--- title: Multiline Expressions in Ansible Playbooks « ipSpace.net... description: Using multiline YAML format (the `>` block scalar) in Ansible expressions can cause subtle bugs depending on the Ansible version. In older Ansible core... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/multiline-expressions-in-ansible-playbooks-ipspace-net-blog-ark2dl59f twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Multiline Expressions in Ansible Playbooks « ipSpace.net blog | daily.dev og:description: Using multiline YAML format (the `>` block scalar) in Ansible expressions can cause subtle bugs depending on the Ansible version. In older Ansible core... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/multiline-expressions-in-ansible-playbooks-ipspace-net-blog-ark2dl59f og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/ARK2DL59F.png og:image:alt: Multiline Expressions in Ansible Playbooks « ipSpace.net blog og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Multiline Expressions in Ansible Playbooks « ipSpace.net blog **[ipSpace.net Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Using multiline YAML format (the `>` block scalar) in Ansible expressions can cause subtle bugs depending on the Ansible version. In older Ansible core releases like 2.12.10 (shipped with RHEL 9.0), a trailing newline causes Jinja2 expressions to be evaluated as strings rather than booleans, turning a `false` result into a truthy non-empty string. Two workarounds exist: wrap the expression in quotes, or use the YAML Block Chomping Indicator (`>-`) instead of `>` to strip the trailing newline. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why does my Ansible set_fact return a string 'False\n' instead of boolean false when using a multiline Jinja2 expression? A trailing newline added by YAML's `>` block scalar causes older Ansible core versions (e.g., 2.12.10 on RHEL 9.0) to evaluate the expression as a string rather than a boolean. A non-empty string is truthy, so `false` becomes `'False\n'`. Fix it by using `>-` (block chomping indicator) to strip the trailing newline, or by wrapping the expression in quotes. _Developers debugging Ansible version-specific quirks like this track similar gotchas on daily.dev._ ### How do I write a multiline Jinja2 expression in an Ansible playbook without breaking boolean evaluation? Use the YAML Block Chomping Indicator `>-` instead of `>` when defining multiline expressions in Ansible. The `>-` strips the trailing newline that `>` appends, preventing Ansible from treating the result as a string. Alternatively, enclose the entire Jinja2 expression in double quotes across multiple lines to achieve the same effect. _Teams maintaining Ansible playbooks across multiple core versions find version-specific pitfalls like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [How to collaborate with AI to improve your Ansible skills](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-collaborate-with-ai-to-improve-your-ansible-skills-izxeypqlm) · Red Hat Developer · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [The Crappy Cisco IOS CLI Error Reporting « ipSpace.net blog](https://daily.dev/posts/the-crappy-cisco-ios-cli-error-reporting-ipspace-net-blog-2cshblas0) · ipSpace.net Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [YAML? 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