file does not exist, without passing regexp ansible.builtin.lineinfile: path: /tmp/testfile line: 192.168.1.99 foo.lab.net foo create: yes # NOTE: Yaml requires escaping backslashes in double quotes but not in single quotes - name: Ensure the JBoss memory settings are exactly as needed ansible.builtin.lineinfile: path: /opt/jboss-as/bin/standalone.conf regexp: '^(.*)Xms(\d+)m(.*)$' line: '\1Xms${xms}m\3' backrefs: yes # NOTE: Fully quoted because of the ': ' on the line. See the Gotchas in the YAML docs. - name: Validate the sudoers file before saving ansible.builtin.lineinfile: path: /etc/sudoers state: present regexp: '^%ADMIN ALL=' line: '%ADMIN ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL' validate: /usr/sbin/visudo -cf %s # See https://docs.python.org/3/library/re.html for further details on syntax - name: Use backrefs with alternative group syntax to avoid conflicts with variable values ansible.builtin.lineinfile: path: /tmp/config regexp: ^(host=).* line: \g<1>{{ hostname }} backrefs: yes ú