# Registering value from JSON output **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [August 27, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/registering-value-from-json-output/31143 "2019-08-27T19:44:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cade\_Lambert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@Cade\_Lambert](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Cade_Lambert)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/registering-value-from-json-output/31143/1 "2019-08-27T19:44:15Z")
I’m trying to register the value of a JSON object only when another JSON object is equal to a certain value, but I just can’t figure out how I’d do that. For example, this is my JSON output which is registered in the variable results\_var: “output”: { “json”: { “results”: [ { “name”: “item1” “id”: “26” } { “name”: “item2” “id”: “29” } { “name”: “item3” “id”: “10” } ] } } What I’d like to do is place the id into a variable only when the name matches a string. I was trying something like this but it fails because the variable is a list. - set\_fact: host\_id: “{{ item.id }}” when: item.name == “item2” loop: “{{ results\_var.output.json.results }}” ---
**Author:** ![Kai\_Stian\_Olstad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19adc/32.png) [@Kai\_Stian\_Olstad](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Kai_Stian_Olstad)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/registering-value-from-json-output/31143/2 "2019-08-27T19:53:47Z")
> I'm trying to register the value of a JSON object only when another JSON > object is equal to a certain value, but I just can't figure out how I'd do > that. > > For example, this is my JSON output which is registered in the variable > results\_var: > > "output": { >       "json": { >            "results": [ >                  { >                       "name": "item1" >                       "id": "26" >                   } >                  { >                       "name": "item2" >                       "id": "29" >                   } >                  { >                       "name": "item3" >                       "id": "10" >                   } >               ] >         } > } This output looks wired, it's missing commas after } in the list. > What I'd like to do is place the id into a variable only when the name > matches a string. > > I was trying something like this but it fails because the variable is a > list. > >    - set\_fact: >        host\_id: "{{ item.id }}" >      when: item.name == "item2" >      loop: "{{ results\_var.output.json.results }}" You should always provide the exact error message and probably the all the code too, at fist glance I don't see anything wrong with the code. ---
**Author:** ![vbotka](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/vbotka/32/359_2.png) [@vbotka](https://forum.ansible.com/u/vbotka)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/registering-value-from-json-output/31143/3 "2019-08-27T20:05:50Z")
json\_query does the job. For example     - set\_fact:         host\_id: "{{ json.results|json\_query('[?name==`item2`].id') }}" if the data is properly structured.   json:     results:     - id: '26'       name: item1     - id: '29'       name: item2     - id: '10'       name: item3 Cheers,   -vlado ---
**Author:** ![Cade\_Lambert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@Cade\_Lambert](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Cade_Lambert)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/registering-value-from-json-output/31143/4 "2019-08-28T15:04:16Z")
Ok, I guess a little background would help. I’m using the uri module to retrieve a list of hosts in an inventory from our Tower server. It returns the JSON output below. I’ve paired it down to just the pieces I care about. There are two servers in this inventory. I’d like to retrieve the id based on the server name. ok: [localhost] =\> { “host\_list.json.results”: [ { “ansible\_facts\_modified”: null, “created”: “2019-08-27T18:50:09.132071Z”, “description”: “”, “enabled”: true, “has\_active\_failures”: false, “has\_inventory\_sources”: false, “id”: 799, “insights\_system\_id”: null, “instance\_id”: “”, “inventory”: 18, “last\_job”: null, “last\_job\_host\_summary”: null, “modified”: “2019-08-27T18:50:09.132085Z”, “name”: “server1”, }, { “ansible\_facts\_modified”: “2019-08-28T14:41:17.846100Z”, “created”: “2019-08-26T19:28:55.187225Z”, “description”: “”, “enabled”: true, “has\_active\_failures”: false, “has\_inventory\_sources”: false, “id”: 790, “insights\_system\_id”: null, “instance\_id”: “”, “inventory”: 18, “last\_job”: 7879, “last\_job\_host\_summary”: 10273, “modified”: “2019-08-28T14:41:17.846235Z”, “name”: “server2”, } ] } I tried json\_query: - set\_fact: host\_id: “{{ host\_list.json.results|json\_query(‘[?name == ‘server2’].id’) }}” It threw the following error: fatal: [localhost]: FAILED! =\> {“msg”: “template error while templating string: expected token ‘,’, got ‘server2’. String: {{ host\_list.json.results|json\_query(‘[?name == ‘server2’].id’) }}”} ---
**Author:** ![vbotka](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/vbotka/32/359_2.png) [@vbotka](https://forum.ansible.com/u/vbotka)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/registering-value-from-json-output/31143/5 "2019-08-28T15:27:10Z")
The error is caused by your "improvement". The query works fine when you keep the backticks "`" that wrap the argument (both double and single-quotes have already been used elsewhere in the string). The tasks below     - set\_fact:         host\_id: "{{ results|json\_query('[?name==`server2`].id') }}"     - debug:         var: host\_id give     "host\_id": [         790     ] Cheers,   -vlado ---
**Author:** ![Cade\_Lambert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@Cade\_Lambert](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Cade_Lambert)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 3:35pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/registering-value-from-json-output/31143/6 "2019-08-28T15:35:23Z")
Ah, ok, I missed that those were backticks. So because we used double-quotes to encompass the whole argument, and single-quotes to encompass the json\_query argument, we cannot use single-quotes again to encompass the search string. We need to use something else, in this case backticks, to distinguish the search string? ---
**Author:** ![vbotka](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/vbotka/32/359_2.png) [@vbotka](https://forum.ansible.com/u/vbotka)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 4:25pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/registering-value-from-json-output/31143/7 "2019-08-28T16:25:03Z")
Right. It's possible to avoid them and declare a variable for this purpose.     - set\_fact:         host\_id: "{{ results|json\_query(query) }}"       vars:         query: "[?name=='server2'].id" ---
**Author:** ![Cade\_Lambert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@Cade\_Lambert](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Cade_Lambert)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/registering-value-from-json-output/31143/8 "2019-08-28T17:16:53Z")
Great, thanks for the help.