include error message misleading

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1

I distilled the problem down to a simple YAML file:

`

  • hosts: apps2

vars:
TOP_BAD: “…”

tasks:

  • name: check TOP
    debug: msg=“{{TOP}}”

handlers:

  • include: “{{TOP}}/handlers/apache_graceful.yml”

`

When I save this in inc.yml and run this command:

ansible-playbook -i ../hosts inc.yml

I get this output:

ERROR: file could not read: /home/tekberg/src/ansible_scripts/provision_apps2/{{TOP}}/handlers/apache_graceful.yml

The actual problem is that the variable TOP is not defined, which should have been detected prior to trying to open the file. If I change TOP_BAD to TOP, the script runs to completion with no errors.

Why didn’t the interpolation code complain that TOP was undefined?

2

“Why didn’t the interpolation code complain that TOP was undefined?”

Because we developers are horrible terrible people that want to cause you pain.

I would ask what version of Ansible you are using and if undefined variable detection is turned on. If on, I would expect this to result in an error, and if not, filing a github ticket would be a good thing.

Thanks!