I have a variables file that defines a number of users:
my_users:
admin:
- admin1
- admin2
user:
- bob
I have a task that adds these users to mongodb. I don't want to execute the task every time but only if the users changed. I tried the following:
- name: add users
command: "<add users>"
when: my_users|changed
However, this does not work as intended. If I add a user, the task is still skipped.
How can I execute a task only if a variable has changed?
Normally you don't do it the way you are trying. Instead, ansible must create the users if they don't already exist. The way to do it with one user is like this:
- name: Check if user george exists
command: "<return a status code of zero if user george exists>"
register: check_george_exists
ignore_errors: yes
always_run: yes
changed_when: False
- name: Create user george
command: "<create user george>"
when: check_george_exists.rc == 0
To do it for many users, see Register variables in with_items loop in Ansible playbook.
