not able to execute block module in ansible yml script - linux

Question

I am using block module in below ansible playbook. Basically if files exist then only I want to execute Play 2 and Play3 but for some reason I get an error when I execute below playbook.
---
- name: Play 1
hosts: 127.0.0.1
tasks:
- name: find the latest file
find: paths=/var/lib/jenkins/jobs/process/workspace/files
file_type=file
age=-1m
age_stamp=mtime
register: files
- name: Play 2 & 3 if Play 1 has a file
block:
- name: Play 2
hosts: all
serial: 5
tasks:
- name: copy latest file
copy: src=data_init/goldy.init.qa dest=/data01/admin/files/goldy.init.qa
- name: copy latest file
copy: src=data_init/goldy.init.qa dest=/data02/admin/files/goldy.init.qa
- name: Play 3
hosts: 127.0.0.1
tasks:
- name: execute command
shell: ./data_init --init_file ./goldy.init.qa
when: files != ""
Below is the error. Any idea what is wrong I am doing here?
ERROR! no action detected in task. This often indicates a misspelled module name, or incorrect module path.
The error appears to have been in '/var/lib/jenkins/jobs/process/workspace/test.yml': line 14, column 9, but may
be elsewhere in the file depending on the exact syntax problem.
The offending line appears to be:
block:
- name: Play 2
^ here

Answer 1

I think the confusion here stems from the mismatch of Play and Block. Ansible playbooks may contain one or many Plays, a Play is a top order structure in a Playbook (remember Playbooks are just YAML so it's all effectively a data structure). Blocks come in when you want to combine a serious of tasks as efficiently an unit that you can take group action on such as conditionals, but also for error catching and recovery. Blocks are part of a Play, they can be put almost anywhere a task can. However in the syntax you've defined new Plays nested within others which is not allowed. Hope this helps, happy automating!

Answer 2

there are several things wrong in this and I assume you're new to ansible. You cannot put a name on a block. your structure is also wrong. files is not defined. try:
---
- name: Play 1
hosts: 127.0.0.1
tasks:
- name: find the latest file
find: paths=/var/lib/jenkins/jobs/process/workspace/files
file_type=file
age=-1m
age_stamp=mtime
register: files
- debug:
msg: "{{ files }}"
when: files != ""
- block:
- name: copy latest file
copy: src=data_init/goldy.init.qa dest=/data01/admin/files/goldy.init.qa
- name: copy latest file
copy: src=data_init/goldy.init.qa dest=/data02/admin/files/goldy.init.qa
- name: execute command
shell: ./data_init --init_file ./goldy.init.qa
when: files != ""