# Trying to replace single quote with regex\_replace **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Tags:** vmware\ **Created:** [January 10, 2024, 2:08pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646 "2024-01-10T14:08:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dyioulos](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/dyioulos/32/8363_2.png) [@dyioulos](https://forum.ansible.com/u/dyioulos)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 2:08pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646/1 "2024-01-10T14:08:45Z")
Hello, all. I’m working with VMware modules in removing snapshots across all vCenter folders. In order for this to work, I first have to get the folders in which the virtual machines live. Here’s the playbook: ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Rowe](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/walter_rowe/32/4506_2.png) [@Walter\_Rowe](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Walter_Rowe)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 2:27pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646/2 "2024-01-10T14:27:09Z")
Have you tried: **regex\_replace(‘(\[)|(\])|(\')’, ‘’)** Walter ---
**Author:** ![dyioulos](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/dyioulos/32/8363_2.png) [@dyioulos](https://forum.ansible.com/u/dyioulos)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646/3 "2024-01-10T14:56:37Z")
Hi, Walter. Yes, and it fails: **fatal: [api-dev-01 → localhost]: FAILED! =\> {** **“msg”: “template error while templating string: expected token ‘end of print statement’, got ‘string’. String: {{ vm\_facts.folders | regex\_replace(‘(\\[)|(\\])|(\\’)', ‘’) }}. expected token ‘end of print statement’, got ‘string’”** **}** ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Rowe](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/walter_rowe/32/4506_2.png) [@Walter\_Rowe](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Walter_Rowe)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646/4 "2024-01-10T15:14:17Z")
This works. regex\_replace("([\[\]‘])",’') Escaping the double quotes that define the search regex gets around needing to escape the single quote. Also note that I collapsed your search into a single character set. ---
**Author:** ![dyioulos](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/dyioulos/32/8363_2.png) [@dyioulos](https://forum.ansible.com/u/dyioulos)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646/5 "2024-01-10T15:33:53Z")
Walter, that worked, and thanks so much! I both appreciate the regex solution, and it simplification. I also probably be able to reuse this, with some modifications, depending on what I’m trying to accomplish. Double win. Thanks again! ---
**Author:** ![dyioulos](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/dyioulos/32/8363_2.png) [@dyioulos](https://forum.ansible.com/u/dyioulos)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646/6 "2024-01-10T16:03:17Z")
Walter, to further my knowledge, would you mind explaining further what this regex "([\[\]‘])",’ does? Is the regex specifi to regex\_replace? ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Rowe](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/walter_rowe/32/4506_2.png) [@Walter\_Rowe](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Walter_Rowe)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646/7 "2024-01-10T16:14:18Z")
In plain terms it is really this: ['] The outside square brackets define a character set. The characters in between mean “any of these”. Since square brackets define a character set we have to escape the inside square brackets to be see as characters in the set. ['] Since this is ansible we have to escape the backslashes. [\[\]'] You could place any characters in that set. The regex matches _any_ of them any number of times. For example I could use [walter] and it would look for any of those characters. You also can use ranges like [a-dv-z]. This all follows Python regex rules. Walter ---
**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:** [January 10, 2024, 5:16pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646/8 "2024-01-10T17:16:44Z")
> "['/First Datacenter/vm/Prod-SRM']" > The problem is [' and ']. They can't be part pf the folder name. FWIW, convert the string to a list s: "['/First Datacenter/vm/Prod-SRM']" l: "{{ s|from\_yaml }}" gives l.0: /First Datacenter/vm/Prod-SRM ---
**Author:** ![Walter\_Rowe](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/walter_rowe/32/4506_2.png) [@Walter\_Rowe](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Walter_Rowe)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646/9 "2024-01-10T17:24:26Z")
Even better! Brilliant! Walter ---
**Author:** ![dyioulos](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/dyioulos/32/8363_2.png) [@dyioulos](https://forum.ansible.com/u/dyioulos)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646/10 "2024-01-12T17:05:16Z")
Thanks, Vladimir. Forgive my stupidity but, for my edification, how is that actually written in the playbook? ---
**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:** [January 12, 2024, 8:20pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/trying-to-replace-single-quote-with-regex-replace/38646/11 "2024-01-12T20:20:31Z")
> \> FWIW, convert the string to a list > \> > \> s: "['/First Datacenter/vm/Prod-SRM']" > \> l: "{{ s|from\_yaml }}" > how is that actually written in the playbook? For example, > cat pb1.yml - hosts: all   vars:     s: "['/First Datacenter/vm/Prod-SRM']"     l: "{{ s|from\_yaml }}"   tasks:     - debug:         var: l|type\_debug     - debug:         var: l.0 gives (abridged)   l\>type\_debug: list   l.0: /First Datacenter/vm/Prod-SRM But, the code in your first email shows you get \*vm\_facts\* as registered output of \*community.vmware.vmware\_guest\_find\*. Take a look at the Return Values of this module [https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/vmware/vmware\_guest\_find\_module.html#return-values](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/vmware/vmware_guest_find_module.html#return-values) The documentation says \*folders\* is "list/elements=string". In this case, no conversion is needed to get the element of the list. For example, > cat pb2.yml - hosts: all   vars:     vm\_facts:       folders: ['/First Datacenter/vm/Prod-SRM']   tasks:     - debug:         var: vm\_facts.folders|type\_debug     - debug:         var: vm\_facts.folders.0 gives (abridged)   vm\_facts.folders|type\_debug: list   vm\_facts.folders.0: /First Datacenter/vm/Prod-SRM FWIW, try community.general.yaml callback. YAML is much easier to read compared to JSON. See [https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/general/yaml\_callback.html](https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/general/yaml_callback.html)