# How to email all facts **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [February 26, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425 "2013-02-26T14:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Devin\_Bayer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@Devin\_Bayer](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Devin_Bayer)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/1 "2013-02-26T14:56:24Z")
Hi. We would like a way to email all the facts from a host. What’s the easiest way to achieve this? I have tried: ansible host.domain -m mail -a ‘to=b@t-0.be from=root@localhost body=${ansible\_facts} subject=welcome’ and also a playbook with a $hosts variable, but I just get emails like: ${ansible\_facts} Thanks, Devin ---
**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:** [February 26, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/2 "2013-02-26T15:02:12Z")
${ansible\_facts} isn't an actual variable in ansible However, you have lots of options. One easy way of getting all of the variables is: ${hostvars.{$ansible\_hostname}} (The second set of {} are for escaping any "."'s that may occur in an IP address) Or if you want a specific host named 'example', for example: ${hostvars.example} You will need to have already talked to the host in a previous play to get the facts, otherwise you just get assigned variables. ---
**Author:** ![Devin\_Bayer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/54ee81/32.png) [@Devin\_Bayer1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Devin_Bayer1)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/3 "2013-02-26T15:29:42Z")
Hi Michael - that works if I use $ansible\_fqdn. Thanks! But it only seems to work in a playbook - so is this the right way to do it: ---
**Author:** ![Daniel\_Hokka\_Zakriss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@Daniel\_Hokka\_Zakriss](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Daniel_Hokka_Zakriss)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/4 "2013-02-26T15:34:12Z")
Devin Bayer wrote: > > ${ansible\_facts} isn't an actual variable in ansible > > > > However, you have lots of options. > > > > One easy way of getting all of the variables is: > > > > ${hostvars.{$ansible\_hostname}} > > Hi Michael - > > that works if I use $ansible\_fqdn. Thanks! But it only seems to work in a > playbook - so is this the right way to do it: Facts in general only work inside of a playbook. > --- > - hosts: ${hosts} >   tasks: >     - mail: \> >         to=b@t-0.be >         from=root@${ansible\_fqdn} >         body="${hostvars.{$ansible\_fqdn}}" >         subject=welcome > > Also, any idea about how to improve the output formatting? Right now it's > just dict.\_\_str\_\_ all on one line. The mail module is basically why $TEMPLATE exists. You can have body="$TEMPLATE(templates/file.j2)" and then use Jinja2 to format hostvars to your liking. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Devin\_Bayer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/54ee81/32.png) [@Devin\_Bayer1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Devin_Bayer1)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/5 "2013-02-26T19:50:49Z")
Hi Daniel - thanks for the help - I'm really having trouble finding this stuff in the documentation. > Facts in general only work inside of a playbook. OK. > The mail module is basically why $TEMPLATE exists. You can have > body="$TEMPLATE(templates/file.j2)" and then use Jinja2 to format hostvars > to your liking. Should this work:   {{ hostvars[ansible\_fqdn] }} because I get this exception:   jinja2.exceptions.UndefinedError: 'hostvars' is undefined ~ Devin ---
**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:** [February 26, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/6 "2013-02-26T20:12:43Z")
> Hi Daniel - thanks for the help - I'm really having trouble finding this stuff in the documentation. Probably because we don't have a "how to email facts" topic. Seriously though, tell me what you'd like to see, and we'll work on it 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Devin\_Bayer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/54ee81/32.png) [@Devin\_Bayer1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Devin_Bayer1)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/7 "2013-02-26T20:25:01Z")
> > Hi Daniel - thanks for the help - I'm really having trouble finding this stuff in the documentation. > > Probably because we don't have a "how to email facts" topic. I can imagine. > Seriously though, tell me what you'd like to see, and we'll work on it 🙂 Stuff like $TEMPLATE, so maybe a plugins page? And the available variables on the command line and in playbooks. So maybe a variables page? Cheers, Devin ---
**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:** [February 26, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/8 "2013-02-26T20:31:17Z")
> > > Hi Daniel - thanks for the help - I'm really having trouble finding this stuff in the documentation. > > > > Probably because we don't have a "how to email facts" topic. > > I can imagine. > > > Seriously though, tell me what you'd like to see, and we'll work on it 🙂 > > Stuff like $TEMPLATE, so maybe a plugins page? Noted. I don't even use that one myself, but yes, we should cover more. This is mostly covered here: [http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#lookup-plugins-accessing-outside-data](http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#lookup-plugins-accessing-outside-data) But we should list individual ones. > And the available variables on the command line and in playbooks. So maybe a variables page? Most of those are already there, though dispersed. As far as CLI options, we've mostly shown those through examples in the relevant sections. Variables: [http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#magic-variables-and-how-to-access-information-about-other-hosts](http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#magic-variables-and-how-to-access-information-about-other-hosts) ---
