.. _ansible.windows.win_shell_module: ************************* ansible.windows.win_shell ************************* **Execute shell commands on target hosts** .. contents:: :local: :depth: 1 Synopsis -------- - The :ref:`ansible.windows.win_shell ` module takes the command name followed by a list of space-delimited arguments. It is similar to the :ref:`ansible.windows.win_command ` module, but runs the command via a shell (defaults to PowerShell) on the target host. - For non-Windows targets, use the :ref:`ansible.builtin.shell ` module instead. Parameters ---------- .. raw:: html
Parameter Choices/Defaults Comments
chdir
path
Set the specified path as the current working directory before executing a command
creates
path
A path or path filter pattern; when the referenced path exists on the target host, the task will be skipped.
executable
path
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
string / required
The ansible.windows.win_shell module takes a free form command to run.
There is no parameter actually named 'free form'. See the examples!
no_profile
boolean
    Choices:
  • no ←
  • yes
Do not load the user profile before running a command. This is only valid when using PowerShell as the executable.
output_encoding_override
string
This option overrides the encoding of stdout/stderr output.
You can use this option when you need to run a command which ignore the console's codepage.
You should only need to use this option in very rare circumstances.
This value can be any valid encoding Name based on the output of [System.Text.Encoding]::GetEncodings(). See https://docs.microsoft.com/dotnet/api/system.text.encoding.getencodings.
removes
path
A path or path filter pattern; when the referenced path does not exist on the target host, the task will be skipped.
stdin
string
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 :ref:`ansible.windows.win_command ` module instead. Best practices when writing playbooks will follow the trend of using :ref:`ansible.windows.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 :ref:`ansible.windows.win_shell ` to spawn long-running child or background processes. Consider creating a Windows service for managing background processes. - Consider using :ref:`ansible.windows.win_powershell ` if you want to capture the output from the PowerShell script as structured objects. See Also -------- .. seealso:: :ref:`community.windows.psexec_module` The official documentation on the **community.windows.psexec** module. :ref:`ansible.builtin.raw_module` The official documentation on the **ansible.builtin.raw** module. :ref:`ansible.builtin.script_module` The official documentation on the **ansible.builtin.script** module. :ref:`ansible.builtin.shell_module` The official documentation on the **ansible.builtin.shell** module. :ref:`ansible.windows.win_command_module` The official documentation on the **ansible.windows.win_command** module. :ref:`ansible.windows.win_powershell_module` The official documentation on the **ansible.windows.win_powershell** module. :ref:`community.windows.win_psexec_module` The official documentation on the **community.windows.win_psexec** module. Examples -------- .. code-block:: yaml - name: Execute a command in the remote shell, stdout goes to the specified file on the remote ansible.windows.win_shell: C:\somescript.ps1 >> C:\somelog.txt - name: Change the working directory to somedir/ before executing the command ansible.windows.win_shell: C:\somescript.ps1 >> C:\somelog.txt args: chdir: C:\somedir - name: Run a command with an idempotent check on what it creates, will only run when somedir/somelog.txt does not exist ansible.windows.win_shell: C:\somescript.ps1 >> C:\somelog.txt args: chdir: C:\somedir creates: C:\somelog.txt - name: Run a command under a non-Powershell interpreter (cmd in this case) ansible.windows.win_shell: echo %HOMEDIR% args: executable: cmd register: homedir_out - name: Run multi-lined shell commands ansible.windows.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 ansible.windows.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: .. raw:: html
Key Returned Description
cmd
string
always
The command executed by the task.

Sample:
rabbitmqctl join_cluster rabbit@main
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
integer
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@main ...
stdout_lines
list
always
The command standard output split in lines.

Sample:
["u'Clustering node rabbit@slave1 with rabbit@main ...'"]


Status ------ Authors ~~~~~~~ - Matt Davis (@nitzmahone)