The following parameters can be used to loop through an array / dictionary / list.

• loop (preferred)
• with_items
• with_list
• with_nested
• with_sequence

IMPORTANT

When possible, Ansible recommends using the loop parameter, as the loop parameter is meant to supercede the with_items option.

In this example, an array of fruit is creating using the vars plugin.

vars:
  fruit: [ apple, banana, orange, grapes ]

The debug module can be used to output the entire array.

- name: output the contents of the 'fruit' array
  debug: 
    var: fruit

Which should return the following. Notice the [ ] character, which means this is an array. The values are wrapped in double quotes, meaning the values are strings.

TASK [output the contents of the 'fruit' array]
ok: [server1.example.com] => {
    "msg": [
        "apple",
        "banana",
        "orange",
        "grapes"
    ]
}

In this example, the debug module and loop parameter are used to loop over an array of fruit (a fruit loop!). Notice the double curley braces {{ ... }}. Jinja2 uses double curley braces for variables.

- name: loop through the 'fruit' array
  debug: 
    msg: "{{ item }}"
  loop: "{{ fruit }}"

Which should return the following.

TASK [loop through the 'fruit' array] 
ok: [server1.example.com] => (item=apple) => {
    "msg": "apple"
}
ok: [server1.example.com] => (item=banana) => {
    "msg": "banana"
}
ok: [server1.example.com] => (item=orange) => {
    "msg": "orange"
}
ok: [server1.example.com] => (item=grapes) => {
    "msg": "grapes"
}

Often, you will find yourself in a situation where JSON formatted data is being stored in a variable. In this example, the find module is being used to store the files below the /tmp directory in a variable named "out".

- name: store the contents of the /tmp directory in the 'out' variable
  find:
    paths: /tmp
  register: out

Assuming the /tmp directory contains two (or more) files or directories, you will want to loop over the "out" variable, like this.

- name: display the contents of the 'out' variable
  debug:
    msg: "{{ item }}"
  with_items: "{{ out.files }}"