How to elegantly change root password with mysql_user

[Eric Feliksik]

When I install mysql, default root password is empty. I then use ansible to set the password: 

```

- name: set root password, if it is empty now

  mysql_user: login_user=root login_password='' name=root password='{{desired_pass}}' state=present 

```

But 2nd time this playbook runs, the task fails. I can set ignore_errors: True, but this is prone to other failures as well. 

Alternatively, I have the approach of settings the desired password twice: once logging in with login_password={{desired_pass}}, once with login_password=''. If one of those succeeds, we're fine: 

```

- name: set root password, if it is empty now

  mysql_user: login_user=root login_password='{{item}}' login_host=localhost name=root password='{{desired_pass}}' state=present 

  with_items:

   - '{{root_pass}}'

   - ''

  register: set_root_pass_result

  ignore_errors: True

 

- fail: msg="could not login with any of the provided passwords"

  when: "(set_root_pass_result.results[0].failed is defined) and (set_root_pass_result.results[1].failed is defined)"

```

Is this supposed to be this tricky, or is there a simpler way? 

[esco real]

I do this (in this order):

- name: set password
  mysql_user: name={{ mysql_user }} password={{ hostvars[product + '_' + inventory_hostname + '_' + mysql_user].password }}
 
- name: create client config
  template: src=client.my.cnf dest=~/.my.cnf mode=0600

client.my.cnf:

[client]
user={{ mysql_user }}
password={{ hostvars[product + '_' + inventory_hostname + '_' + mysql_user].password }}

By using .my.cnf with [client]-config you would have the login information to the database on the server (for example in /root/.my.cnf with 600). The variable for the password is just an example from my inventory..