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# file – Manage files and file properties

- Synopsis

- Parameters

- See Also

- Examples

- Status

## Synopsis

- Set attributes of files, symlinks or directories.

- Alternatively, remove files, symlinks or directories.

- Many other modules support the same options as the `file` module - including copy, template, and assemble.

- For Windows targets, use the win_file module instead.

## Parameters

Parameter | Choices/Defaults | Comments
--- | --- | ---
access_time string added in 2.7 |  | This parameter indicates the time the file's access time should be set to. Should be `preserve` when no modification is required, `YYYYMMDDHHMM.SS` when using default time format, or `now`. Default is `None` meaning that `preserve` is the default for `state=[file,directory,link,hard]` and `now` is default for `state=touch`.
access_time_format string added in 2.7 | Default: "%Y%m%d%H%M.%S" | When used with `access_time`, indicates the time format that must be used. Based on default Python format (see time.strftime doc).
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
follow boolean | Choices: no yes ← | This flag indicates that filesystem links, if they exist, should be followed. Previous to Ansible 2.5, this was `no` by default.
force boolean | Choices: no ← yes | Force the creation of the symlinks in two cases: the source file does not exist (but will appear later); the destination exists and is a file (so, we need to unlink the `path` file and create symlink to the `src` file in place of it).
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`).
modification_time string added in 2.7 |  | This parameter indicates the time the file's modification time should be set to. Should be `preserve` when no modification is required, `YYYYMMDDHHMM.SS` when using default time format, or `now`. Default is None meaning that `preserve` is the default for `state=[file,directory,link,hard]` and `now` is default for `state=touch`.
modification_time_format string added in 2.7 | Default: "%Y%m%d%H%M.%S" | When used with `modification_time`, indicates the time format that must be used. Based on default Python format (see time.strftime doc).
owner string |  | Name of the user that should own the file/directory, as would be fed to chown.
path path / required |  | Path to the file being managed. aliases: dest, name
recurse boolean | Choices: no ← yes | Recursively set the specified file attributes on directory contents. This applies only when `state` is set to `directory`.
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.
src path |  | Path of the file to link to. This applies only to `state=link` and `state=hard`. For `state=link`, this will also accept a non-existing path. Relative paths are relative to the file being created (`path`) which is how the Unix command `ln -s SRC DEST` treats relative paths.
state string | Choices: absent directory file ← hard link touch | If `absent`, directories will be recursively deleted, and files or symlinks will be unlinked. In the case of a directory, if `diff` is declared, you will see the files and folders deleted listed under `path_contents`. Note that `absent` will not cause `file` to fail if the `path` does not exist as the state did not change. If `directory`, all intermediate subdirectories will be created if they do not exist. Since Ansible 1.7 they will be created with the supplied permissions. If `file`, without any other options this works mostly as a 'stat' and will return the current state of `path`. Even with other options (i.e `mode`), the file will be modified but will NOT be created if it does not exist; see the `touch` value or the copy or template module if you want that behavior. If `hard`, the hard link will be created or changed. If `link`, the symbolic link will be created or changed. If `touch` (new in 1.4), an empty file will be created if the `path` does not exist, while an existing file or directory will receive updated file access and modification times (similar to the way `touch` works from the command line).
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.

## See Also

See also

assemble – Assemble configuration files from fragments

  The official documentation on the assemble module.

copy – Copy files to remote locations

  The official documentation on the copy module.

stat – Retrieve file or file system status

  The official documentation on the stat module.

template – Template a file out to a remote server

  The official documentation on the template module.

win_file – Creates, touches or removes files or directories

  The official documentation on the win_file module.

## Examples

    - name: Change file ownership, group and permissions
      file:
        path: /etc/foo.conf
        owner: foo
        group: foo
        mode: '0644'

    - name: Give insecure permissions to an existing file
      file:
        path: /work
        owner: root
        group: root
        mode: '1777'

    - name: Create a symbolic link
      file:
        src: /file/to/link/to
        dest: /path/to/symlink
        owner: foo
        group: foo
        state: link

    - name: Create two hard links
      file:
        src: '/tmp/{{ item.src }}'
        dest: '{{ item.dest }}'
        state: hard
      loop:
        - { src: x, dest: y }
        - { src: z, dest: k }

    - name: Touch a file, using symbolic modes to set the permissions (equivalent to 0644)
      file:
        path: /etc/foo.conf
        state: touch
        mode: u=rw,g=r,o=r

    - name: Touch the same file, but add/remove some permissions
      file:
        path: /etc/foo.conf
        state: touch
        mode: u+rw,g-wx,o-rwx

    - name: Touch again the same file, but dont change times this makes the task idempotent
      file:
        path: /etc/foo.conf
        state: touch
        mode: u+rw,g-wx,o-rwx
        modification_time: preserve
        access_time: preserve

    - name: Create a directory if it does not exist
      file:
        path: /etc/some_directory
        state: directory
        mode: '0755'

    - name: Update modification and access time of given file
      file:
        path: /etc/some_file
        state: file
        modification_time: now
        access_time: now

    - name: Set access time based on seconds from epoch value
      file:
        path: /etc/another_file
        state: file
        access_time: '{{ "%Y%m%d%H%M.%S" | strftime(stat_var.stat.atime) }}'

    - name: Recursively change ownership of a directory
      file:
        path: /etc/foo
        state: directory
        recurse: yes
        owner: foo
        group: foo

    - name: Remove file (delete file)
      file:
        path: /etc/foo.txt
        state: absent

    - name: Recursively remove directory
      file:
        path: /etc/foo
        state: absent

## Status

- This module is guaranteed to have backward compatible interface changes going forward. [stableinterface]

- This module is maintained by the Ansible Core Team. [core]

### Red Hat Support

More information about Red Hat’s support of this module is available from this Red Hat Knowledge Base article.

### Authors

- Ansible Core Team

- Michael DeHaan

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