Michael -- (Note that as of this morning, I am at version 1.5.5-1.el6 of ansible, and still seeing the same issue -- FYI)
The simplest of playbooks to show the error: +++++++ WORKS ==> +++++++ --- - hosts: XYZ sudo: yes tasks: - shell: cat /etc/motd register: cat - local_action: command echo item with_items: cat.stdout_lines +++++++ FAILS ==> +++++++ --- - hosts: XYZ sudo: yes tasks: - shell: cat /var/log/boot.log register: cat - local_action: command echo item with_items: cat.stdout_lines The file contents for the former: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You are about to access a Duke University computer network that is intended for authorized users only. You should have no expectation of privacy in your use of this network. Use of this network constitutes consent to monitoring, retrieval, and disclosure of any information stored within the network for any purpose including criminal prosecution. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The (beginning of the) file contents for the latter (which, as you can see, DOES include special characters): ^[%G Welcome to ^[[0;36mCentOS^[[0;39m Starting udev: ^[%G^[[60G[^[[0;32m OK ^[[0;39m]^M ... Andy PS, I actually considered a job at Wake Forest about two years ago, but decided it was too long of a commute, so declined the interview. Seriously. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ansible Project" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ansible-project+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to ansible-project@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ansible-project/863a61a5-bddb-4a8d-a93e-8aca93b5d7c3%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.