playbook.yml

---
- hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: false

  vars:
    cidre_version: "{{ lookup('file', '/tmp/VERSION', errors='ignore') | default('v0.1.0', true) }}"

  tasks:
    - name: Show initial version
      debug:
        var: cidre_version

    - name: Fix version in set_fact
      set_fact:
        cidre_version_static: "{{ cidre_version }}"

    - name: show vars
      debug:
        msg: "cidre_version: {{ cidre_version }} - cidre_version_static: {{ cidre_version_static }}"

    - name: create the version file
      copy:
        dest: /tmp/VERSION
        content: v1.0.0

    - name: show vars
      debug:
        msg: "cidre_version: {{ cidre_version }} - cidre_version_static: {{ cidre_version_static }}"

session.txt

$ pwd
/tmp

$ rm VERSION
rm: cannot remove 'VERSION': No such file or directory

$ ansible-playbook playbook.yml 
[WARNING]: provided hosts list is empty, only localhost is available. Note that the implicit localhost does not match 'all'

PLAY [localhost] ******************************************************************************************************************************************************

TASK [Show initial version] *******************************************************************************************************************************************
[WARNING]: Unable to find '/tmp/VERSION' in expected paths (use -vvvvv to see paths)
ok: [localhost] => {
    "cidre_version": "v0.1.0"
}

TASK [Fix version in set_fact] ****************************************************************************************************************************************
[WARNING]: Unable to find '/tmp/VERSION' in expected paths (use -vvvvv to see paths)
ok: [localhost]

TASK [show vars] ******************************************************************************************************************************************************
[WARNING]: Unable to find '/tmp/VERSION' in expected paths (use -vvvvv to see paths)
ok: [localhost] => {
    "msg": "cidre_version: v0.1.0 - cidre_version_static: v0.1.0"
}

TASK [create the version file] ****************************************************************************************************************************************
changed: [localhost]

TASK [show vars] ******************************************************************************************************************************************************
ok: [localhost] => {
    "msg": "cidre_version: v1.0.0 - cidre_version_static: v0.1.0"
}

PLAY RECAP ************************************************************************************************************************************************************
localhost                  : ok=5    changed=1    unreachable=0    failed=0    skipped=0    rescued=0    ignored=0