ansible: lineinfile for several lines?

The same way there is a module lineinfile to add one line in a file, is there a way to add several lines?

I do not want to use a template because you have to provide the whole file. I just want to add something to an existing file without necessarily knowing what the file already contains so a template is not an option.

Solution 1:

You can use the lineinfile built-in in a loop. Here's an example:

- name: Set some kernel parameters
  lineinfile:
    dest: /etc/sysctl.conf
    regexp: "{{ item.regexp }}"
    line: "{{ item.line }}"
  loop:
    - { regexp: '^kernel.shmall', line: 'kernel.shmall = 2097152' }
    - { regexp: '^kernel.shmmax', line: 'kernel.shmmax = 134217728' }
    - { regexp: '^fs.file-max', line: 'fs.file-max = 65536' }

Solution 2:

You can try using blockinfile instead.

You can do something like

- blockinfile: |
    dest=/etc/network/interfaces backup=yes
    content="iface eth0 inet static
        address 192.168.0.1
        netmask 255.255.255.0"

Solution 3:

Here is a noise-free version of the solution which is to use with_items:

- name: add lines
  lineinfile: 
    dest: fruits.txt
    line: '{{ item }}'
  with_items:
    - 'Orange'
    - 'Apple'
    - 'Banana' 

For each item, if the item exists in fruits.txt no action is taken.

If the item does not exist it will be appended to the end of the file.

Easy-peasy.