win_shortcut – Manage shortcuts on Windows

Synopsis

• Create, manage and delete Windows shortcuts

Parameters

Parameter	Choices/Defaults	Comments
arguments string		Additional arguments for the executable defined in src. Was originally just args but renamed in Ansible 2.8. aliases: args
description string		Description for the shortcut. This is usually shown when hoovering the icon.
dest path / required		Destination file for the shortcuting file. File name should have a .lnk or .url extension.
directory path		Working directory for executable defined in src.
hotkey string		Key combination for the shortcut. This is a combination of one or more modifiers and a key. Possible modifiers are Alt, Ctrl, Shift, Ext. Possible keys are [A-Z] and [0-9].
icon path		Icon used for the shortcut. File name should have a .ico extension. The file name is followed by a comma and the number in the library file (.dll) or use 0 for an image file.
run_as_admin boolean added in 2.8	Choices: no ← yes	When src is an executable, this can control whether the shortcut will be opened as an administrator or not.
src string		Executable or URL the shortcut points to. The executable needs to be in your PATH, or has to be an absolute path to the executable.
state string	Choices: absent present ←	When absent, removes the shortcut if it exists. When present, creates or updates the shortcut.
windowstyle string	Choices: maximized minimized normal	Influences how the application is displayed when it is launched.

Notes

Note

• The following options can include Windows environment variables: dest, args, description, dest, directory, icon src
• Windows has two types of shortcuts: Application and URL shortcuts. URL shortcuts only consists of dest and src

See Also

See also

win_file – Creates, touches or removes files or directories

The official documentation on the win_file module.

Examples

- name: Create an application shortcut on the desktop
  win_shortcut:
    src: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe
    dest: C:\Users\Public\Desktop\Mozilla Firefox.lnk
    icon: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe,0

- name: Create the same shortcut using environment variables
  win_shortcut:
    description: The Mozilla Firefox web browser
    src: '%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe'
    dest: '%Public%\Desktop\Mozilla Firefox.lnk'
    icon: '%ProgramFiles\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe,0'
    directory: '%ProgramFiles%\Mozilla Firefox'
    hotkey: Ctrl+Alt+F

- name: Create an application shortcut for an executable in PATH to your desktop
  win_shortcut:
    src: cmd.exe
    dest: Desktop\Command prompt.lnk

- name: Create an application shortcut for the Ansible website
  win_shortcut:
    src: '%ProgramFiles%\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe'
    dest: '%UserProfile%\Desktop\Ansible website.lnk'
    arguments: --new-window https://ansible.com/
    directory: '%ProgramFiles%\Google\Chrome\Application'
    icon: '%ProgramFiles%\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe,0'
    hotkey: Ctrl+Alt+A

- name: Create a URL shortcut for the Ansible website
  win_shortcut:
    src: https://ansible.com/
    dest: '%Public%\Desktop\Ansible website.url'

Status

• This module is not guaranteed to have a backwards compatible interface. [preview]
• This module is maintained by the Ansible Community. [community]

Authors

• Dag Wieers (@dagwieers)

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