CI/CD YAML syntax reference

  • Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate
  • Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated

This document lists the configuration options for the GitLab .gitlab-ci.yml file. This file is where you define the CI/CD jobs that make up your pipeline.

When you are editing your .gitlab-ci.yml file, you can validate it with the CI Lint tool.

Keywords

A GitLab CI/CD pipeline configuration includes:

  • Global keywords that configure pipeline behavior:

    KeywordDescription
    defaultCustom default values for job keywords.
    includeImport configuration from other YAML files.
    stagesThe names and order of the pipeline stages.
    workflowControl what types of pipeline run.

  • Header keywords

    KeywordDescription
    specDefine specifications for external configuration files.

  • Jobs configured with job keywords:

    KeywordDescription
    after_scriptOverride a set of commands that are executed after job.
    allow_failureAllow job to fail. A failed job does not cause the pipeline to fail.
    artifactsList of files and directories to attach to a job on success.
    before_scriptOverride a set of commands that are executed before job.
    cacheList of files that should be cached between subsequent runs.
    coverageCode coverage settings for a given job.
    dast_configurationUse configuration from DAST profiles on a job level.
    dependenciesRestrict which artifacts are passed to a specific job by providing a list of jobs to fetch artifacts from.
    environmentName of an environment to which the job deploys.
    extendsConfiguration entries that this job inherits from.
    identityAuthenticate with third party services using identity federation.
    imageUse Docker images.
    inheritSelect which global defaults all jobs inherit.
    interruptibleDefines if a job can be canceled when made redundant by a newer run.
    manual_confirmationDefine a custom confirmation message for a manual job.
    needsExecute jobs earlier than the stage ordering.
    pagesUpload the result of a job to use with GitLab Pages.
    parallelHow many instances of a job should be run in parallel.
    releaseInstructs the runner to generate a release object.
    resource_groupLimit job concurrency.
    retryWhen and how many times a job can be auto-retried in case of a failure.
    rulesList of conditions to evaluate and determine selected attributes of a job, and whether or not it’s created.
    scriptShell script that is executed by a runner.
    runRun configuration that is executed by a runner.
    secretsThe CI/CD secrets the job needs.
    servicesUse Docker services images.
    stageDefines a job stage.
    tagsList of tags that are used to select a runner.
    timeoutDefine a custom job-level timeout that takes precedence over the project-wide setting.
    triggerDefines a downstream pipeline trigger.
    whenWhen to run job.

  • CI/CD variables

    KeywordDescription
    Default variablesDefine default CI/CD variables for all jobs in the pipeline.
    Job variablesDefine CI/CD variables for individual jobs.

  • Deprecated keywords that are no longer recommended for use.

Global keywords

Some keywords are not defined in a job. These keywords control pipeline behavior or import additional pipeline configuration.

default

You can set global defaults for some keywords. Each default keyword is copied to every job that doesn’t already have it defined. If the job already has a keyword defined, that default is not used.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Supported values: These keywords can have custom defaults:

Example of default:

default:
  image: ruby:3.0
  retry: 2

rspec:
  script: bundle exec rspec

rspec 2.7:
  image: ruby:2.7
  script: bundle exec rspec

In this example:

  • image: ruby:3.0 and retry: 2 are the default keywords for all jobs in the pipeline.
  • The rspec job does not have image or retry defined, so it uses the defaults of image: ruby:3.0 and retry: 2.
  • The rspec 2.7 job does not have retry defined, but it does have image explicitly defined. It uses the default retry: 2, but ignores the default image and uses the image: ruby:2.7 defined in the job.

Additional details:

  • Control inheritance of default keywords in jobs with inherit:default.
  • Global defaults are not passed to downstream pipelines, which run independently of the upstream pipeline that triggered the downstream pipeline.

include

Use include to include external YAML files in your CI/CD configuration. You can split one long .gitlab-ci.yml file into multiple files to increase readability, or reduce duplication of the same configuration in multiple places.

You can also store template files in a central repository and include them in projects.

The include files are:

  • Merged with those in the .gitlab-ci.yml file.
  • Always evaluated first and then merged with the content of the .gitlab-ci.yml file, regardless of the position of the include keyword.

The time limit to resolve all files is 30 seconds.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Supported values: The include subkeys:

And optionally:

Additional details:

  • Only certain CI/CD variables can be used with include keywords.
  • Use merging to customize and override included CI/CD configurations with local
  • You can override included configuration by having the same job name or global keyword in the .gitlab-ci.yml file. The two configurations are merged together, and the configuration in the .gitlab-ci.yml file takes precedence over the included configuration.
  • If you rerun a:
    • Job, the include files are not fetched again. All jobs in a pipeline use the configuration fetched when the pipeline was created. Any changes to the source include files do not affect job reruns.
    • Pipeline, the include files are fetched again. If they changed after the last pipeline run, the new pipeline uses the changed configuration.
  • You can have up to 150 includes per pipeline by default, including nested. Additionally:

include:component

Use include:component to add a CI/CD component to the pipeline configuration.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Supported values: The full address of the CI/CD component, formatted as <fully-qualified-domain-name>/<project-path>/<component-name>@<specific-version>.

