🚀 Ansible Ad-hoc Commands: A Quick Guide

Ansible is a powerful automation tool that simplifies configuration management, application deployment, and task automation. While playbooks are commonly used for complex automation, Ad-hoc commands provide a quick way to execute tasks on remote systems without writing a playbook.

🔍 What are Ansible Ad-hoc Commands?

Ad-hoc commands are one-time command-line executions using Ansible without creating a playbook. These commands are useful for running quick tasks, such as checking system uptime, managing packages, or restarting services.

🛠 Syntax of an Ad-hoc Command

The basic syntax of an Ansible Ad-hoc command is:

ansible <host-pattern> -m <module> -a “<arguments>”

<host-pattern>: Specifies the target host or group from the inventory.
-m <module>: Specifies the Ansible module to use.
-a "<arguments>": Passes arguments to the module.

⚡ Common Ansible Ad-hoc Commands

✅ 1. Check Connectivity (Ping Module)

ansible all -m ping

This verifies if all managed hosts are reachable.

🖥 2. Gather System Information (Setup Module)

ansible all -m setup

This collects system facts about all hosts.

🏃‍♂️ 3. Execute Shell Commands (Command Module)

ansible all -m command -a "uptime"

This retrieves system uptime from all hosts.

📂 4. Copy Files to Remote Hosts (Copy Module)

ansible all -m copy -a "src=/etc/hosts dest=/tmp/hosts_backup"

This copies the local /etc/hosts file to /tmp/hosts_backup on all remote hosts.

📦 5. Manage Packages (Yum and Apt Modules)

📌 Install a Package (Yum for RHEL-based systems)

ansible all -m yum -a "name=git state=present"

📌 Install a Package (Apt for Debian-based systems)

ansible all -m apt -a "name=git state=present"

This installs the Git package on all target nodes.

🔄 6. Start or Restart a Service (Service Module)

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

This restarts the Apache HTTP server.

👤 7. Create a User (User Module)

ansible all -m user -a "name=devops state=present"

This creates a user named devops on all hosts.

🔐 8. Change File Permissions (File Module)

ansible all -m file -a "path=/tmp/hosts_backup mode=0644"

This sets the file permission of /tmp/hosts_backup to 0644.

💾 9. Check Disk Usage (Shell Module)

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

This checks the disk usage on all target nodes.

🔄 10. Reboot Remote Hosts (Reboot Module)

ansible all -m reboot

This safely reboots all managed hosts.

❌ 11. Remove a Package (Yum and Apt Modules)

🗑 Remove a Package on RHEL-based Systems

ansible all -m yum -a "name=git state=absent"

🗑 Remove a Package on Debian-based Systems

ansible all -m apt -a "name=git state=absent"

This removes the Git package from all managed hosts.

🔄 12. Change Ownership of a File (File Module)

ansible all -m file -a "path=/tmp/hosts_backup owner=root group=root"

This changes the owner and group of /tmp/hosts_backup to root.

📌 When to Use Ansible Ad-hoc Commands?

⚡ Quick administrative tasks
🔍 Troubleshooting and debugging
⏳ One-time configuration changes
🛠 Testing Ansible module functionalities before using them in playbooks

📝 Knowledge Check - Quiz

Test your understanding of Ansible Ad-hoc commands by answering the following multiple-choice questions. 🧠

1 / 5

How can you change the permissions of a file using Ansible Ad-hoc commands?

ansible all -m copy -a "path=/tmp/file mode=0755"

ansible all -m file -a "path=/tmp/file mode=0755"

ansible all -m service -a "path=/tmp/file mode=0755"

ansible all -m shell -a "chmod 0755 /tmp/file"

2 / 5

How can you install the nginx package on all remote hosts using Ansible?

ansible all -m service -a "name=nginx state=installed"

ansible all -m copy -a "name=nginx state=present"

ansible all -m yum -a "name=nginx state=present" (For RHEL-based systems) / ansible all -m apt -a "name=nginx state=present" (For Debian-based systems)

ansible all -m setup -a "name=nginx state=present"

3 / 5

What is the primary difference between Ansible Ad-hoc commands and playbooks?

Playbooks can only run on a single server, whereas Ad-hoc commands run on multiple servers.

Ad-hoc commands execute single tasks immediately, while playbooks automate a sequence of tasks.

Ad-hoc commands require a YAML file, but playbooks do not.

Playbooks do not support automation, while Ad-hoc commands do.

4 / 5

What command would you use to reboot all managed hosts?

ansible all -m reboot

ansible all -m service -a "name=reboot state=started"

ansible all -m shell -a "reboot"

ansible all -m command -a "shutdown -r now"

5 / 5

Which module would you use to check if a server is reachable?

shell

ping

comment

service

Your score is

🎯 Conclusion

Ansible Ad-hoc commands are a fast and efficient way to execute tasks across multiple servers. While they are useful for quick operations, playbooks should be used for repeatable and structured automation.

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