🚨 Ansible Error: 'Failed to find required executable git in paths' — Cause, Fix, and Troubleshooting Guide

Overview

Several modules shell out to an external binary on the target host — the git module needs git, unarchive needs tar/unzip, pip needs pip. When the binary is not installed or not on the resolved PATH, the module fails:

fatal: [web-01]: FAILED! => {"changed": false, "msg": "Failed to find required executable \"git\" in paths: /usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin"}

The message lists the exact PATH that was searched, which is the key diagnostic.

Symptoms

• The git (or pip, svn, make) task fails on a minimal host.
• git is installed but only found in an interactive shell, not under Ansible.
• Works for one user but fails when running as a different become_user.

ansible web-01 -i inventory.ini -b -m git -a 'repo=https://github.com/acme/app.git dest=/opt/app'

web-01 | FAILED! => {"msg": "Failed to find required executable \"git\" in paths: /usr/bin:/bin"}

Common Root Causes

1. git is simply not installed

The most common case on slim base images and containers.

2. Installed outside the searched PATH

git lives in /usr/local/bin or /opt/.../bin, but Ansible’s non-login shell PATH does not include it.

3. PATH differs for the become user

root’s or the service user’s PATH is narrower than your interactive login shell’s.

4. Package name mismatch

Installing the wrong package name for the distro (git-core vs git).

How to diagnose

Check whether the binary exists and where:

ansible web-01 -i inventory.ini -b -m shell -a 'command -v git; echo "PATH=$PATH"'

Compare interactive vs non-interactive PATH:

ansible web-01 -i inventory.ini -b -m shell -a 'bash -lc "command -v git"'

Fixes

Install git before the git task

- name: Ensure git is installed
  ansible.builtin.package:
    name: git
    state: present

- name: Clone the app repo
  ansible.builtin.git:
    repo: https://github.com/acme/app.git
    dest: /opt/app
    version: main

Point the module at the binary’s real location

Set PATH for the task’s environment:

- name: Clone with extended PATH
  ansible.builtin.git:
    repo: https://github.com/acme/app.git
    dest: /opt/app
  environment:
    PATH: "/usr/local/bin:{{ ansible_env.PATH }}"

Symlink into a standard path (last resort)

ansible web-01 -i inventory.ini -b -m file -a "src=/opt/tools/bin/git dest=/usr/local/bin/git state=link"

What to watch out for

• Ansible uses a non-login shell, so ~/.bashrc/~/.profile PATH tweaks do not apply — set PATH via the module’s environment or install to a standard location.
• Order dependencies explicitly: the install task must run before the module that needs the binary.
• The PATH: value in the error is exactly what was searched — compare it against command -v git on the host to pinpoint the gap.

Related

• Ansible Error: command not found / No such file or directory
• Ansible Error: ‘unarchive Failed to find handler’
• Ansible Error: ‘No package matching found available’