# host\_vars example ?

**URL:** <https://forum.ansible.com/t/host-vars-example/19001>\
**Category:** Ansible Project\
**Created:** [August 12, 2015, 10:36am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/host-vars-example/19001 "2015-08-12T10:36:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Shawn\_Mulford](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Shawn\_Mulford](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Shawn_Mulford)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 10:36am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/host-vars-example/19001/1 "2015-08-12T10:36:22Z")

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Hey guys,  
First, sorry for what seems like a rather basic question…

I want read in a host\_vars file for to dynamically set up the operating environment. I’m trying to start with 1 variable declaration, but keep getting:

ERROR: /etc/ansible/host\_vars/somenode/vars.yml must be stored as a dictionary/hash

What is the format expected? I’ve tried:  
key: value  
key = value  
{“key” : “value”}

Thanks !