# interfaces_file – Tweak settings in /etc/network/interfaces files

New in version 2.4.

- Synopsis
- Parameters
- Notes
- Examples
- Return Values
- Status

## Synopsis

- Manage (add, remove, change) individual interface options in an interfaces-style file without having to manage the file as a whole with, say, template or assemble. Interface has to be presented in a file.
- Read information about interfaces from interfaces-styled files

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---
address_family - added in 2.8 |  | Address family of the interface, useful if same interface name is used for both inet and inet6
attributes string |  | The attributes the resulting file or directory should have. To get supported flags look at the man page for chattr on the target system. This string should contain the attributes in the same order as the one displayed by lsattr. The `=` operator is assumed as default, otherwise `+` or `-` operators need to be included in the string. aliases: attr

backup
boolean

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

Create a backup file including the timestamp information so you can get the original file back if you somehow clobbered it incorrectly.

dest - | Default: "/etc/network/interfaces" | Path to the interfaces file
group string |  | Name of the group that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown.
iface - |  | Name of the interface, required for value changes or option remove

mode
string

The permissions the resulting file or directory should have.
For those used to /usr/bin/chmod remember that modes are actually octal numbers. You must either add a leading zero so that Ansible's YAML parser knows it is an octal number (like `0644` or `01777`) or quote it (like `'644'` or `'1777'`) so Ansible receives a string and can do its own conversion from string into number.
Giving Ansible a number without following one of these rules will end up with a decimal number which will have unexpected results.
As of Ansible 1.8, the mode may be specified as a symbolic mode (for example, `u+rwx` or `u=rw,g=r,o=r`).
As of Ansible 2.6, the mode may also be the special string `preserve`.
When set to `preserve` the file will be given the same permissions as the source file.

option - |  | Name of the option, required for value changes or option remove
owner string |  | Name of the user that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown.
selevel string | Default: "s0" | The level part of the SELinux file context. This is the MLS/MCS attribute, sometimes known as the `range`. When set to `_default`, it will use the `level` portion of the policy if available.
serole string |  | The role part of the SELinux file context. When set to `_default`, it will use the `role` portion of the policy if available.
setype string |  | The type part of the SELinux file context. When set to `_default`, it will use the `type` portion of the policy if available.
seuser string |  | The user part of the SELinux file context. By default it uses the `system` policy, where applicable. When set to `_default`, it will use the `user` portion of the policy if available.

state
-

Choices:
- present ←
- absent

If set to `absent` the option or section will be removed if present instead of created.

unsafe_writes
boolean

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

Influence when to use atomic operation to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target file.
By default this module uses atomic operations to prevent data corruption or inconsistent reads from the target files, but sometimes systems are configured or just broken in ways that prevent this. One example is docker mounted files, which cannot be updated atomically from inside the container and can only be written in an unsafe manner.
This option allows Ansible to fall back to unsafe methods of updating files when atomic operations fail (however, it doesn't force Ansible to perform unsafe writes).
IMPORTANT! Unsafe writes are subject to race conditions and can lead to data corruption.

value - |  | If option is not presented for the interface and state is `present` option will be added. If option already exists and is not `pre-up`, `up`, `post-up` or `down`, it's value will be updated. `pre-up`, `up`, `post-up` and `down` options can't be updated, only adding new options, removing existing ones or cleaning the whole option set are supported

## Notes

Note

- If option is defined multiple times last one will be updated but all will be deleted in case of an absent state

## Examples

    # Set eth1 mtu configuration value to 8000
    - interfaces_file:
        dest: /etc/network/interfaces.d/eth1.cfg
        iface: eth1
        option: mtu
        value: 8000
        backup: yes
        state: present
      register: eth1_cfg

## Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key | Returned | Description
--- | --- | ---
dest string | success | destination file/path Sample: /etc/network/interfaces
ifaces complex | success | interfaces dictionary
| ifaces dictionary | success | interface dictionary
|  | eth0 dictionary | success | Name of the interface
|  |  | address_family string | success | interface address family Sample: inet
|  |  | down list | success | list of `down` scripts Sample: ['route del -net 10.10.10.0/24 gw 10.10.10.1 dev eth1', 'route del -net 10.10.11.0/24 gw 10.10.11.1 dev eth2']
|  |  | method string | success | interface method Sample: manual
|  |  | mtu string | success | other options, all values returned as strings Sample: 1500
|  |  | post-up list | success | list of `post-up` scripts Sample: ['route add -net 10.10.10.0/24 gw 10.10.10.1 dev eth1', 'route add -net 10.10.11.0/24 gw 10.10.11.1 dev eth2']
|  |  | pre-up list | success | list of `pre-up` scripts Sample: ['route add -net 10.10.10.0/24 gw 10.10.10.1 dev eth1', 'route add -net 10.10.11.0/24 gw 10.10.11.1 dev eth2']
|  |  | up list | success | list of `up` scripts Sample: ['route add -net 10.10.10.0/24 gw 10.10.10.1 dev eth1', 'route add -net 10.10.11.0/24 gw 10.10.11.1 dev eth2']

## Status

- This module is guaranteed to have backward compatible interface changes going forward. [stableinterface]
- This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]

### Authors

- Roman Belyakovsky (@hryamzik)

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