# Read from text file then add a user **URL:** \ **Category:** Get Help\ **Created:** [March 27, 2024, 10:43am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588 "2024-03-27T10:43:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kathy\_L](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/kathy_l/32/2652_2.png) [@Kathy\_L](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Kathy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 10:43am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/1 "2024-03-27T10:43:40Z")
I am trying to read from a file and use the content within to add a user. Here is what my text file looks like: > IP: x.x.x.x > version: x.x > username: ted password: secretpassword > username: bill password: another password > … other data here And here is how I am reading it. i want to read in only the lines that begin with username, then use that data to create a user. > hosts: localhost > gather\_facts: false > vars: > content: “{{ lookup(‘file’, ‘data.txt’) }}” > tasks: > > - name: get usernames > set\_fact: content.split(‘\n’) | map(‘trim’) | select(‘search’), ‘^username’) | list }}" > - name: create user > user: > name: “{{ item.username }}” > group: “{{ item.username }}” > loop: “{{ newcontent }}” The variable newcontent contains this: > username: ted password: secretpassword > username: bill password: another password How do I get the username and password from the list newcontent? ---
**Author:** ![jrglynn2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/94ad74/32.png) [@jrglynn2](https://forum.ansible.com/u/jrglynn2)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 3:52pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/2 "2024-03-27T15:52:58Z")
Looks like you might need to use some sort of combination of splits? [ansible.builtin.split filter – split a string into a list — Ansible Community Documentation](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/split_filter.html) ---
**Author:** ![utoddl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/utoddl/32/249_2.png) [@utoddl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/utoddl)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 6:16pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/3 "2024-03-27T18:16:43Z")
The hard part is getting the quotes right. Look at this: ```yaml --- - name: Read user info hosts: localhost gather_facts: false vars: # content: "{{ lookup('file', 'username.txt') }}" content: | IP: x.x.x.x version: x.x username: bob password: secretpassword username: carol password: another password IP: x.x.x.x version: x.x username: ted password: lksj'ldf"98<79>6768z67%&^%& username: alice password: another password tasks: - name: Parse username and passwords from content ansible.builtin.debug: msg: 'username: «{{ item[0] }}», password: «{{ item[1] }}»' loop: "{{ content | split('\n') | select('match', 'username:') | map('regex_replace', '^username: (.*?) password: (.*)$', '\\1\n\\2') | map('split', '\n') }}" ``` which produces ```txt TASK [Parse username and passwords from content] ***************************** task path: /home/utoddl/ansible/username.yml:17 ok: [localhost] => (item=['bob', 'secretpassword']) => msg: 'username: «bob», password: «secretpassword»' ok: [localhost] => (item=['carol', 'another password']) => msg: 'username: «carol», password: «another password»' ok: [localhost] => (item=['ted', 'lksj\'ldf"98<79>6768z67%&^%&']) => msg: 'username: «ted», password: «lksj''ldf"98<79>6768z67%&^%&»' ok: [localhost] => (item=['alice', 'another password']) => msg: 'username: «alice», password: «another password»' ``` Note particularly that `loop:` expression. It’s a double-quoted string, so the what looks like a single-quoted “`\`” and “`n`” in those `split`s are actually literal new-line characters by the time `split` is invoked. Similarly, that `'\\1\n\\2'` in the `regex_replace` becomes: - a single backslash - the digit `1` - a literal new-line - another single backslash - the digit `2` by the time `regex_replace` is invoked. Anyway, maybe that will be of some help. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Denney-tech](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/denney-tech/32/1556_2.png) [@Denney-tech](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Denney-tech)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2024, 6:19pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/4 "2024-03-27T18:19:16Z")
Good stuff! That’s some handy regex right there. ---
**Author:** ![kurokobo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/kurokobo/32/182_2.png) [@kurokobo](https://forum.ansible.com/u/kurokobo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 12:25pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/5 "2024-03-28T12:25:38Z")
In the short term, regular expressions are a good approach, but in the long term, tricky implementations can easily be a technical debt. As a next step, I personally recommend you to consider changing the original text file format to make it easier to process in Ansible 😃 For example, CSV, YAML, etc… ```csv username,password ted,secretpassword bill,another password ``` ```yaml IP: x.x.x.x version: x.x users: - {"username": "ted", "password": "secretpassword"} - {"username": "bill", "password": "another password"} ``` ---
