def _varFind(basedir, text, vars, lookup_fatal, depth=0):
    ''' Searches for a variable in text and finds its replacement in vars

    The variables can have two formats;
    - simple, $ followed by alphanumerics and/or underscores
    - complex, ${ followed by alphanumerics, underscores, periods, braces and brackets, ended by a }

    Examples:
    - $variable: simple variable that will have vars['variable'] as its replacement
    - ${variable.complex}: complex variable that will have vars['variable']['complex'] as its replacement
    - $variable.complex: simple variable, identical to the first, .complex ignored

    Complex variables are broken into parts by separating on periods, except if enclosed in {}.
    ${variable.{fully.qualified.domain}} would be parsed as two parts, variable and fully.qualified.domain,
    whereas ${variable.fully.qualified.domain} would be parsed as four parts.

    Returns a dict(replacement=<value in vars>, start=<index into text where the variable stated>,
        end=<index into text where the variable ends>)
    or None if no variable could be found in text. If replacement is None, it should be replaced with the
    original data in the caller.
    '''

    start = text.find("$")
    if start == -1:
        return None
    # $ as last character
    if start + 1 == len(text):
        return None
    # Escaped var
    if start > 0 and text[start - 1] == '\\':
        return {'replacement': '$', 'start': start - 1, 'end': start + 1}

    var_start = start + 1
    if text[var_start] == '{':
        is_complex = True
        brace_level = 1
        var_start += 1
    else:
        is_complex = False
        brace_level = 1
    # is_lookup is true for $FILE(...) and friends
    is_lookup = False
    lookup_plugin_name = None
    end = var_start
    # part_start is an index of where the current part started
    part_start = var_start
    space = vars
    while end < len(text) and (((is_lookup or is_complex) and brace_level > 0) or (not is_complex and not is_lookup)):
        if text[end].isalnum() or text[end] == '_':
            pass
        elif not is_complex and not is_lookup and text[end] == '(' and text[part_start:end].isupper():
            is_lookup = True
            lookup_plugin_name = text[part_start:end]
            part_start = end + 1
        elif is_lookup and text[end] == '(':
            brace_level += 1
        elif is_lookup and text[end] == ')':
            brace_level -= 1
        elif is_lookup:
            # lookups are allowed arbitrary contents
            pass
        elif is_complex and text[end] == '{':
            brace_level += 1
        elif is_complex and text[end] == '}':
            brace_level -= 1
        elif is_complex and text[end] in ('$', '[', ']'):
            pass
        elif is_complex and text[end] == '.':
            if brace_level == 1:
                space = _varFindLimitSpace(basedir, vars, space, text[part_start:end], lookup_fatal, depth)
                part_start = end + 1
        else:
            # This breaks out of the loop on non-variable name characters
            break
        end += 1
    var_end = end
    # Handle "This has $ in it"
    if var_end == part_start:
        return {'replacement': None, 'start': start, 'end': end}

    # Handle lookup plugins
    if is_lookup:
        # When basedir is None, handle lookup plugins later
        if basedir is None:
            return {'replacement': None, 'start': start, 'end': end}
        var_end -= 1
    	from cirruscluster.ext.ansible import utils
        args = text[part_start:var_end]
        if lookup_plugin_name == 'LOOKUP':
            lookup_plugin_name, args = args.split(",", 1)
            args = args.strip()
        # args have to be templated
        args = varReplace(basedir, args, vars, depth=depth+1, expand_lists=True)
        instance = utils.plugins.lookup_loader.get(lookup_plugin_name.lower(), basedir=basedir)
        if instance is not None:
            try:
                replacement = instance.run(args, inject=vars)
            except errors.AnsibleError:
                if not lookup_fatal:
                    replacement = None
                else:
                    raise
        else:
            replacement = None
        return {'replacement': replacement, 'start': start, 'end': end}

    if is_complex:
        var_end -= 1
        if text[var_end] != '}' or brace_level != 0:
            return None
    space = _varFindLimitSpace(basedir, vars, space, text[part_start:var_end], lookup_fatal, depth)
    return {'replacement': space, 'start': start, 'end': end}
Searches for a variable in text and finds its replacement in vars

    The variables can have two formats;
    - simple, $ followed by alphanumerics and/or underscores
    - complex, ${ followed by alphanumerics, underscores, periods, braces and brackets, ended by a }

    Examples:
    - $variable: simple variable that will have vars['variable'] as its replacement
    - ${variable.complex}: complex variable that will have vars['variable']['complex'] as its replacement
    - $variable.complex: simple variable, identical to the first, .complex ignored

    Complex variables are broken into parts by separating on periods, except if enclosed in {}.
    ${variable.{fully.qualified.domain}} would be parsed as two parts, variable and fully.qualified.domain,
    whereas ${variable.fully.qualified.domain} would be parsed as four parts.

    Returns a dict(replacement=<value in vars>, start=<index into text where the variable stated>,
        end=<index into text where the variable ends>)
    or None if no variable could be found in text. If replacement is None, it should be replaced with the
    original data in the caller.