ansible error: Failed to find required executable rsync in paths: /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/root/bin:/sbin"}

You can automate installation of base packages on your node. Sharing here apt module definition of the same.

- name: "Installing Rsync"
  apt: >
    pkg={{ item }}
    state=latest
    update_cache=yes
    cache_valid_time=3600
  with_items:
  - rsync

Yum module definition would look something like below.

- name: install the latest version of rsync
  yum:
    name: rsync
    state: latest

I may be a little late. But adding an answer here incase it helps some one else.

When the test fails because of 'rsync not found', I believe it's talking about rsync on the ansible controller, not the ansible target.

So if you duplicate this task but make it a local action, then rsync will exist on both ends:

- name: install rsync on the ansible controller
  connection: local
  package:
    name: rsync
    state: present

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