win_shell - Execute shell commands on target hosts
New in version 2.2.
Synopsis
- The
win_shell
module takes the command name followed by a list of space-delimited arguments. It is similar to the win_command module, but runs the command via a shell (defaults to PowerShell) on the target host. - For non-Windows targets, use the shell module instead.
Parameters
Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments |
---|---|---|
chdir | Set the specified path as the current working directory before executing a command | |
creates | A path or path filter pattern; when the referenced path exists on the target host, the task will be skipped. | |
executable | Change the shell used to execute the command (eg, cmd ).The target shell must accept a /c parameter followed by the raw command line to be executed. | |
free_form required | The win_shell module takes a free form command to run.There is no parameter actually named 'free form'. See the examples! | |
removes | A path or path filter pattern; when the referenced path does not exist on the target host, the task will be skipped. | |
stdin (added in 2.5) | Set the stdin of the command directly to the specified value. |
Notes
Note
- If you want to run an executable securely and predictably, it may be better to use the win_command module instead. Best practices when writing playbooks will follow the trend of using win_command unless
win_shell
is explicitly required. When running ad-hoc commands, use your best judgement. - WinRM will not return from a command execution until all child processes created have exited. Thus, it is not possible to use
win_shell
to spawn long-running child or background processes. Consider creating a Windows service for managing background processes. - For non-Windows targets, use the shell module instead.
- See also win_command, raw
Examples
# Execute a command in the remote shell; stdout goes to the specified # file on the remote. - win_shell: C:\somescript.ps1 >> C:\somelog.txt # Change the working directory to somedir/ before executing the command. - win_shell: C:\somescript.ps1 >> C:\somelog.txt chdir=C:\somedir # You can also use the 'args' form to provide the options. This command # will change the working directory to somedir/ and will only run when # somedir/somelog.txt doesn't exist. - win_shell: C:\somescript.ps1 >> C:\somelog.txt args: chdir: C:\somedir creates: C:\somelog.txt # Run a command under a non-Powershell interpreter (cmd in this case) - win_shell: echo %HOMEDIR% args: executable: cmd register: homedir_out - name: run multi-lined shell commands win_shell: | $value = Test-Path -Path C:\temp if ($value) { Remove-Item -Path C:\temp -Force } New-Item -Path C:\temp -ItemType Directory - name: retrieve the input based on stdin win_shell: '$string = [Console]::In.ReadToEnd(); Write-Output $string.Trim()' args: stdin: Input message
Return Values
Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:
Key | Returned | Description |
---|---|---|
cmd string | always | The command executed by the task Sample: rabbitmqctl join_cluster rabbit@master |
delta string | always | The command execution delta time Sample: 0:00:00.325771 |
end string | always | The command execution end time Sample: 2016-02-25 09:18:26.755339 |
msg boolean | always | changed Sample: True |
rc int | always | The command return code (0 means success) |
start string | always | The command execution start time Sample: 2016-02-25 09:18:26.429568 |
stderr string | always | The command standard error Sample: ls: cannot access foo: No such file or directory |
stdout string | always | The command standard output Sample: Clustering node rabbit@slave1 with rabbit@master ... |
stdout_lines list | always | The command standard output split in lines Sample: ["u'Clustering node rabbit@slave1 with rabbit@master ...'"] |
Status
This module is flagged as preview which means that it is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface.
Maintenance
This module is flagged as core which means that it is maintained by the Ansible Core Team. See Module Maintenance & Support for more info.
For a list of other modules that are also maintained by the Ansible Core Team, see here.
Support
For more information about Red Hat’s support of this module, please refer to this Knowledge Base article
Author
- Matt Davis (@nitzmahone)
Hint
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© 2012–2018 Michael DeHaan
© 2018–2019 Red Hat, Inc.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/2.6/modules/win_shell_module.html