community.windows.win_shortcut – Manage shortcuts on Windows

Note

This plugin is part of the community.windows collection (version 1.7.0).

You might already have this collection installed if you are using the ansible package. It is not included in ansible-core. To check whether it is installed, run ansible-galaxy collection list.

To install it, use: ansible-galaxy collection install community.windows.

To use it in a playbook, specify: community.windows.win_shortcut.

Synopsis

  • Create, manage and delete Windows shortcuts

Parameters

Parameter Choices/Defaults Comments
arguments
string
Additional arguments for the executable defined in src.

aliases: args
description
string
Description for the shortcut.
This is usually shown when hoovering the icon.
dest
path / required
Destination file for the shortcuting file.
File name should have a .lnk or .url extension.
directory
path
Working directory for executable defined in src.
hotkey
string
Key combination for the shortcut.
This is a combination of one or more modifiers and a key.
Possible modifiers are Alt, Ctrl, Shift, Ext.
Possible keys are [A-Z] and [0-9].
icon
path
Icon used for the shortcut.
File name should have a .ico extension.
The file name is followed by a comma and the number in the library file (.dll) or use 0 for an image file.
run_as_admin
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
When src is an executable, this can control whether the shortcut will be opened as an administrator or not.
src
string
Executable or URL the shortcut points to.
The executable needs to be in your PATH, or has to be an absolute path to the executable.
state
string
    Choices:
  • absent
  • present ←
When absent, removes the shortcut if it exists.
When present, creates or updates the shortcut.
windowstyle
string
    Choices:
  • maximized
  • minimized
  • normal
Influences how the application is displayed when it is launched.

Notes

Note

  • The following options can include Windows environment variables: dest, args, description, dest, directory, icon src
  • Windows has two types of shortcuts: Application and URL shortcuts. URL shortcuts only consists of dest and src

See Also

See also

ansible.windows.win_file

The official documentation on the ansible.windows.win_file module.

Examples

- name: Create an application shortcut on the desktop
  community.windows.win_shortcut:
    src: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe
    dest: C:\Users\Public\Desktop\Mozilla Firefox.lnk
    icon: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe,0

- name: Create the same shortcut using environment variables
  community.windows.win_shortcut:
    description: The Mozilla Firefox web browser
    src: '%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe'
    dest: '%Public%\Desktop\Mozilla Firefox.lnk'
    icon: '%ProgramFiles\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe,0'
    directory: '%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox'
    hotkey: Ctrl+Alt+F

- name: Create an application shortcut for an executable in PATH to your desktop
  community.windows.win_shortcut:
    src: cmd.exe
    dest: Desktop\Command prompt.lnk

- name: Create an application shortcut for the Ansible website
  community.windows.win_shortcut:
    src: '%ProgramFiles%\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe'
    dest: '%UserProfile%\Desktop\Ansible website.lnk'
    arguments: --new-window https://ansible.com/
    directory: '%ProgramFiles%\Google\Chrome\Application'
    icon: '%ProgramFiles%\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe,0'
    hotkey: Ctrl+Alt+A

- name: Create a URL shortcut for the Ansible website
  community.windows.win_shortcut:
    src: https://ansible.com/
    dest: '%Public%\Desktop\Ansible website.url'

Authors

  • Dag Wieers (@dagwieers)

© 2012–2018 Michael DeHaan
© 2018–2021 Red Hat, Inc.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/community/windows/win_shortcut_module.html