Ansible ad-hoc commands

Common Use Cases and Examples

1. Ping Hosts

Check if the hosts are reachable.

ansible all -m ping        

2. Gather Facts

Collect information about the remote hosts.

ansible all -m gather_facts        

3. Run Shell Commands

Execute shell commands on remote hosts.

ansible all -m shell -a 'uptime'
ansible all -m command -a 'uptime'        

4. Copy Files

Copy files from the local machine to remote hosts.

ansible all -m copy -a 'src=/path/to/local/file dest=/path/to/remote/destination'        

5. Manage Packages

Install, update, or remove packages on remote hosts.

ansible all -m apt -a 'name=htop state=present' -b        

6. Manage Services

Start, stop, or restart services on remote hosts.

ansible all -m service -a 'name=nginx state=started' -b        

7. Create Users

Add a new user on remote hosts.

ansible all -m user -a 'name=Manasee state=present' -b        

8. Modify File Permissions

Change the permissions of files or directories on remote hosts.

ansible all -m file -a 'path=/path/to/file mode=0755' -b        

9. Target Specific Hosts

ansible webservers -m ping        

10. Use Patterns

ansible 'webservers: !dbservers' -m ping