Ansible

Ad-Hoc Commands

Run quick, one-off commands across multiple hosts without writing playbooks. Perfect for system administration tasks and quick checks.

10 commands

Pro Tips

Use '-o' for one-line output format for cleaner results.

Add '-b' to run commands with sudo (become) privileges.

Use '--check' (dry run) to preview changes before applying.

Common Mistakes

Ad-hoc commands are not idempotent by default - use appropriate modules.

Prefer playbooks for repeatable, version-controlled automation.

Commands

Install Package (Apt)

$ ansible all -m apt -a "name=nginx state=present" -b

Install a package using apt with sudo

Run Shell Command

$ ansible all -a "uptime"

Execute a command on all hosts

Copy File to Hosts

$ ansible all -m copy -a "src=/local/file dest=/remote/path"

Copy a file to remote hosts

Gather Facts

$ ansible all -m setup

Collect system facts from hosts

Gather Filtered Facts

$ ansible all -m setup -a "filter=ansible_distribution*"

Collect specific facts from hosts

Ping All Hosts

$ ansible all -m ping

Test connectivity to all inventory hosts

Ping Host Group

$ ansible <group> -m ping

Test connectivity to a specific host group

Manage Service

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

Start/stop/restart a service

Run Shell with Pipes

$ ansible all -m shell -a "ps aux | grep nginx"

Execute shell command with pipes/redirects

Create User

$ ansible all -m user -a "name=deploy state=present" -b

Create a user on remote hosts