********************************** Tuesday 30 July 2024 17:04:25 +0200 (0:00:00.499) 0:00:45.023 ********** changed: [server11-dev] RUNNING HANDLER [haproxy : Haproxy reloaded] *********************************** Tuesday 30 July 2024 17:04:26 +0200 (0:00:00.946) 0:00:45.970 ********** changed: [server11-dev] ``` But this is not the Order we defined! ---
**Author:** ![shertel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/shertel/32/1241_2.png) [@shertel](https://forum.ansible.com/u/shertel)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 11:45am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/4 "2024-09-11T11:45:03Z")
Can you include the relevant handlers files so I can see the order they are defined in to try to reproduce the issue? Can you share the version of ansible-core you’re using too? ---
**Author:** ![RayJin2000](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/rayjin2000/32/3641_2.png) [@RayJin2000](https://forum.ansible.com/u/RayJin2000)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 2:46pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/5 "2024-09-11T14:46:21Z")
/roles/elasticsearch-apikey/handlers/main.yml: ```yaml - name: esapikey_invalidate_keys ansible.builtin.uri: url: "{{ esapikey_url }}/_security/api_key" ``` /roles/executable-jar/handlers/main.yml: ```yaml - name: Executable_jar is restarted ansible.builtin.service: name: executable-jar state: restarted enabled: true become: true listen: executable_jar_restarted - name: Executable_jar is alive ansible.builtin.uri: url: "{{ executable_jar_alive_url }}" status_code: 200 register: result until: result.status == 200 retries: 60 delay: 1 tags: config listen: executable_jar_alive when: - not ansible_check_mode - executable_jar_alive_check ``` /roles/haproxy/handlers/main.yml: ```auto - name: Haproxy Daemon reload ansible.builtin.systemd: daemon_reload: true become: true listen: Haproxy_daemon_reload - name: Haproxy started ansible.builtin.service: name: haproxy state: started enabled: true become: true listen: Haproxy_started - name: Haproxy restarted ansible.builtin.service: name: haproxy state: restarted enabled: true become: true listen: Haproxy_restarted - name: Haproxy reloaded ansible.builtin.service: name: haproxy state: reloaded enabled: true become: true listen: Haproxy_reloaded ``` ---
**Author:** ![shertel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/shertel/32/1241_2.png) [@shertel](https://forum.ansible.com/u/shertel)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 3:01pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/6 "2024-09-11T15:01:41Z")
The handlers file in haproxy defines the handlers in this order: - Haproxy Daemon reload - Haproxy started - Haproxy restarted - Haproxy reloaded The result you shared matches the order, I think. I’m not sure where the handlers are notified, or if this could be a point of misunderstanding, but the `notify` order is not the definition-order. Here’s the relevant bit from the documentation: > Handlers are executed in the order they are defined in the `handlers` section, not in the order listed in the `notify` statement. If I’m missing something, could you share the expected result? ---
**Author:** ![bcoca](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/bcoca/32/9269_2.png) [@bcoca](https://forum.ansible.com/u/bcoca)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 3:11pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/7 "2024-09-11T15:11:48Z")
First, handlers, no matter where defined, are attached to the play, so while a role can provide handlers they are always PLAY level handlers. The order of execution depends on the order in which they were added/defined to the play. This can get tricky with dependent roles and conflicting names, but should still hold true. ---
**Author:** ![RayJin2000](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/rayjin2000/32/3641_2.png) [@RayJin2000](https://forum.ansible.com/u/RayJin2000)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 7:36am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/8 "2024-09-13T07:36:03Z")
We have no dependency’s in our Roles. If I understand you correctly, all (handlers in the) roles should now be executed in the same order as listed under “roles:”, but currently they are executed in alphabetical order. Is it possible to debug the order of handlers? We dont want to flush the handlers at the end of each Role, just to ensure they get executed in the right order. ---
**Author:** ![RayJin2000](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/rayjin2000/32/3641_2.png) [@RayJin2000](https://forum.ansible.com/u/RayJin2000)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 7:41am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/9 "2024-09-13T07:41:22Z")
We have 3 Roles with Handlers: ```auto roles: - role: Role_A - role: Role_C - role: Role_B ``` and I expect these execution Order of the handlers: ```auto - Role_A_Handler_1 - Role_A_Handler_2 - Role_C_Handler_1 - Role_C_Handler_2 - Role_B_Handler_1 - Role_B_Handler_2 ``` but I get: ```auto - Role_A_Handler_1 - Role_A_Handler_2 - Role_B_Handler_1 - Role_B_Handler_2 - Role_C_Handler_1 - Role_C_Handler_2 ``` ---
**Author:** ![bvitnik](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/bvitnik/32/4132_2.png) [@bvitnik](https://forum.ansible.com/u/bvitnik)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 10:10am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/10 "2024-09-13T10:10:12Z")
And what is the order of handler notifies? Same as role order? Do you notify a handler in one role from some other role? ---
**Author:** ![RayJin2000](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/rayjin2000/32/3641_2.png) [@RayJin2000](https://forum.ansible.com/u/RayJin2000)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 10:40am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/11 "2024-09-13T10:40:37Z")
> [@bvitnik](#): > > Do you notify a handler in one role from some other role? No, we have no cross roles notify. All handler get notified in there own Role. ---
**Author:** ![bcoca](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/bcoca/32/9269_2.png) [@bcoca](https://forum.ansible.com/u/bcoca)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/12 "2024-09-13T14:11:11Z")
Notification should not influence execution order, if the above is true, this is a bug. I would submit to github with a simple reproducer. ---
**Author:** ![RayJin2000](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/rayjin2000/32/3641_2.png) [@RayJin2000](https://forum.ansible.com/u/RayJin2000)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 8:19am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/13 "2024-09-23T08:19:28Z")
I created a simple [reproducer](https://github.com/RayJin2000/ansible-handler-execution-order), but everything runs just fine - no Bug! Now we have to test our Ansible Setup and all used Versions for the cause of the problem 😑 ---
**Author:** ![RayJin2000](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/rayjin2000/32/3641_2.png) [@RayJin2000](https://forum.ansible.com/u/RayJin2000)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 8:48am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/14 "2024-09-23T08:48:10Z")
I found our Problem. We have used the same Role more than once in the same Playbook. ```yaml roles: - role: role_2 - role: role_1 - role: role_3 - role: role_1 ``` Handler Executon Order: - role\_2 - role\_3 - role\_1 ---
**Author:** ![bcoca](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/bcoca/32/9269_2.png) [@bcoca](https://forum.ansible.com/u/bcoca)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2024, 2:52pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/15 "2024-09-23T14:52:16Z")
So it works as expected, role1 handlers get ‘redefined’ so the first definition is masked by the latter, accounting for the change in order. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/original/1X/1882d9a01da5d8996a862359b0913cc568a39b84.svg) [@system](https://forum.ansible.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2024, 2:52pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/handler-in-which-order-are-role-handlers-executed/8399/16 "2024-10-23T14:52:49Z")
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