Use search to match a pattern anywhere in a string

Short answer

Use the Jinja search test in when to match a regex pattern anywhere in a string.

Request

playbook with vars.url set to https://example.com/users/foo/resources/bar; one debug task with when: url is search("users/.*/resources"); no set_fact, no uri, no in operator

Example

A quick heads-up: Every environment is different. Review and test this example before you run it on systems you care about.

---
# Prompt: playbook with vars.url set to https://example.com/users/foo/resources/bar; one debug task with when: url is search("users/.*/resources"); no set_fact, no uri, no in operator
- name: Playbook with vars.url set to https://example.com/users/foo/resources/bar
  hosts: all
  gather_facts: false
  vars:
    url: "https://example.com/users/foo/resources/bar"
  tasks:
    - name: Debug URL if it matches the pattern
      ansible.builtin.debug:
        msg: "URL matches the pattern"
      when: url is search("users/.*/resources")

How it works

search returns true when the regex pattern appears anywhere in the string. Use search in when, failed_when, or until. match is different. match requires the pattern at the start of the string.

When to use it

• Branching on URL or path fragments
• Matching CLI or API output that contains a known pattern

Requirements

• Ansible: >=2.14

Validation

• Syntax validated
• Not execution-tested
• Last verified 2026-09-05