How to check if a file exists in Ansible?

Question

I have to check whether a file exists in /etc/. If the file exists then I have to skip the task. Here is the code I am using:

- name: checking th         


        

Answer 1

In general you would do this with the stat module. But the command module has the creates option which makes this very simple:

- name: touch file
  command: touch /etc/file.txt
  args:
    creates: /etc/file.txt

I guess your touch command is just an example? Best practice would be to not check anything at all and let ansible do its job - with the correct module. So if you want to ensure the file exists you would use the file module:

- name: make sure file exists
  file:
    path: /etc/file.txt
    state: touch