# ini_file – Tweak settings in INI files

- Synopsis
- Parameters
- Notes
- Examples
- Status

## Synopsis

- Manage (add, remove, change) individual settings in an INI-style file without having to manage the file as a whole with, say, template or assemble.
- Adds missing sections if they don’t exist.
- Before Ansible 2.0, comments are discarded when the source file is read, and therefore will not show up in the destination file.
- Since Ansible 2.3, this module adds missing ending newlines to files to keep in line with the POSIX standard, even when no other modifications need to be applied.

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---

allow_no_value
boolean
added in 2.6

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

Allow option without value and without '=' symbol.

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.

create
boolean

Choices:
- no
- yes ←

If set to `no`, the module will fail if the file does not already exist.
By default it will create the file if it is missing.

group string |  | Name of the group that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown.

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.

no_extra_spaces
boolean

Choices:
- no ←
- yes

Do not insert spaces before and after '=' symbol.

option string |  | If set (required for changing a value), this is the name of the option. May be omitted if adding/removing a whole section.
owner string |  | Name of the user that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown.
path path / required |  | Path to the INI-style file; this file is created if required. Before Ansible 2.3 this option was only usable as dest. aliases: dest
section string / required |  | Section name in INI file. This is added if `state=present` automatically when a single value is being set. If left empty or set to `null`, the option will be placed before the first section. Using `null` is also required if the config format does not support sections.
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
string

Choices:
- absent
- present ←

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 string |  | The string value to be associated with an option. May be omitted when removing an option.

## Notes

Note

- While it is possible to add an option without specifying a value, this makes no sense.
- As of Ansible 2.3, the dest option has been changed to path as default, but dest still works as well.

## Examples

    # Before Ansible 2.3, option 'dest' was used instead of 'path'
    - name: Ensure "fav=lemonade is in section "[drinks]" in specified file
      ini_file:
        path: /etc/conf
        section: drinks
        option: fav
        value: lemonade
        mode: '0600'
        backup: yes

    - name: Ensure "temperature=cold is in section "[drinks]" in specified file
      ini_file:
        path: /etc/anotherconf
        section: drinks
        option: temperature
        value: cold
        backup: yes

## Status

- This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
- This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]

### Authors

- Jan-Piet Mens (@jpmens)
- Ales Nosek (@noseka1)

Hint

If you notice any issues in this documentation, you can edit this document to improve it.