**Author:** ![kathyl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/46a35a/32.png) [@kathyl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/kathyl)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 12:48pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/6 "2024-04-01T12:48:39Z")
We currently have it working with a yaml file, but the people in charge want a text file, or json (which I haven’t tested yet) as the data is ingested to another system. I’ll try the regex example this morning. ---
**Author:** ![Denney-tech](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/denney-tech/32/1556_2.png) [@Denney-tech](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Denney-tech)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2024, 1:59pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/7 "2024-04-01T13:59:09Z")
+1 for json. That would be super easy to work with in Ansible. ---
**Author:** ![kathyl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/46a35a/32.png) [@kathyl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/kathyl)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/8 "2024-04-08T16:42:50Z")
Thanks. I get something a bit different though. This is what I get printed out: > (item=[‘username: ted password: secretpassword’] ) =\> { > msg: “username: "username: ted password: secretpassword", password: "username: ted password is secretpassword"” > > (item=[‘username: bob password: secretpassword’] ) =\> { > msg: “username: "username: bob password: secretpassword", password: "username: bob password is secretpassword"” ---
**Author:** ![utoddl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/utoddl/32/249_2.png) [@utoddl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/utoddl)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 5:08pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/9 "2024-04-08T17:08:19Z")
Can you give us more context? What are you reading in, and how? ---
**Author:** ![kathyl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/46a35a/32.png) [@kathyl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/kathyl)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 5:51pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/10 "2024-04-08T17:51:30Z")
Sure. The data.txt file has this: username: ted password: secretpassword username: bob password: another password The ansible starts like this: > hosts: localhost > gather\_facts: false > vars: > content: “{{ lookup(‘file’, ‘data.txt’) }}” > > tasks: > > - debug: > msg: “{{ content }}” > … > then the code I posted above “Content” has the correct data in it. ---
**Author:** ![utoddl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/utoddl/32/249_2.png) [@utoddl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/utoddl)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2024, 6:01pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/11 "2024-04-08T18:01:31Z")
Sorry to sound picky, @kathyl , but it’s a lot easier to fix, or suggest fixes, to code we can copy-n-paste than it is to try to pull together snippets from prior posts. Also, if you can bracket your code between tripple-backtick lines that would help a lot, too. Otherwise your yaml lists come out as markdown bullet points. ---
**Author:** ![kathyl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/46a35a/32.png) [@kathyl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/kathyl)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 9:07am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/12 "2024-04-09T09:07:54Z")
That’s not picky at all - makes complete sense. Here is my code in its totality: ```auto gather_facts: false vars: content: “{{ lookup(‘file’, ‘data.txt’) }}” tasks: - name: Debug ansible.builtin.debug: msg: “{{ content }}” - name: Parse username and passwords from content ansible.builtin.debug: msg: 'username: «{{ item[0] }}», password: «{{ item[1] }}»' loop: "{{ content | split('\n') | select('match', 'username:') | map('regex_replace', '^username: (.*?) password: (.*)$', '\\1\n\\2') | map('split', '\n') }}" ``` My data.txt reads as follows: ````auto username: bob, password: anotherpassword ``` ```` ---
**Author:** ![utoddl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/utoddl/32/249_2.png) [@utoddl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/utoddl)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 10:11am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/13 "2024-04-09T10:11:16Z")
Ah yes, I see the problem now. You’ve been bitten by **“_smart quotes_”**. This: ```auto content: “{{ lookup(‘file’, ‘data.txt’) }}” ``` should be: ```auto content: "{{ lookup('file', 'data.txt') }}" ``` Note that both the single- and double-quotes need fixing. It’s also an issue in your `debug` task’s `msg:` line. Somehow, all the quotes in your `loop:` expression seem to be intact. It is very hard to see the difference in the default size here on the forum. I have to `[ctrl] + [shift] + [+]` a couple of times before I can see it. ---
