# this is a virtual module that is entirely implemented server side DOCUMENTATION = ''' --- module: raw version_added: historical short_description: Executes a low-down and dirty SSH command options: free_form: description: - the raw module takes a free form command to run required: true executable: description: - change the shell used to execute the command. Should be an absolute path to the executable. required: false version_added: "1.0" description: - Executes a low-down and dirty SSH command, not going through the module subsystem. This is useful and should only be done in two cases. The first case is installing C(python-simplejson) on older (Python 2.4 and before) hosts that need it as a dependency to run modules, since nearly all core modules require it. Another is speaking to any devices such as routers that do not have any Python installed. In any other case, using the M(shell) or M(command) module is much more appropriate. Arguments given to M(raw) are run directly through the configured remote shell. Standard output, error output and return code are returned when available. There is no change handler support for this module. - This module does not require python on the remote system, much like the M(script) module. notes: - If you want to execute a command securely and predictably, it may be better to use the M(command) module instead. Best practices when writing playbooks will follow the trend of using M(command) unless M(shell) is explicitly required. When running ad-hoc commands, use your best judgement. author: Michael DeHaan ''' EXAMPLES = ''' # Bootstrap a legacy python 2.4 host - raw: yum -y install python-simplejson '''