ansible.windows.win_updates module – Download and install Windows updates

Note

This module is part of the ansible.windows collection (version 2.5.0).

It is not included in ansible-core. To check whether it is installed, run ansible-galaxy collection list.

To install it, use: ansible-galaxy collection install ansible.windows.

To use it in a playbook, specify: ansible.windows.win_updates.

Synopsis

• Searches, downloads, and installs Windows updates synchronously by automating the Windows Update client.

Note

This module has a corresponding action plugin.

Parameters

Parameter	Comments
_operation string	Internal use only. Choices: "start" ← (default) "cancel" "poll"
_operation_options dictionary	Internal use only.
accept_list list / elements=string	A list of update titles or KB numbers that can be used to specify which updates are to be searched or installed. If an available update does not match one of the entries, then it is skipped and not installed. Each entry can either be the KB article or Update title as a regex according to the PowerShell regex rules. The accept list is only validated on updates that were found based on category_names. It will not force the module to install an update if it was not in the category specified.
category_names list / elements=string	A scalar or list of categories to install updates from. To get the list of categories, run the module with state=searched. The category must be the full category string, but is case insensitive. Some possible categories are Application, Connectors, Critical Updates, Definition Updates, Developer Kits, Feature Packs, Guidance, Security Updates, Service Packs, Tools, Update Rollups, Updates, and Upgrades. Since v1.7.0 the value * will match all categories. Default: ["CriticalUpdates", "SecurityUpdates", "UpdateRollups"]
log_path path	If set, win_updates will append update progress to the specified file. The directory must already exist.
reboot boolean	Ansible will automatically reboot the remote host if it is required and continue to install updates after the reboot. This can be used instead of using a ansible.windows.win_reboot task after this one and ensures all updates for that category is installed in one go. Async does not work when reboot=true. Choices: false ← (default) true
reboot_timeout integer	The time in seconds to wait until the host is back online from a reboot. This is only used if reboot=true and a reboot is required. Default: 1200
reject_list list / elements=string	A list of update titles or KB numbers that can be used to specify which updates are to be excluded from installation. If an available update does match one of the entries, then it is skipped and not installed. Each entry can either be the KB article or Update title as a regex according to the PowerShell regex rules.
server_selection string	Defines the Windows Update source catalog. default Use the default search source. For many systems default is set to the Microsoft Windows Update catalog. Systems participating in Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or similar corporate update server environments may default to those managed update sources instead of the Windows Update catalog. managed_server Use a managed server catalog. For environments utilizing Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or similar corporate update servers, this option selects the defined corporate update source. windows_update Use the Microsoft Windows Update catalog. Choices: "default" ← (default) "managed_server" "windows_update"
skip_optional boolean added in ansible.windows 1.8.0	Skip optional updates where the update has BrowseOnly set by Microsoft. Microsoft documents show that BrowseOnly means that the update should not be installed automatically and appear as optional updates. Choices: false ← (default) true
state string	Controls whether found updates are downloaded or installed or listed This module also supports Ansible check mode, which has the same effect as setting state=searched Choices: "installed" ← (default) "searched" "downloaded"

Notes

Note

• ansible.windows.win_updates must be run by a user with membership in the local Administrators group.

• ansible.windows.win_updates will use the default update service configured for the machine (Windows Update, Microsoft Update, WSUS, etc).

• By default ansible.windows.win_updates does not manage reboots, but will signal when a reboot is required with the reboot_required return value. reboot can be used to reboot the host if required in the one task.

• ansible.windows.win_updates can take a significant amount of time to complete (hours, in some cases). Performance depends on many factors, including OS version, number of updates, system load, and update server load.

• Beware that just after ansible.windows.win_updates reboots the system, the Windows system may not have settled yet and some base services could be in limbo. This can result in unexpected behavior. Check the examples for ways to mitigate this.

• More information about PowerShell and how it handles RegEx strings can be found at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2007.11.powershell.aspx.

• The current module doesn’t support Systems Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). See https://github.com/ansible-collections/ansible.windows/issues/194

• By default the ansible.builtin.ssh connection plugin is configured to have no server timeout. As Windows Updates can restart the network adapter it is recommended to set -o ServerAliveInterval=30 and disable control master in ansible_ssh_args to ensure the client can handle a network reset. See the examples showing one way this can be set.

• By default the module will start a background process using the Task Scheduler on Windows. If the Task Scheduler is unavailable, unreliable, or does not work, run the task with become.

