How to Use Ansible Copy Module [Examples]

The Ansible copy module is used in the Ansible playbook to deploy files, such as configuration files or scripts, onto managed nodes (remote machines). This module provides a flexible and powerful way of handling different file transfer scenarios, including ensuring that files have not changed before moving them using checksum, creating backups, and checking that files are correct and safe. The copy module can be used in various ways to achieve the desired outcome based on different use cases. Here are some examples: 1. Copying a static file from one location to another: This is useful when you need to transfer a file without any modifications. To do this, you would specify the source path of the file on the Ansible control node and the destination path in the remote machine where the file needs to be copied. You can also use parameters like owner, group, and mode to manage file permissions and ownership after copying the file. 2. Customizing a file by populating variables: This is useful when you need to modify a configuration file or script with specific values for each environment (e.g., development, staging, production). To achieve this, you can use Ansible's template module along with Jinja2 templating engine to create dynamic files that are customized based on variable values provided during playbook execution. 3. Ensuring file integrity and safety: The copy module supports various optional parameters like checksum, backup, owner, group, mode, etc., which help ensure that the transferred files have not changed (by comparing their checksums), create backups of existing files before overwriting them, manage file permissions and ownership, etc. In summary, Ansible's copy module is a key tool in IT automation that provides flexibility and power to handle different file transfer scenarios efficiently and securely. By leveraging its features effectively, you can streamline your infrastructure management processes and ensure consistent deployment across multiple environments.