**Author:** ![kathyl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/46a35a/32.png) [@kathyl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/kathyl)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 3:32pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/14 "2024-04-09T15:32:33Z")
It must be the font I am using here. My code has ’ and " - the correct type of quotes. ---
**Author:** ![chris](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/chris/32/293_2.png) [@chris](https://forum.ansible.com/u/chris)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 3:37pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/15 "2024-04-09T15:37:35Z")
This might not be the issue, but > [@kathyl](#): > > ’ Is not the same as `'` 🤷 . ---
**Author:** ![utoddl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/utoddl/32/249_2.png) [@utoddl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/utoddl)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/16 "2024-04-09T15:38:19Z")
Of the two you just posted, the single-quote is `"U+2019"`, not `"U+0027"`. The double-quote is okay: `"U+0022"`. (Note: discourse is converting double-quotes outside of back-ticks to “those other marks” – but only when they are in pairs. I had not noticed that before. Probably works okay in text. Horrible for un-back-tick quoted code.) ---
**Author:** ![kathyl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/46a35a/32.png) [@kathyl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/kathyl)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/17 "2024-04-09T16:38:19Z")
In my code i am using “U+2019” and “U+0022” ---
**Author:** ![Denney-tech](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/denney-tech/32/1556_2.png) [@Denney-tech](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Denney-tech)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/18 "2024-04-09T17:28:04Z")
> [@kathyl](#): > > Sure. The data.txt file has this: > username: ted password: secretpassword > username: bob password: another password > [@kathyl](#): > > My data.txt reads as follows: > > ````auto > username: bob, password: anotherpassword ``` > > ```` You’re rather inconsistent. Does your data.txt file have comma delimitters? That would have made things a lot easier to begin with. If there’s a comma, re-using @utoddl’s snippet earlier: ```yaml --- - name: Read user info hosts: localhost gather_facts: false vars: # content: "{{ lookup('file', 'username.txt') }}" content: | IP: x.x.x.x version: x.x username: bob, password: secretpassword username: carol, password: another password IP: x.x.x.x version: x.x username: ted, password: lksj'ldf"98<79>6768z67%&^%& username: alice, password: another password tasks: - name: Parse username and passwords from content ansible.builtin.debug: msg: 'username: {{ item.username }}, password: {{ item.password }}' loop: "{{ content | split('\n') | select('match', 'username:') | map('regex_replace', ',\\s+', '\n') | map('from_yaml') }}" ``` results in: ```bash PLAY [Read user info] **************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** TASK [Parse username and passwords from content] ************************************************************************************************************************************************************* ok: [localhost] => (item={'username': 'bob', 'password': 'secretpassword'}) => { "msg": "username: bob, password: secretpassword" } ok: [localhost] => (item={'username': 'carol', 'password': 'another password'}) => { "msg": "username: carol, password: another password" } ok: [localhost] => (item={'username': 'ted', 'password': 'lksj\'ldf"98<79>6768z67%&^%&'}) => { "msg": "username: ted, password: lksj'ldf\"98<79>6768z67%&^%&" } ok: [localhost] => (item={'username': 'alice', 'password': 'another password'}) => { "msg": "username: alice, password: another password" } PLAY RECAP *************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** localhost : ok=1 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0 ``` ---
**Author:** ![kathyl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/46a35a/32.png) [@kathyl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/kathyl)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2024, 12:06pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/19 "2024-04-10T12:06:19Z")
That works perfectly - thank you so much! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/original/1X/1882d9a01da5d8996a862359b0913cc568a39b84.svg) [@system](https://forum.ansible.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2024, 12:07pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/read-from-text-file-then-add-a-user/4588/20 "2024-05-10T12:07:09Z")
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