Creating a folder and a filename for the Ansible output failing - ansible

Question

I'm trying to get an output to a file using a Jinja2 template. However the last task 'Write to the file' fails. The idea is to create a dynamic folder based on m-d-yyyy--Hr:Min as the task is running on the same set of devices. Therefore they will be saved to folders based on date and time. The folder gets created. But the file is not. Also if I go to a static folder and use it in a "dest" it also works. Can someone please provide a direction? Thank you in advance.
- name: Create directory
file:
path: ./config-backups/{{ lookup('pipe', 'date +%m-%d-%Y--%H:%M') }}
mode: 0755
recurse: yes
register: folder_name_with_date
- name: Write to the file
ansible.builtin.template:
src: ./templates/show_run.j2
dest: ./{{folder_name_with_date}}/{{ inventory_hostname }}-running-config-{{ lookup('pipe', 'date +%m-%d-%Y--%H:%M') }}.txt
newline_sequence: '\r\n'
Error
fatal: [10.6.66.66]: FAILED! => {"changed": false, "checksum": "699bd34165f85658300254daf40e5322cf7faaa", "msg": "Destination directory ./{'path': './config-backups/03-17-2021--09:58', 'changed': True, 'diff': {'before': {'path': './config-backups/03-17-2021--09:58', 'state': 'absent', 'mode': '0775'}, 'after': {'path': './config-backups/03-17-2021--09:58', 'state': 'directory', 'mode': '0755'}}, 'uid': 1000, 'gid': 1000, 'owner': 'xxxx', 'group': 'xxxx', 'mode': '0755', 'state': 'directory', 'size': 4096, 'failed': False} does not exist"}

Answer 1

Q: "Destination directory ./{'path': './config-backups/03-17-2021--09:58' ... does not exist"}"
A: If you want to create a directory it's necessary to set the attribute state=directory. The default state is file. Create the variable with the name of the directory first. Then use it in the playbook. Given the template
shell> cat templates/show_run.j2
This is show_run.j2
the playbook
- hosts: localhost
tasks:
- name: Set name of the directory
set_fact:
folder_name_with_date: "{{ lookup('pipe', 'date +%m-%d-%Y--%H:%M') }}"
- name: Create directory
file:
state: directory
path: ./config-backups/{{ folder_name_with_date }}
mode: 0755
- name: Write to the file
ansible.builtin.template:
src: ./templates/show_run.j2
dest: "./config-backups/{{ folder_name_with_date }}/{{ inventory_hostname }}-running-config-{{ lookup('pipe', 'date +%m-%d-%Y--%H:%M') }}.txt"
newline_sequence: '\r\n'
gives
shell> tree config-backups
config-backups
└── 03-17-2021--16:42
└── localhost-running-config-03-17-2021--16:42.txt
shell> cat config-backups/03-17-2021--16\:42/localhost-running-config-03-17-2021--16\:42.txt
This is show_run.j2

Answer 2

First, the variable you are registering as folder_name_with_date is a list of items, not just a string. You need to get just the path variable from your folder_name_with_date list. Call it via folder_name_with_date.path to get the path you are looking for.
Also, because you are trying to concatenate variables with a string, I would recommend encapsulating your entire statement with "'s, like so: dest: "./{{folder_name_with_date.path}}/{{ inventory_hostname }}-running-config-{{ lookup('pipe', 'date +%m-%d-%Y--%H:%M') }}.txt"
Not entirely sure whether adding the "'s or not is necessary, but be sure to get the folder_name_with_date's .path instead.
EDIT: For the future, I would recommend outputting what your variables look like after you create them, so you can see how to use them in future tasks. Technically, Ansible will output what the variable is when it is registered, but I also like to include a quick debug like this to view my variables:
name: what is my variables structure??
debug:
msg: "{{ folder_name_with_date }}"
Debug documentation: https://docs.ansible.com/ansible/latest/collections/ansible/builtin/debug_module.html