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ansible-vault — Encrypt and decrypt values, data structures, and files within Ansible projects. More information: <h

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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Problem

How to use the ansible-vault command: Encrypt and decrypt values, data structures, and files within Ansible projects. More information: <https://docs.ansible.com/projects/ansible/latest/vault_guide/index.html>.

Solution

ansible-vault — Encrypt and decrypt values, data structures, and files within Ansible projects. More information: <https://docs.ansible.com/projects/ansible/latest/vault_guide/index.html>.

Create a new encrypted vault file with a prompt for a password:

ansible-vault create {{path/to/vault_file}}

Edit, view or re-key (re-encrypt) an existing encrypted vault file with a prompt for the password:

ansible-vault {{edit|view|rekey}} {{path/to/vault_file}}

Create a new encrypted vault file using a password file to encrypt it:

ansible-vault create --vault-password-file {{path/to/password_file}} {{path/to/vault_file}}

Encrypt an existing plaintext file in-place using a password file:

ansible-vault encrypt --vault-password-file {{path/to/password_file}} {{path/to/file}}

Encrypt a string using Ansible's encrypted string format, displaying interactive prompts:

ansible-vault encrypt_string

View an encrypted vault file by using a password file to decrypt:

ansible-vault view --vault-password-file {{path/to/password_file}} {{path/to/vault_file}}

Re-key (re-encrypt) an already encrypted vault file with a new password file:

ansible-vault rekey --vault-password-file {{path/to/old_password_file}} --new-vault-password-file {{path/to/new_password_file}} {{path/to/vault_file}}

Code Snippets

Create a new encrypted vault file with a prompt for a password

ansible-vault create {{path/to/vault_file}}

Edit, view or re-key (re-encrypt) an existing encrypted vault file with a prompt for the password

ansible-vault {{edit|view|rekey}} {{path/to/vault_file}}

Create a new encrypted vault file using a password file to encrypt it

ansible-vault create --vault-password-file {{path/to/password_file}} {{path/to/vault_file}}

Encrypt an existing plaintext file in-place using a password file

ansible-vault encrypt --vault-password-file {{path/to/password_file}} {{path/to/file}}

Encrypt a string using Ansible's encrypted string format, displaying interactive prompts

ansible-vault encrypt_string

Context

tldr-pages: common/ansible-vault

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