Ansible Ad‑hoc Commands

An Ansible ad‑hoc command is a one‑line command used to perform quick tasks on one or more remote servers without writing a playbook.

It is mainly used for:

• Quick checks
• Small changes
• Troublesbleshooting
• Immediate actions

Why do we use Ad‑hoc Commands?

Ad‑hoc commands are used when:

• You don’t want to create a YAML playbook
• The task is temporary or one‑time
• You need fast execution
• You want to test connectivity or configuration

Ad‑hoc Command Examples

1. Ping all servers

ansible -m ping all

ansible -m ping all

• -m = modules
• There are several modules available
• all denotes all servers

2. Ping a specific group

ansible -m ping node

ansible -m ping node

• node means it is a group
• Hosts are added under this group

3. Check disk space

ansible -m command -a "df -h" all

ansible -m command -a "df -h" all

• -a is used to pass the command
• command is a command module
• df is used to check disk space

4. Use shell with pipeline

ansible -m shell -a "df -h | ls" all

ansible -m shell -a "df -h | ls" all

• shell is a command module
• Pipelines can be used

5. Install Apache using apt

ansible node -m apt -a "name=apache2 state=present update_cache=yes" -b

ansible node -m apt -a "name=apache2 state=present update_cache=yes" -b

• apt is a module to install apache2
• name is the package name
• state defines package state
• update_cache updates apt cache
• -b is used to run with elevated privileges

6. Restart a service

ansible -m service -a "name=apache2 state=restarted" all

ansible -m service -a "name=apache2 state=restarted" all

• service module is used to restart apache2

7. Copy a file

ansible -m copy -a "src=config dest=/tmp" all

ansible -m copy -a "src=config dest=/tmp" all

• copy module copies files
• src is the source file
• dest is the destination

8. Create a directory

ansible -m file -a "dest=/tmp/ak mode=644 state=directory" all

ansible -m file -a "dest=/tmp/ak mode=644 state=directory" all

• file module creates directories
• dest is the directory path
• mode sets permissions
• state defines directory state

9. Create a template

ansible -m template -a "src=template dest=/tmp/ak" all

ansible -m template -a "src=template dest=/tmp/ak" all

• template module creates a template file
• src is the source template
• dest is the destination path

10. List all hosts

ansible --list-host all

ansible --list-host all

• Shows all hosts in the hosts file

11. Create a user

ansible -m user -a "name=devops state=present groups=sudo append=yes" all

ansible -m user -a "name=devops state=present groups=sudo append=yes" all

• user module creates a user
• name is the username
• state defines user state
• groups=sudo adds user to sudo group
• append=yes keeps existing groups

12. Install multiple packages

ansible -m apt -a "name='vim,git,curl' state=present update_cache=yes" -b all

ansible -m apt -a "name='vim,git,curl' state=present update_cache=yes" -b all

• Installs multiple packages
• -b ensures root privileges

13. Delete a file or directory

ansible -m file -a "path=/tmp/oldfile state=absent" all

ansible -m file -a "path=/tmp/oldfile state=absent" all

• state=absent deletes the file or directory
• path specifies the file path

14. Fetch files from remote hosts

ansible -m fetch -a "src=/etc/hosts dest=~/hosts_backup/ flat=yes" all

ansible -m fetch -a "src=/etc/hosts dest=~/hosts_backup/ flat=yes" all

• fetch copies files from remote to local
• flat=yes avoids directory structure creation

15. Synchronize directories

ansible -m synchronize -a "src=/local/dir dest=/remote/dir" all

ansible -m synchronize -a "src=/local/dir dest=/remote/dir" all

• synchronize syncs directories
• src is the source directory
• dest is the destination directory
• Uses rsync