See Also

See also

chocolatey.chocolatey.win_chocolatey

The official documentation on the chocolatey.chocolatey.win_chocolatey module.

ansible.windows.win_feature

Installs and uninstalls Windows Features on Windows Server.

community.windows.win_hotfix

The official documentation on the community.windows.win_hotfix module.

ansible.windows.win_package

Installs/uninstalls an installable package.

Examples

- name: Install all updates and reboot as many times as needed
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_names: '*'
    reboot: true

- name: Set a server alive interval during update stage for the ssh connection plugin
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_names: '*'
    reboot: true
  vars:
    # This can be set in a few ways, see the ssh connection plugin for more
    # information. ControlMaster should be disabled to ensure the new timeout
    # value is applied for this connection instead of through the cached
    # connection.
    ansible_ssh_args: -o ControlMaster=no -o ServerAliveInterval=30

- name: Install all security, critical, and rollup updates without a scheduled task
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_names:
      - SecurityUpdates
      - CriticalUpdates
      - UpdateRollups
  become: true
  become_method: runas
  become_user: SYSTEM

- name: Search-only, return list of found updates (if any), log to C:\ansible_wu.txt
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_names: SecurityUpdates
    state: searched
    log_path: C:\ansible_wu.txt

- name: Install all security updates with automatic reboots
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_names:
      - SecurityUpdates
    reboot: true

- name: Install only particular updates based on the KB numbers
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_names:
      - SecurityUpdates
    accept_list:
      - KB4056892
      - KB4073117

- name: Exclude updates based on the update title
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    category_names:
      - SecurityUpdates
      - CriticalUpdates
    reject_list:
      - Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool for Windows
      - \d{4}-\d{2} Cumulative Update for Windows Server 2016

# Optionally, you can increase the reboot_timeout to survive long updates during reboot
- name: Ensure we wait long enough for the updates to be applied during reboot
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    reboot: true
    reboot_timeout: 3600

# Search and download Windows updates
- name: Search and download Windows updates without installing them
  ansible.windows.win_updates:
    state: downloaded

Return Values

Common return values are documented here, the following are the fields unique to this module:

Key	Description
failed_update_count integer	The number of updates that failed to install. Returned: always Sample: 0
filtered_updates dictionary	Updates that were found but were filtered based on blacklist, whitelist or category_names. The return value is in the same form as updates, along with filtered_reason. Returned: success Sample: "see the updates return value"
filtered_reason string	The reason why this update was filtered. This value has been deprecated since 1.7.0, use filtered_reasons which contain a list of all the reasons why the update is filtered. Returned: always Sample: "skip_hidden"
filtered_reasons list / elements=string added in ansible.windows 1.7.0	A list of reasons why the update has been filtered. Can be accept_list, reject_list, hidden, category_names, or skip_optional. Returned: success Sample: ["category_names", "accept_list"]
found_update_count integer	The number of updates found needing to be applied. Returned: success Sample: 3
installed_update_count integer	The number of updates successfully installed or downloaded. Returned: success Sample: 2
reboot_required boolean	True when the target server requires a reboot to complete updates (no further updates can be installed until after a reboot). Returned: success Sample: true
rebooted boolean added in ansible.windows 1.14.0	Set to true when the target Windows host has been rebooted by win_updates. Returned: success Sample: false
updates dictionary	Updates that were found/installed. The key for each update is the id of the update. Returned: success
categories list / elements=string	A list of category strings for this update. Returned: always Sample: ["Critical Updates", "Windows Server 2012 R2"]
downloaded boolean added in ansible.windows 1.7.0	Was the update downloaded. Returned: always Sample: true
failure_hresult_code boolean	The HRESULT code from a failed update. Returned: on install or download failure Sample: 2147942402
failure_msg string added in ansible.windows 1.7.0	The error message with more details on the failure. Returned: on install or download failure and not running with async Sample: "Operation did not complete because there is no logged-on interactive user (WU_E_NO_INTERACTIVE_USER 0x80240020)"
id string	Internal Windows Update GUID. Returned: always Sample: "fb95c1c8-de23-4089-ae29-fd3351d55421"
installed boolean	Was the update successfully installed. Returned: always Sample: true
kb list / elements=string	A list of KB article IDs that apply to the update. Returned: always Sample: ["3004365"]
title string	Display name. Returned: always Sample: "Security Update for Windows Server 2012 R2 (KB3004365)"

Authors

• Matt Davis (@nitzmahone)

Collection links

• Issue Tracker
• Repository (Sources)