Module and Execution Errors¶

Why This Exists¶

By the time a task reaches this category, SSH connected and become (if any) succeeded — the failure is in the module's own execution on the managed node, or in how the task called it.

What It Will Cover¶

• "/usr/bin/python: not found" — no Python interpreter on the target; bootstrap with raw per Architecture and Execution
• "couldn't resolve module/action" — usually a missing collection (ansible-galaxy collection install ...) or a typo'd FQCN, not a real "module doesn't exist" situation
• Reading a module's own msg: field, which is almost always more specific than the generic FAILED! wrapper around it
• ANSIBLE_KEEP_REMOTE_FILES=1 plus -vvvv to inspect the actual module file staged on the managed node, for a failure that doesn't make sense from the error message alone
• command/shell non-zero exit codes vs. failed_when overriding what counts as failure — see Command vs. Shell

Interview Questions¶

• A task fails with "couldn't resolve module/action" — what are the two most likely causes?
• How would you inspect exactly what a module did on the managed node, beyond the summarized error Ansible shows?

Next¶

Return to Troubleshooting, or continue to Interview Preparation.