Error in a skipped test because of a non-existing variable

[ogmueller]

ISSUE TYPE

• Bug Report

ANSIBLE VERSION

ubuntu 16.04 package:

ansible 2.0.0.2
config file = /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg
configured module search path = Default w/o overrides

CONFIGURATION

i don't know about any changes

OS / ENVIRONMENT

ubuntu 16.04

SUMMARY

when using an undefined variable in a skipped test, an error will occur when used in "with_items" only.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE

i have a playbook, which includes a role under certain circumstances. for this showcase, i put it to false. so basically this role nor any of its tasks should get executed. the problem is the "with_items" task, which seems to get evaluated even though the task is skipped.

PLAYBOOK:

---
- hosts: all
  strategy: free
  roles:
    - { role: test, when: false }

ROLE

---
- name: variable in when clause
  debug:
    msg: "works"
  when: ansible_local.something is undefined

- name: variable in task
  debug:
    msg: "works {{ ansible_local.something }}"

- name: Test in items
  debug:
    msg: "works {{ item }}"
  with_items:
    - "item with variable {{ ansible_local.something }}"

EXPECTED RESULTS

I would expect, that non of the roles or tasks gets executed or evaluated at all. so no error should occur, no matter if a variable exists or not.

ACTUAL RESULTS

# ansible-playbook /etc/ansible/test.yml -vvvv
Using /etc/ansible/ansible.cfg as config file
Loaded callback default of type stdout, v2.0
1 plays in /etc/ansible/test.yml

PLAY ***************************************************************************

TASK [setup] *******************************************************************
<192.168.1.190> ESTABLISH SSH CONNECTION FOR USER: None
<192.168.1.190> SSH: EXEC ssh -C -vvv -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s -o Port=1221 -o KbdInteractiveAuthentication=no -o PreferredAuthentications=gssapi-with-mic,gssapi-keyex,hostbased,publickey -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ControlPath=/root/.ansible/cp/ansible-ssh-%h-%p-%r -tt 192.168.1.190 '( umask 22 && mkdir -p "$( echo $HOME/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1462190379.89-4854047725607 )" && echo "$( echo $HOME/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1462190379.89-4854047725607 )" )'
<192.168.1.190> PUT /tmp/tmpQp90Vo TO /root/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1462190379.89-4854047725607/setup
<192.168.1.190> SSH: EXEC sftp -b - -C -vvv -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s -o Port=1221 -o KbdInteractiveAuthentication=no -o PreferredAuthentications=gssapi-with-mic,gssapi-keyex,hostbased,publickey -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ControlPath=/root/.ansible/cp/ansible-ssh-%h-%p-%r '[192.168.1.190]'
<192.168.1.190> ESTABLISH SSH CONNECTION FOR USER: None
<192.168.1.190> SSH: EXEC ssh -C -vvv -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s -o Port=1221 -o KbdInteractiveAuthentication=no -o PreferredAuthentications=gssapi-with-mic,gssapi-keyex,hostbased,publickey -o PasswordAuthentication=no -o ConnectTimeout=10 -o ControlPath=/root/.ansible/cp/ansible-ssh-%h-%p-%r -tt 192.168.1.190 'LANG=en_US.UTF-8 LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8 LC_MESSAGES=en_US.UTF-8 /usr/bin/python /root/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1462190379.89-4854047725607/setup; rm -rf "/root/.ansible/tmp/ansible-tmp-1462190379.89-4854047725607/" > /dev/null 2>&1'
ok: [test]

TASK [test : variable in when clause] ******************************************
task path: /etc/ansible/roles/test/tasks/main.yml:3
skipping: [test] => {"changed": false, "skip_reason": "Conditional check failed", "skipped": true}

TASK [test : variable in task] *************************************************
task path: /etc/ansible/roles/test/tasks/main.yml:8
skipping: [test] => {"changed": false, "skip_reason": "Conditional check failed", "skipped": true}

TASK [test : Test in items] ****************************************************
task path: /etc/ansible/roles/test/tasks/main.yml:12
fatal: [test]: FAILED! => {"failed": true, "msg": "ERROR! 'ansible_local' is undefined"}

PLAY RECAP *********************************************************************
test                      : ok=1    changed=0    unreachable=0    failed=1

[bcoca]

Possible Misunderstanding

Hi!

Thanks very much for your submission to Ansible. It sincerely means a lot to us.

We believe the ticket you have filed is being somewhat misunderstood, as one thing works a little differently than stated.

Roles CANNOT be made conditional themselves, so the when: clause is there for the included tasks to be inherited. http://docs.ansible.com/ansible/playbooks_conditionals.html#applying-when-to-roles-and-includes

In the future, this might be a topic more well suited for the user list, which you can also post here if you'd like some more help with the above.

• https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/ansible-project

Thank you once again for this and your interest in Ansible!

[ogmueller]

I guess, i did not explain myself well enough.

the problem is not the "when:" in the task, but that ansible reacts differently on this unknown variable "ansible_local.something". if i use the variable in the task like debug (in the message), no error occurs, BUT when using the same unknown variable in the "with_items" an error occurs within the same circumstances. ansible should either consistently throw an error in both cases or in none of them.

i guess my example was not the best. in the role file only the second and third example are interesting.

[bcoca]

that is because when: is evaluated INSIDE the with_ loop, but the task itself does not get evaluated until after when: decides if it runs or not.

So with_ loops need to ensure that they don't cause undefined errors, normally through the use of the default filter.

[ogmueller]

sorry for the noise. i thought it is a bug, because it used to work in ansible 1.9.x and it "feels" a bit odd :-)
thanks for the help, though.