Lookup specific element in Ansible dictionary or list of these.
Sample playbook to look for elements from elements_to_look_for in first_variable, second_variable and third_variable.
$ cat playbook.yml
---
- hosts: localhost
vars:
elements_to_look_for:
- alpha
- beta
- gamma
- delta
first_variable:
- key: beta
value: beta_value
- key: gamma
value: gamma_value
- key: delta
value: delta_value
second_variable:
alpha:
value: "alpha_value"
gamma:
value: "gamma_value"
delta:
value: "delta_value"
third_variable:
- "alpha": "alpha_value"
- "beta": "beta_value"
- "delta": "delta_value"
tasks:
- name: Display elements to look for
debug:
var: elements_to_look_for
# first dictionary
# beta, gamma, delta
- name: Display first variable
debug:
var: first_variable
- name: Look for elements missing in first variable
debug:
msg: "{{ element }}"
when:
- element not in (first_variable | map(attribute='key'))
loop: "{{ elements_to_look_for }}"
loop_control:
loop_var: element
- name: Look for elements present in first variable
debug:
msg: "{{ first_variable | selectattr('key','equalto',element) }}"
when:
- element in (first_variable | map(attribute='key'))
loop: "{{ elements_to_look_for }}"
loop_control:
loop_var: element
# second dictionary
# alpha, gamma, delta
- name: Display second dictionary
debug:
var: second_variable
- name: Look for elements missing in second variable
debug:
msg: "{{ element }}"
when:
- element not in second_variable.keys()
loop: "{{ elements_to_look_for }}"
loop_control:
loop_var: element
- name: Look for elements present in second variable
debug:
msg: "{{ second_variable[element] }}"
when:
- element in second_variable.keys()
loop: "{{ elements_to_look_for }}"
loop_control:
loop_var: element
# third dictionary
# alpha, beta, delta
- name: Display third dictionary
debug:
var: third_variable
- name: Look for elements missing in third variable
debug:
msg: "{{ element }}"
when:
- not (third_variable | selectattr(element, 'defined'))
loop: "{{ elements_to_look_for }}"
loop_control:
loop_var: element
- name: Look for elements present in third variable
debug:
msg: "{{ third_variable | selectattr(element, 'defined') }}"
when:
- third_variable | selectattr(element, 'defined')
loop: "{{ elements_to_look_for }}"
loop_control:
loop_var: element
Execute this playbook to see how it works.
$ ansible-playbook playbook.yml
[WARNING]: No inventory was parsed, only implicit localhost is available
[WARNING]: provided hosts list is empty, only localhost is available. Note that the implicit localhost does not match 'all'
PLAY [localhost] ***********************************************************************************************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] *****************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [localhost]
TASK [Display elements to look for] ****************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => {
"elements_to_look_for": [
"alpha",
"beta",
"gamma",
"delta"
]
}
TASK [Display first variable] **********************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => {
"first_variable": [
{
"key": "beta",
"value": "beta_value"
},
{
"key": "gamma",
"value": "gamma_value"
},
{
"key": "delta",
"value": "delta_value"
}
]
}
TASK [Look for elements missing in first variable] *************************************************************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => (item=alpha) => {
"msg": "alpha"
}
skipping: [localhost] => (item=beta)
skipping: [localhost] => (item=gamma)
skipping: [localhost] => (item=delta)
TASK [Look for elements present in first variable] *************************************************************************************************************
skipping: [localhost] => (item=alpha)
ok: [localhost] => (item=beta) => {
"msg": [
{
"key": "beta",
"value": "beta_value"
}
]
}
ok: [localhost] => (item=gamma) => {
"msg": [
{
"key": "gamma",
"value": "gamma_value"
}
]
}
ok: [localhost] => (item=delta) => {
"msg": [
{
"key": "delta",
"value": "delta_value"
}
]
}
TASK [Display second dictionary] *******************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => {
"second_variable": {
"alpha": {
"value": "alpha_value"
},
"delta": {
"value": "delta_value"
},
"gamma": {
"value": "gamma_value"
}
}
}
TASK [Look for elements missing in second variable] ************************************************************************************************************
skipping: [localhost] => (item=alpha)
ok: [localhost] => (item=beta) => {
"msg": "beta"
}
skipping: [localhost] => (item=gamma)
skipping: [localhost] => (item=delta)
TASK [Look for elements present in second variable] ************************************************************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => (item=alpha) => {
"msg": {
"value": "alpha_value"
}
}
skipping: [localhost] => (item=beta)
ok: [localhost] => (item=gamma) => {
"msg": {
"value": "gamma_value"
}
}
ok: [localhost] => (item=delta) => {
"msg": {
"value": "delta_value"
}
}
TASK [Display third dictionary] ********************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => {
"third_variable": [
{
"alpha": "alpha_value"
},
{
"beta": "beta_value"
},
{
"delta": "delta_value"
}
]
}
TASK [Look for elements missing in third variable] *************************************************************************************************************
skipping: [localhost] => (item=alpha)
skipping: [localhost] => (item=beta)
ok: [localhost] => (item=gamma) => {
"msg": "gamma"
}
skipping: [localhost] => (item=delta)
TASK [Look for elements present in third variable] *************************************************************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => (item=alpha) => {
"msg": [
{
"alpha": "alpha_value"
}
]
}
ok: [localhost] => (item=beta) => {
"msg": [
{
"beta": "beta_value"
}
]
}
skipping: [localhost] => (item=gamma)
ok: [localhost] => (item=delta) => {
"msg": [
{
"delta": "delta_value"
}
]
}
PLAY RECAP *****************************************************************************************************************************************************
localhost : ok=11 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0
