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random

Collection Note

This module is part of the ansible.builtin collection. To install the collection, use:

ansible-galaxy collection install ansible.builtin
Added in version 2.6.

Synopsis

  • Use the input to either select a random element of a list or generate a random number.

Parameters

Parameter Defaults / Choices Comments
_input
raw
required
A number or list/sequence, if it is a number it is the top bound for random number generation, if it is a sequence or list, the source of the random element selected.
seed
str
If specified use a pseudo random selection instead (repeatable).
start
int
Bottom bound for the random number/element generated.
step
int
Default: 1
Subsets the defined range by only using this value to select the increments of it between start and end.

Examples

# can be any item from the list
random_item: "{{ ['a','b','c'] | random }}"

# cron line, select random minute repeatable for each host
"{{ 60 | random(seed=inventory_hostname) }} * * * * root /script/from/cron"

Return Values

Key Data Type Description Returned
_value raw Random number or list element.