# How to only play tasks with specific tags in playbook **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [July 11, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-only-play-tasks-with-specific-tags-in-playbook/15651 "2014-07-11T14:58:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Brendon\_Standing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@Brendon\_Standing](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Brendon_Standing)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-only-play-tasks-with-specific-tags-in-playbook/15651/1 "2014-07-11T14:58:30Z")
Hi all, How do you play just the tasks with set tags in your playbook? From the command line you would do something like: ansible-playbook -i staging deploy.yml --tags “do\_stop, do\_health\_check” I would expect do be able to do the same from the playbook like: - hosts: somehosts roles: - { role: connect, tags: [‘do\_stop’, ‘do\_health\_check’] } However this is not working and it plays all the tasks in my role. Regards, Brendon ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan1)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-only-play-tasks-with-specific-tags-in-playbook/15651/2 "2014-07-11T22:30:52Z")
Pass the “–tags” option to ansible-playbook to run only the tags you want to run. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan1)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-only-play-tasks-with-specific-tags-in-playbook/15651/3 "2014-07-11T22:31:16Z")
What you did above, BTW, is apply the tag “do\_stop” and “do\_health\_check” to every task in your role. This isn’t what you want, I’m guessing. ---
**Author:** ![Brendon\_Standing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@Brendon\_Standing](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Brendon_Standing)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-only-play-tasks-with-specific-tags-in-playbook/15651/4 "2014-07-17T18:31:39Z")
Thanks all. I know that I can call tags from the command line and that my example will apply new tags in my playbook. But to me a playbook by design should be able to run all the tasks that you need to run by calling the tags you have set in tasks/\*.yml. Instead we are now presented with 2 options: 1. Write a wrapper script (oh no) 2. Further dismantle tasks into separate yml files so that you can call these with include in your playbook. Surely a playbook by design should be a playbook? Many thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan1)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-only-play-tasks-with-specific-tags-in-playbook/15651/5 "2014-07-18T01:39:11Z")
“Surely a playbook by design should be a playbook?” All ducks must quack, except when they are elephants. ---
**Author:** ![Brendon\_Standing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9a140/32.png) [@Brendon\_Standing](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Brendon_Standing)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 1:07pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-only-play-tasks-with-specific-tags-in-playbook/15651/6 "2014-07-18T13:07:52Z")
This is why I generally don’t join forums. Clearly your experience is limited to a small component stack and I should have gone with Chef. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5e9695/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan1)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/how-to-only-play-tasks-with-specific-tags-in-playbook/15651/7 "2014-07-18T18:06:37Z")
Heh.