Ansible: parsing a dictionary recursively - ansible

Question

I'm struggling to implement something like a "recursive function" in Ansible, but it seems to be a slightly tricky task.
Let's say, I have a tree-like dictionary:
tree:
alpha: 1
foo/:
bravo: 2
bar/:
charlie: 3
baz/:
delta: 4
What I need is to parse it, create some entities (let's say, a sub-directory or sub-domain, it doesn't matter what exactly) for each element which name ends with the / character and create some other entity (let's say a file or a DNS-record, it doesn't matter as well) for each element which name ends with anything else.
Here's a minimal example of the solution I'm trying to implement.
The playbook.yaml file:
- hosts:
- localhost
tasks:
- include_tasks: proceed_branch.yaml
vars:
tree:
alpha: 1
foo/:
bravo: 2
bar/:
charlie: 3
baz/:
delta: 4
The proceed_branch.yaml file:
- debug:
msg: "{{ tree }}"
- debug:
msg: "Got {{ item.key }} = {{ item.value }}"
loop: "{{ tree | dict2items }}"
when: item.key is not regex('/$')
- include_tasks: proceed_branch.yaml
vars:
tree: "{{ item.value }}"
loop: "{{ tree | dict2items }}"
when: item.key is regex('/$')
And here's what I get as the output:
[WARNING]: No inventory was parsed, only implicit localhost is available
[WARNING]: provided hosts list is empty, only localhost is available. Note that
the implicit localhost does not match 'all'
PLAY [localhost] ***************************************************************
TASK [include_tasks] ***********************************************************
Included: /tmp/ansible/proceed_branch.yaml for localhost
TASK [debug] *******************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => {
"msg": {
"foo/": {
"bar/": {
"baz/": {
"delta": 4
},
"charlie": 3
},
"bravo": 2
},
"alpha": 1
}
}
TASK [debug] *******************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'alpha', 'value': 1}) => {
"msg": "Got alpha = 1"
}
skipping: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'foo/', 'value': {'bravo': 2, 'bar/': {'charlie': 3, 'baz/': {'delta': 4}}}})
TASK [include_tasks] ***********************************************************
fatal: [localhost]: FAILED! => {"msg": "Unable to look up a name or access an attribute in template string ({{ tree | dict2items }}).\nMake sure your variable name does not contain invalid characters like '-': dict2items requires a dictionary, got <class 'ansible.template.AnsibleUndefined'> instead.. dict2items requires a dictionary, got <class 'ansible.template.AnsibleUndefined'> instead.. Unable to look up a name or access an attribute in template string ({{ tree | dict2items }}).\nMake sure your variable name does not contain invalid characters like '-': dict2items requires a dictionary, got <class 'ansible.template.AnsibleUndefined'> instead.. dict2items requires a dictionary, got <class 'ansible.template.AnsibleUndefined'> instead."}
PLAY RECAP *********************************************************************
localhost : ok=3 changed=0 unreachable=0 failed=1 skipped=0 rescued=0 ignored=0
What do you think, why dict2items gets the "undefined value" at some point?
Thanks in advance!
P.S. Here's what I expect to get as the result:
PLAY [localhost] ***************************************************************
TASK [include_tasks] ***********************************************************
included: /tmp/ansible/proceed_branch.yaml for localhost
TASK [debug] *******************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => {
"msg": {
"alpha": 1,
"foo/": {
"bar/": {
"baz/": {
"delta": 4
},
"charlie": 3
},
"bravo": 2
}
}
}
TASK [debug] *******************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'alpha', 'value': 1}) => {
"msg": "Got alpha = 1"
}
skipping: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'foo/', 'value': {'bravo': 2, 'bar/': {'charlie': 3, 'baz/': {'delta': 4}}}})
TASK [include_tasks] ***********************************************************
skipping: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'alpha', 'value': 1})
included: /tmp/ansible/proceed_branch.yaml for localhost => (item={'key': 'foo/', 'value': {'bravo': 2, 'bar/': {'charlie': 3
, 'baz/': {'delta': 4}}}})
TASK [debug] *******************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => {
"msg": {
"bar/": {
"baz/": {
"delta": 4
},
"charlie": 3
},
"bravo": 2
}
}
TASK [debug] *******************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'bravo', 'value': 2}) => {
"msg": "Got bravo = 2"
}
skipping: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'bar/', 'value': {'charlie': 3, 'baz/': {'delta': 4}}})
TASK [include_tasks] ***********************************************************
skipping: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'bravo', 'value': 2})
included: /tmp/ansible/proceed_branch.yaml for localhost => (item={'key': 'bar/', 'value': {'charlie': 3, 'baz/': {'delta': 4}}})
TASK [debug] *******************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => {
"msg": {
"baz/": {
"delta": 4
},
"charlie": 3
}
}
TASK [debug] *******************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'charlie', 'value': 3}) => {
"msg": "Got charlie = 3"
}
skipping: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'baz/', 'value': {'delta': 4}})
TASK [include_tasks] ***********************************************************
skipping: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'charlie', 'value': 3})
included: /tmp/ansible/proceed_branch.yaml for localhost => (item={'key': 'baz/', 'value': {'delta': 4}})
TASK [debug] *******************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => {
"msg": {
"delta": 4
}
}
TASK [debug] *******************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'delta', 'value': 4}) => {
"msg": "Got delta = 4"
}
TASK [include_tasks] ***********************************************************
skipping: [localhost] => (item={'key': 'delta', 'value': 4})
skipping: [localhost]

Answer 1

Found a pretty ugly solution, though it seems to be working. The point is to add a temporary variable (by setting a fact):
- hosts:
- localhost
tasks:
- include_tasks: proceed_branch.yaml
vars:
tree:
alpha: 1
foo/:
bravo: 2
bar/:
charlie: 3
baz/:
delta: 4
- debug:
msg: "{{ tree }}"
- set_fact:
__t: "{{ tree }}"
- debug:
msg: "Got {{ item.key }} = {{ item.value }}"
loop: "{{ __t | dict2items }}"
when: item.key is not regex('/$')
- include_tasks: proceed_branch.yaml
vars:
tree: "{{ item.value }}"
loop: "{{ __t | dict2items }}"
when: item.key is regex('/$')
I hate how it looks like, though it works.
If anyone have a better idea, please, be so kind as to share.