**Author:** ![Devin\_Bayer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/54ee81/32.png) [@Devin\_Bayer1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Devin_Bayer1)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/9 "2013-02-26T21:13:10Z")
> Noted. I don't even use that one myself, but yes, we should cover more. > > This is mostly covered here: > > [http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#lookup-plugins-accessing-outside-data](http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#lookup-plugins-accessing-outside-data) Yes, I see it now. The documentation is fairly complete - when first reading it I was impressed. But I find it hard to reference, since as you said everything is spread around. > Variables: > > [http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#magic-variables-and-how-to-access-information-about-other-hosts](http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#magic-variables-and-how-to-access-information-about-other-hosts) Maybe it got lost in the thread, but the jinja2 example doesn't seem to work, even using it exactly from trunk:   {{ hostvars['my.host.fqdn']['ansible\_distribution'] }} results in:   jinja2.exceptions.UndefinedError: 'hostvars' is undefined Thanks, Devin ---
**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:** [February 26, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/10 "2013-02-26T21:27:49Z")
That's a typo! Good catch, missing an underscore. Try this:   {{ host\_vars['my.host.fqdn']['ansible\_distribution'] }} ---
**Author:** ![Devin\_Bayer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/54ee81/32.png) [@Devin\_Bayer1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Devin_Bayer1)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/11 "2013-02-26T21:39:41Z")
Oh, that looked hopeful, but I'm afraid:   jinja2.exceptions.UndefinedError: 'host\_vars' is undefined ~ devin ---
**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:** [February 26, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/12 "2013-02-26T21:41:35Z")
In a template? The template plugin $TEMPLATE() macro may not have access to it. It's new and rarely used. Probably fixable. Let me know if that's the case. ---
**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:** [February 26, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/13 "2013-02-26T21:41:54Z")
> > > That's a typo! Good catch, missing an underscore. > > > > > > Try this: > > > > > > {{ host\_vars['my.host.fqdn']['ansible\_distribution'] }} > > > > Oh, that looked hopeful, but I'm afraid: > > > >   jinja2.exceptions.UndefinedError: 'host\_vars' is undefined > > In a template? To be clear, I mean, the template action, there, it definitely works. ---
**Author:** ![Devin\_Bayer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/54ee81/32.png) [@Devin\_Bayer1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Devin_Bayer1)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/14 "2013-02-26T21:47:57Z")
Do you mean like this: TASK: [template src=templates/welcome.j2 dest=/tmp/abc] \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* fatal: [banks....] =\> {'msg': "'host\_vars' is undefined", 'failed': True} ---
**Author:** ![Brian\_Coca1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Brian\_Coca1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Brian_Coca1)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/15 "2013-02-26T21:51:21Z")
I actuall do this by: ansible -m setup \ |mail me@mydomain.com ---
**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:** [February 26, 2013, 9:55pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/16 "2013-02-26T21:55:35Z")
Show me your welcome.j2 please. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel\_Hokka\_Zakriss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@Daniel\_Hokka\_Zakriss](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Daniel_Hokka_Zakriss)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/17 "2013-02-26T22:01:35Z")
Devin Bayer wrote: > > Noted. I don't even use that one myself, but yes, we should cover > > more. > > > > This is mostly covered here: > > > > [http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#lookup-plugins-accessing-outside-data](http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#lookup-plugins-accessing-outside-data) > > Yes, I see it now. The documentation is fairly complete - when first > reading it I was impressed. But I find it hard to reference, since as you > said everything is spread around. > > > Variables: > > > > [http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#magic-variables-and-how-to-access-information-about-other-hosts](http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks2.html#magic-variables-and-how-to-access-information-about-other-hosts) > > Maybe it got lost in the thread, but the jinja2 example doesn't seem to > work, even using it exactly from trunk: > >   {{ hostvars['my.host.fqdn']['ansible\_distribution'] }} > > results in: > >   jinja2.exceptions.UndefinedError: 'hostvars' is undefined What version of Jinja2? What version of ansible? What OS? Daniel ---
**Author:** ![jpmens1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jpmens1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/jpmens1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 7:36am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/18 "2013-02-27T07:36:22Z")
There seems to be a problem with indexing `hostvars' in $TEMPLATE(). I've documented a possible solution (and the traceback when indexing hostvars) at [1]         -JP [1] [https://gist.github.com/jpmens/5045984](https://gist.github.com/jpmens/5045984) ---
**Author:** ![jpmens1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jpmens1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/jpmens1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 8:23am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/19 "2013-02-27T08:23:07Z")
> There seems to be a problem with indexing `hostvars' in $TEMPLATE(). > > [1] [https://gist.github.com/jpmens/5045984](https://gist.github.com/jpmens/5045984) For the record: Daniel says I'm missing a "name:" on the action. Adding that indeed fixes the problem, but I think that's a bug, as 'name:' is supposed to be optional. (Gist updated with a comment.)         -JP ---
**Author:** ![Daniel\_Hokka\_Zakriss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@Daniel\_Hokka\_Zakriss](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Daniel_Hokka_Zakriss)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2013, 9:19am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425/20 "2013-02-27T09:19:45Z")
Jan-Piet Mens wrote: > > There seems to be a problem with indexing `hostvars' in $TEMPLATE(). > > > > [1] [https://gist.github.com/jpmens/5045984](https://gist.github.com/jpmens/5045984) > > For the record: Daniel says I'm missing a "name:" on the action. Adding > that indeed fixes the problem, but I think that's a bug, as 'name:' is > supposed to be optional. (Gist updated with a comment.) This bug is now fixed on devel. Daniel [Next page](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-email-all-facts/12425.md?page=2)