Run Quick Tasks Without Playbooks

Beginner5 min

Execute one-off commands across multiple hosts using ansible ad-hoc commands for quick checks, updates, and troubleshooting.

Prerequisites

-Ansible installed
-Inventory file configured
-SSH access to hosts

Steps

Ping all hosts

Verifies SSH connectivity and Python availability on all managed hosts.

$ ansible all -m ping

Run a shell command

Checks disk usage on the root filesystem across all webservers.

$ ansible webservers -m shell -a "df -h / | tail -1"

Use the 'shell' module for commands with pipes or redirects. Use 'command' for simple commands.

Copy a file to all hosts

Distributes a file to all hosts with root privileges.

$ ansible all -m copy -a "src=./motd.txt dest=/etc/motd" --become

Install a package

Installs htop on all webservers using the apt module.

$ ansible webservers -m apt -a "name=htop state=present update_cache=true" --become

Gather system facts

Retrieves distribution-related facts (OS name, version, release) from a single host.

$ ansible web01 -m setup -a "filter=ansible_distribution*"

Full Script

full-script.sh

# Ansible ad-hoc commands
ansible all -m ping
ansible webservers -m shell -a "df -h / | tail -1"
ansible all -m copy -a "src=./motd.txt dest=/etc/motd" --become
ansible webservers -m apt -a "name=htop state=present update_cache=true" --become
ansible web01 -m setup -a "filter=ansible_distribution*"

FAQ

Discussion

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# Ansible ad-hoc commands ansible all -m ping ansible webservers -m shell -a "df -h / | tail -1" ansible all -m copy -a "src=./motd.txt dest=/etc/motd" --become ansible webservers -m apt -a "name=htop state=present update_cache=true" --become ansible web01 -m setup -a "filter=ansible_distribution*"