Ansible File Copy and Fetch

Templates, Files and Vault / Guide 20 of 45 / Intermediate

• OSUbuntu 26.04 LTS
• ansible-core2.20.1
• Python3.14.4
• TimeAbout 15 min

fetch writes to <dest>/<hostname>/<full source path> by default, so files from different hosts cannot collide. flat: true drops the nesting and writes straight into dest - convenient for one host and dangerous for several, since they will overwrite each other.

This guide includes

Use this when files have to move between the control node and the managed hosts. This matters because four modules do it, and the only hard part is remembering which direction each one goes.

• creating something worth packaging on the managed host
• archiving it there with archive, which lives in community.general
• pulling it back to the control node with fetch
• pushing and unpacking with unarchive, which goes the other way
• settling which direction each of the four actually moves

Before you start

• A control node configured as shown in the first step.
• The session creates /opt/appdata on the web host, a tarball in /tmp, a ~/collected/ tree on the control node, and unpacks onto the db host. All are removed at the end.

1. 1

   The configuration this guide assumes

2. 2

   Something to package

3. 3

   Archive on the managed node

4. 4

   fetch pulls it back to the control node

5. 5

   unarchive goes the other way

6. 6

   Which way does each module go

Official sources

• ansible.builtin.fetch
• ansible.builtin.unarchive
• community.general.archive