How to register the output of local_action module in Ansible?

Registering the Output of local_action Module in Ansible

In Ansible, the local_action module is used to execute a task on the control machine (the machine running the Ansible playbook) instead of the remote hosts. This can be useful when you need to perform some local operations, such as interacting with a local API or generating a configuration file.

When using the local_action module, you may want to capture the output of the task and use it in subsequent tasks within your playbook. This can be achieved by registering the output of the local_action module.

Here's how you can register the output of a local_action module in Ansible:

Define the local_action task: In your Ansible playbook, define the local_action task that you want to execute and capture the output.

- name: Get local system information
  local_action:
    module: command
    args:
      cmd: uname -a
  register: local_system_info

In this example, we're using the command module within the local_action to run the uname -a command on the control machine. The output of this command is then registered in the local_system_info variable.

Access the registered output: After registering the output, you can access the information stored in the registered variable using the {{ variable_name }} syntax.

- name: Print local system information
  debug:
    msg: "Local system information: {{ local_system_info.stdout }}"

This task will print the output of the uname -a command that was captured in the local_system_info variable.

Here's a visual representation of the process using a Mermaid diagram:

graph TD A[Define local_action task] --> B[Register output in variable] B --> C[Access registered output] C --> D[Use registered output in subsequent tasks]

The key steps are:

Define the local_action task and register the output in a variable.
Access the registered variable to use the captured output.
Utilize the registered output in subsequent tasks within your Ansible playbook.

By registering the output of local_action modules, you can seamlessly integrate local operations with the rest of your Ansible playbook, allowing for more complex and dynamic workflows.