Multiple vars in with_nested problem

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1

Hi,

I'm trying out (Ansible 2.0.2.0 on Fedora 23). The snippet below is also on http://pastie.org/10821272

Goal: expand task #3 below so it installs for existing users all the files listed in the variable mc_templates.

Question: I tinkered but couldn't make it work (snippet + error at the end) so how do I do that? Is with_nested the right one to use? How do I reference items in user_exists.results and mc_templates?

vars:
mc_users:
      - usr: patrick
        base: /home/
      - usr: root
        base: /
      - usr: mockbuild
        base: /home/

mc_templates:
      - src: mc/ini.j2
        dst: ini

tasks:

- name: mc-set-colors | task #1 check if user exists
     shell: /usr/bin/getent passwd {{ item.usr }} | /usr/bin/wc -l | tr -d ' '
     with_items:
       - "{{ mc_users }}"
     register: "user_exists"
     tags: mc-set-colors

- name: mc-set-colors | task #2 make sure mc config dir exists
     file:
       dest: "{{ item.item.base }}{{ item.item.usr }}/.config/mc"
       owner: "{{ item.item.usr }}"
       group: "{{ item.item.usr }}"
       mode: 0755
       state: directory
       recurse: yes
     with_items:
       - "{{ user_exists.results }}"
     when: item.stdout == "1"
     tags: mc-set-colors

- name: mc-set-colors | task #3 install mc config template
     template:
       src: "mc/ini.j2"
       dest: "{{ item.item.base }}{{ item.item.usr }}/.config/mc/ini"
       owner: "{{ item.item.usr }}"
       group: "{{ item.item.usr }}"
       mode: 0644
       force: yes
       backup: no
     with_items:
       - "{{ user_exists.results }}"
     when: item.stdout == "1"
     tags: mc-set-colors

^^^ task #1, #2 and #3 work fine. I tried the change task #3 below but that results in an error. Any ideas?

- name: mc-set-colors | install mc config template
    template:
      src: "{{ item.1.src }}"
      dest: "{{ item.item.base }}{{ item.item.usr }}/.config/mc/{{ item.1.dst }}"
      owner: "{{ item.item.usr }}"
      group: "{{ item.item.usr }}"
      mode: 0644
      force: yes
      backup: no
    with_nested:
      - "{{ user_exists.results }}"
      - "{{ mc_templates }}"
    when: item.stdout == "1"
    tags: mc-set-colors

Resulting error:

TASK [laptop : mc-set-colors | install mc config template]

2

Please correct me if I am mistaken, I am no expert on this. Maybe
Brian can chime in.

I think you are creating a list here, which has two list elements. And
with_nested only works with dicts.

Try to join these two lists together (maybe use {{ foo + bar }} or
something similar) as argument for with_nested.

Johannes

3

Hi Johannes,

Thank you for your feedback.

    with_nested:
      - "{{ user_exists.results }}"
      - "{{ mc_templates }}"

Please correct me if I am mistaken, I am no expert on this. Maybe
Brian can chime in.

That would be nice :slight_smile:

I think you are creating a list here, which has two list elements. And
with_nested only works with dicts.

Got it, thanks. Taking a step back, if there is a simpler way to do this then I'm all ears. The goal is: install one or more files in a directory in the home of a user (skip if user does not exist).

Try to join these two lists together (maybe use {{ foo + bar }} or
something similar) as argument for with_nested.

I'll give that a try.

Thanks,
Patrick