Introduction
Welcome to another episode of Ansible Pilot! I’m Luca Berton, and today we’ll dive into troubleshooting Ansible, specifically focusing on the notorious “destination does not exist error.” This error often occurs when attempting to download a file from a URL using Ansible, and it can be a stumbling block for many users. In this article, I’ll walk you through the error, Playbooknstrate how to reproduce it, and provide a fix to ensure a smooth Ansible playbook execution.
The destination does not exist Error
Let’s start by examining the error through a live Playbook. Below is a simplified Ansible playbook (destinationdoesnotexist_error.yml) that attempts to download a file using the get_url module:
---
- name: Get_url module Playbook
hosts: all
become: false
vars:
myurl: "https://releases.ansible.com/ansible/ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz"
mycrc: "sha256:https://releases.ansible.com/ansible/ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz.sha"
mydest: "ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz"
tasks:
- name: Download file
ansible.builtin.get_url:
url: "{{ myurl }}"
dest: "{{ mydest }}"
checksum: "{{ mycrc }}"
mode: '0644'
Upon execution, you might encounter the following error:
$ ansible-playbook -i inventory destinationdoesnotexist_error.yml
PLAY [Get_url module Playbook] ******************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] **********************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [Download file] ************************************************************************
fatal: [demo.example.com]: FAILED! => {"changed": false, "checksum_dest": null, "checksum_src": "574e24659f555fe370571167d3d44704671f1773", "dest": "ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz", "elapsed": 3, "msg": "Destination does not exist", "src": "/home/devops/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1640555219.326019-1431-267536126421544/tmpmx_ra0hd", "url": "https://releases.ansible.com/ansible/ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz"}
PLAY RECAP **********************************************************************************
demo.example.com : ok=1 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=1 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0
The error message clearly indicates that the destination does not exist.
Reproducing and Fixing the Error
Reproducing the Error
To reproduce the error, we can use the provided playbook (destinationdoesnotexist_error.yml). This playbook attempts to download the Ansible archive into the home directory, resulting in the “destination does not exist” error.
Fixing the Error
Let’s address the issue by modifying the playbook. In the fixed version (destinationdoesnotexist_fix.yml), we adjust the destination path to include the current directory:
---
- name: Get_url module Playbook
hosts: all
become: false
vars:
myurl: "https://releases.ansible.com/ansible/ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz"
mycrc: "sha256:https://releases.ansible.com/ansible/ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz.sha"
mydest: "ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz"
tasks:
- name: Download file
ansible.builtin.get_url:
url: "{{ myurl }}"
dest: "./{{ mydest }}"
checksum: "{{ mycrc }}"
mode: '0644'
Now, when you execute this playbook, you should observe a successful download without encountering the “destination does not exist” error.
$ ansible-playbook -i inventory destinationdoesnotexist_fix.yml
PLAY [Get_url module Playbook] ******************************************************************
TASK [Gathering Facts] **********************************************************************
ok: [demo.example.com]
TASK [download file] ************************************************************************
changed: [demo.example.com]
PLAY RECAP **********************************************************************************
demo.example.com : ok=2 changed=1 unreachable=0 failed=0 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0
Verification
To confirm the success, log in to the target machine and check if the file has been downloaded to the specified directory:
$ ssh [email protected]
[devops@demo ~]$ ls -al
total 13964
drwx------. 4 devops wheel 140 Dec 26 21:47 .
...
-rw-r--r--. 1 devops wheel 14280306 Dec 26 21:47 ansible-2.9.25.tar.gz
Conclusion
In this article, we explored the Ansible “destination does not exist” error, reproduced it in a live Playbook, and provided a fix. Now you have the knowledge to troubleshoot and overcome this common issue in your Ansible playbooks. If you found this tutorial helpful, consider subscribing for more Ansible tips and tricks. Happy automating!
Subscribe to the YouTube channel, Medium, and Website, X (formerly Twitter) to not miss the next episode of the Ansible Pilot.Academy
Learn the Ansible automation technology with some real-life examples in my
Udemy 300+ Lessons Video Course.
My book Ansible By Examples: 200+ Automation Examples For Linux and Windows System Administrator and DevOps
Donate
Want to keep this project going? Please donate