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I want to change my remote server's hostname so I used the hostname module:

- hostname: name="{{my_hostname}}"

But that also changed the ansible_host to that value, and so messed up remaining tasks.

When I did it manually:

- shell: hostnamectl set-hostname {{my_hostname}}

Then the remote server's hostname was changed, AND the ansible_host global var wasn't changed, and all remaining plays completed successfully.

Am I using the hostname module correctly? I have a feeling it doesn't do what I think.

(I also noticed lots of bug reports in the repo, but I'm not sure if they're related to what I'm doing as I'm not using cloud-init).

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    Are you using some kind of dynamic inventory? And where are you using ansible_host? Commented Sep 2, 2019 at 18:03
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    @MichaelHampton I thought ansible_host comes from the hosts inventory file, as one of those built-in variables? Regardless, is the code above supposed to work, or did I use the wrong module? Commented Sep 2, 2019 at 18:49
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    ansible_host comes from the host's own hostname. It can be wrong, which is presumably why you are changing it! The inventory hostname is stored in inventory_hostname. Most of the time, inventory_hostname is what you want to use in your own playbooks to refer to your hosts. Commented Sep 2, 2019 at 18:51
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    @MichaelHampton Thanks for the clarification! Does the hostname module do what I think it does - change the hostname of the remote server? Commented Sep 3, 2019 at 7:40
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    @Ionix - it's a fine distinction, but hostname: module changes the target host's hostname. It doesn't have to be remote, it can be used on the local system (ansible controller) as well. Commented Mar 28, 2021 at 23:06

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You should know the difference between inventory_hostname (how you call it) and ansible_host (how you reach it). You could use the ip-address as ansible_host in your inventory entry:

 my_hostname ansible_host=192.168.12.34

Then use the hostname module to change the hostname of the machine to "{{ inventory_hostname }}".

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