When working with Ansible 1.1 playbooks, many users encounter situations where the file module mysteriously skips tasks during execution. In this specific case, the file ownership modification task gets skipped while the preceding file copy operation works fine.

- name: copy files
  sudo: True                                                                                                             
  shell: cp /from/* /to/

- name: change owner
  sudo: True
  file: path=$item owner=newuser group=newgroup
  with_fileglob: /to/*

The skipping occurs because of how with_fileglob works in earlier Ansible versions. The glob pattern isn't being expanded properly before the file module processes it. Here's what's actually happening behind the scenes:

1. The shell module copies files successfully
2. The fileglob tries to match patterns before variable substitution
3. Ansible sees the literal "$item" instead of expanded paths

Here are three approaches that actually work:

Solution 1: Use find module instead

- name: find copied files
  find:
    paths: /to/
    patterns: "*"
    recurse: no
  register: found_files

- name: change owner (proper way)
  file:
    path: "{{ item.path }}"
    owner: newuser
    group: newgroup
  loop: "{{ found_files.files }}"

Solution 2: Fix the original approach

- name: change owner (fixed version)
  file:
    path: "{{ item }}"
    owner: newuser
    group: newgroup
  with_fileglob:
    - "/to/*"

Solution 3: Modern Ansible approach (2.0+)

- name: change owner (modern syntax)
  ansible.builtin.file:
    path: "/to/{{ item | basename }}"
    owner: newuser
    group: newgroup
  loop: "{{ query('fileglob', '/from/*') }}"

• File module skips when it can't resolve the path properly
• Older Ansible versions handle variable expansion differently
• The find module provides more reliable file discovery
• Modern Ansible versions offer better glob handling

When working with Ansible playbooks, encountering skipped tasks can be particularly frustrating. In this case, the file module appears to skip ownership changes during file operations. Let's examine the original problematic code:

- name: copy files
  sudo: True                                                                                                             
  shell: cp /from/* /to/

- name: change owner
  sudo: True
  file: path=$item owner=newuser group=newgroup
  with_fileglob: /to/*

Several factors could cause this behavior:

• The with_fileglob loop might not be finding matching files
• Permission issues preventing Ansible from accessing the files
• Incorrect variable expansion in the path parameter
• Timing issues between the copy operation and subsequent file operations

Here's an improved version of the playbook that addresses these issues:

- name: copy files
  become: yes
  copy:
    src: "/from/"
    dest: "/to/"
    remote_src: yes
    owner: newuser
    group: newgroup
    mode: '0644'

Alternatively, if you need separate tasks, consider this approach:

- name: ensure target directory exists
  file:
    path: "/to/"
    state: directory
    owner: newuser
    group: newgroup

- name: copy files with proper permissions
  synchronize:
    src: "/from/"
    dest: "/to/"
    owner: yes
    group: yes
    recursive: yes

To diagnose the issue:

- name: debug file listing
  command: ls -la /to/
  register: file_list
  changed_when: false

- name: display files
  debug:
    var: file_list.stdout_lines

Add verbosity to your playbook execution:

ansible-playbook playbook.yml -vvv

• Use copy or synchronize modules instead of shell for file transfers
• Set ownership and permissions during the initial file operation when possible
• Consider using register and debug to verify file operations
• Test playbooks with --check mode first

When dealing with complex file operations, it's often better to use dedicated modules like copy, template, or synchronize rather than chaining shell commands with subsequent file operations.