Ansible Loops and loop_control

Plays and Playbooks / Guide 13 of 45 / Intermediate

• OSUbuntu 26.04 LTS
• ansible-core2.20.1
• Python3.14.4
• TimeAbout 16 min

loop: is the current keyword. with_items and the other with_* forms still work and are not slated for removal, but they are no longer recommended and every current example uses loop. Where with_items flattened nested lists automatically, loop does not - use the flatten filter if you need that.

This guide includes

Use this when five near-identical tasks want to be one. This matters because the loop is where the variable comes from - and a registered loop stores every iteration separately, which changes how you read the result.

• looping over a list to replace several near-identical tasks
• looping over dictionaries when each iteration needs more than one value
• reading a registered loop's .results, one entry per iteration
• retrying until something finally becomes true

Before you start

• A control node configured as shown in the first step.
• The session creates directories under /opt/loopdemo, two service accounts, and a file that appears six seconds late. All are removed at the end.

1. 1

   The configuration this guide assumes

2. 2

   A loop over a list

3. 3

   A loop over dictionaries

4. 4

   Looping over what you registered

5. 5

   Retrying until something is true

Official sources

• Loops
• Loop control
• Retrying a task until a condition is met