# user: parameter **URL:** \ **Category:** Ansible Project\ **Created:** [January 2, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/user-parameter/12180 "2013-01-02T12:55:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mark\_Maas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7c8e57/32.png) [@Mark\_Maas](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Mark_Maas)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/user-parameter/12180/1 "2013-01-02T12:55:30Z")
Hi List, I’m trying to run a command as a different user like so: ---
**Author:** ![Brian\_Coca1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Brian\_Coca1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Brian_Coca1)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/user-parameter/12180/2 "2013-01-02T15:06:19Z")
I believe you want sudo\_user. User is the one you login as. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Maas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7c8e57/32.png) [@Mark\_Maas](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Mark_Maas)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 6:05am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/user-parameter/12180/3 "2013-01-03T06:05:51Z")
Ah ok, I used the example from here: [https://gist.github.com/2897937](https://gist.github.com/2897937) ```auto ########## ``` ```auto # Run things as other users! ``` ```auto # ``` ```auto # Each task has an optional 'user' and 'sudo' flag to indicate which ``` ```auto # user a task should run as and whether or not to use 'sudo' to switch ``` ```auto # to that user. ``` ```auto - name: dump all postgres databases ``` ```auto action: pg_dumpall -w -f /tmp/backup.psql ``` ```auto user: postgres ``` ```auto sudo: False But now it does work, thanks! ``` ---
**Author:** ![Brian\_Coca1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Brian\_Coca1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Brian_Coca1)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/user-parameter/12180/4 "2013-01-03T20:58:41Z")
Hmm, either docs are wrong or code is not working as expected, either way looks like a patch (to docs or code) is needed. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 1:04am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/user-parameter/12180/5 "2013-01-04T01:04:32Z")
IIRC, only sudo\_user could be set on a task, and not user. The docs shouldn't imply user can be set on anything but a play, and it should yell at you if you try. Though if it doesn't yell at you, I'm inclined to think it's just a bug that it doesn't currently work like that 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Daniel\_Hokka\_Zakriss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@Daniel\_Hokka\_Zakriss](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Daniel_Hokka_Zakriss)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 8:47am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/user-parameter/12180/6 "2013-01-04T08:47:34Z")
Michael DeHaan wrote: > IIRC, only sudo\_user could be set on a task, and not user. The docs > shouldn't imply user can be set on anything but a play, and it should > yell at you if you try. > > Though if it doesn't yell at you, I'm inclined to think it's just a > bug that it doesn't currently work like that 🙂 Actually, user: is an invocation of the user module, which is why it's yelling at you for having two actions, so it appears to be doing the right thing here. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Brian\_Coca1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Brian\_Coca1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Brian_Coca1)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/user-parameter/12180/7 "2013-01-04T14:34:51Z")
remote\_user, might be what you are looking for ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Maas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7c8e57/32.png) [@Mark\_Maas](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Mark_Maas)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 6:10am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/user-parameter/12180/8 "2013-01-07T06:10:30Z")
Hi all, Thanks for the feedback. I have indeed found the sudo\_user in the [playbooks manual section](http://ansible.cc/docs/playbooks.html#basics). So it was definitely explained already, I just used the wrong documentation. Brian, I’m also looking for that remote\_user, to see what the difference between the two are, but I cannot seem to find any reference for it in the official documentation? Is the remote\_user variable not only used inside the various module’s code? Thanks, Mark ---
**Author:** ![Brian\_Coca1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Brian\_Coca1](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Brian_Coca1)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 7:03am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/user-parameter/12180/9 "2013-01-07T07:03:02Z")
Last I looked (a few months back) remote\_user (aka login user) gets evaluated at connection level w/o looking at tasks. You should be able to set it at host or playbook level but not at task. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_DeHaan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@Michael\_DeHaan](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Michael_DeHaan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/user-parameter/12180/10 "2013-01-08T12:57:28Z")
Correct, plays are more or less defined as the set of the user and hosts/groups you are talking to a set of tasks.