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ansible.builtin.script module – Runs a local script on a remote node after transferring it

Note

This module is part of ansible-core and included in all Ansible installations. In most cases, you can use the short module name script even without specifying the collections keyword. However, we recommend you use the Fully Qualified Collection Name (FQCN) ansible.builtin.script for easy linking to the module documentation and to avoid conflicting with other collections that may have the same module name.

Synopsis

  • The ansible.builtin.script module takes the script name followed by a list of space-delimited arguments.
  • Either a free-form command or cmd parameter is required, see the examples.
  • The local script at the path will be transferred to the remote node and then executed.
  • The given script will be processed through the shell environment on the remote node.
  • This module does not require Python on the remote system, much like the ansible.builtin.raw module.
  • This module is also supported for Windows targets.

Note

This module has a corresponding action plugin.

Parameters

Parameter

Comments

chdir

string

Change into this directory on the remote node before running the script.

cmd

string

Path to the local script to run followed by optional arguments.

creates

string

A filename on the remote node, when it already exists, this step will not be run.

decrypt

boolean

This option controls the auto-decryption of source files using vault.

Choices:

  • false
  • true ← (default)

executable

string

Name or path of an executable to invoke the script with.

free_form

string

Path to the local script file followed by optional arguments.

removes

string

A filename on the remote node, when it does not exist, this step will not be run.

Attributes

Attribute

Support

Description

check_mode

Support: partial

while the script itself is arbitrary and cannot be subject to the check mode semantics it adds creates/removes options as a workaround

Can run in check_mode and return changed status prediction without modifying target, if not supported the action will be skipped.

diff_mode

Support: none

Will return details on what has changed (or possibly needs changing in check_mode), when in diff mode

platform

Platforms: all

This action is one of the few that requires no Python on the remote as it passes the command directly into the connection string

Target OS/families that can be operated against

raw

Support: full

Indicates if an action takes a ‘raw’ or ‘free form’ string as an option and has it’s own special parsing of it

safe_file_operations

Support: none

Uses Ansible’s strict file operation functions to ensure proper permissions and avoid data corruption

vault

Support: full

Can automatically decrypt Ansible vaulted files

Notes

Note

  • It is usually preferable to write Ansible modules rather than pushing scripts. Convert your script to an Ansible module for bonus points!
  • The ansible.builtin.ssh connection plugin will force pseudo-tty allocation via -tt when scripts are executed. Pseudo-ttys do not have a stderr channel and all stderr is sent to stdout. If you depend on separated stdout and stderr result keys, please switch to a set of tasks that comprises ansible.builtin.copy with ansible.builtin.command instead of using ansible.builtin.script.
  • If the path to the local script contains spaces, it needs to be quoted.
  • This module is also supported for Windows targets.
  • If the script returns non-UTF-8 data, it must be encoded to avoid issues. One option is to pipe the output through base64.

See Also

See also

ansible.builtin.shell

Execute shell commands on targets.

ansible.windows.win_shell

Execute shell commands on target hosts.

Examples

- name: Run a script with arguments (free form)
  ansible.builtin.script: /some/local/script.sh --some-argument 1234

- name: Run a script with arguments (using 'cmd' parameter)
  ansible.builtin.script:
    cmd: /some/local/script.sh --some-argument 1234

- name: Run a script only if file.txt does not exist on the remote node
  ansible.builtin.script: /some/local/create_file.sh --some-argument 1234
  args:
    creates: /the/created/file.txt

- name: Run a script only if file.txt exists on the remote node
  ansible.builtin.script: /some/local/remove_file.sh --some-argument 1234
  args:
    removes: /the/removed/file.txt

- name: Run a script using an executable in a non-system path
  ansible.builtin.script: /some/local/script
  args:
    executable: /some/remote/executable

- name: Run a script using an executable in a system path
  ansible.builtin.script: /some/local/script.py
  args:
    executable: python3

- name: Run a Powershell script on a Windows host
  script: subdirectories/under/path/with/your/playbook/script.ps1

Authors

  • Ansible Core Team
  • Michael DeHaan

© 2012–2018 Michael DeHaan
© 2018–2025 Red Hat, Inc.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/script_module.html