Example of include:component:

include:
  - component: $CI_SERVER_FQDN/my-org/security-components/secret-detection@1.0

Related topics:

include:local

Use include:local to include a file that is in the same repository and branch as the configuration file containing the include keyword. Use include:local instead of symbolic links.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Supported values:

A full path relative to the root directory (/):

Example of include:local:

include:
  - local: '/templates/.gitlab-ci-template.yml'

You can also use shorter syntax to define the path:

include: '.gitlab-ci-production.yml'

Additional details:

  • The .gitlab-ci.yml file and the local file must be on the same branch.
  • You can’t include local files through Git submodules paths.
  • include configuration is always evaluated based on the location of the file containing the include keyword, not the project running the pipeline. If a nested include is in a configuration file in a different project, include: local checks that other project for the file.

include:project

To include files from another private project on the same GitLab instance, use include:project and include:file.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Supported values:

  • include:project: The full GitLab project path.
  • include:file A full file path, or array of file paths, relative to the root directory (/). The YAML files must have the .yml or .yaml extension.
  • include:ref: Optional. The ref to retrieve the file from. Defaults to the HEAD of the project when not specified.
  • You can use certain CI/CD variables.

Example of include:project:

include:
  - project: 'my-group/my-project'
    file: '/templates/.gitlab-ci-template.yml'
  - project: 'my-group/my-subgroup/my-project-2'
    file:
      - '/templates/.builds.yml'
      - '/templates/.tests.yml'

You can also specify a ref:

include:
  - project: 'my-group/my-project'
    ref: main                                      # Git branch
    file: '/templates/.gitlab-ci-template.yml'
  - project: 'my-group/my-project'
    ref: v1.0.0                                    # Git Tag
    file: '/templates/.gitlab-ci-template.yml'
  - project: 'my-group/my-project'
    ref: 787123b47f14b552955ca2786bc9542ae66fee5b  # Git SHA
    file: '/templates/.gitlab-ci-template.yml'

Additional details:

  • include configuration is always evaluated based on the location of the file containing the include keyword, not the project running the pipeline. If a nested include is in a configuration file in a different project, include: local checks that other project for the file.
  • When the pipeline starts, the .gitlab-ci.yml file configuration included by all methods is evaluated. The configuration is a snapshot in time and persists in the database. GitLab does not reflect any changes to the referenced .gitlab-ci.yml file configuration until the next pipeline starts.
  • When you include a YAML file from another private project, the user running the pipeline must be a member of both projects and have the appropriate permissions to run pipelines. A not found or access denied error may be displayed if the user does not have access to any of the included files.
  • Be careful when including another project’s CI/CD configuration file. No pipelines or notifications trigger when CI/CD configuration files change. From a security perspective, this is similar to pulling a third-party dependency. For the ref, consider:
    • Using a specific SHA hash, which should be the most stable option. Use the full 40-character SHA hash to ensure the desired commit is referenced, because using a short SHA hash for the ref might be ambiguous.
    • Applying both protected branch and protected tag rules to the ref in the other project. Protected tags and branches are more likely to pass through change management before changing.

include:remote

Use include:remote with a full URL to include a file from a different location.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Supported values:

A public URL accessible by an HTTP/HTTPS GET request:

  • Authentication with the remote URL is not supported.
  • The YAML file must have the extension .yml or .yaml.
  • You can use certain CI/CD variables.

Example of include:remote:

include:
  - remote: 'https://gitlab.com/example-project/-/raw/main/.gitlab-ci.yml'

Additional details:

  • All nested includes are executed without context as a public user, so you can only include public projects or templates. No variables are available in the include section of nested includes.
  • Be careful when including another project’s CI/CD configuration file. No pipelines or notifications trigger when the other project’s files change. From a security perspective, this is similar to pulling a third-party dependency. To verify the integrity of the included file, consider using the integrity keyword. If you link to another GitLab project you own, consider the use of both protected branches and protected tags to enforce change management rules.

include:template

Use include:template to include .gitlab-ci.yml templates.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Supported values:

A CI/CD template:

Example of include:template:

# File sourced from the GitLab template collection
include:
  - template: Auto-DevOps.gitlab-ci.yml

Multiple include:template files:

include:
  - template: Android-Fastlane.gitlab-ci.yml
  - template: Auto-DevOps.gitlab-ci.yml

Additional details:

  • All nested includes are executed without context as a public user, so you can only include public projects or templates. No variables are available in the include section of nested includes.

include:inputs

Use include:inputs to set the values for input parameters when the included configuration uses spec:inputs and is added to the pipeline.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Supported values: A string, numeric value, or boolean.

Example of include:inputs:

include:
  - local: 'custom_configuration.yml'
    inputs:
      website: "My website"

In this example:

  • The configuration contained in custom_configuration.yml is added to the pipeline, with a website input set to a value of My website for the included configuration.

Additional details:

  • If the included configuration file uses spec:inputs:type, the input value must match the defined type.
  • If the included configuration file uses spec:inputs:options, the input value must match one of the listed options.

Related topics:

include:rules

You can use rules with include to conditionally include other configuration files.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Supported values: These rules subkeys:

Some CI/CD variables are supported.

Example of include:rules:

include:
  - local: build_jobs.yml
    rules:
      - if: $INCLUDE_BUILDS == "true"

test-job:
  stage: test
  script: echo "This is a test job"

In this example, if the INCLUDE_BUILDS variable is:

  • true, the build_jobs.yml configuration is included in the pipeline.
  • Not true or does not exist, the build_jobs.yml configuration is not included in the pipeline.

Related topics:

include:integrity

Use integrity with include:remote to specifiy a SHA256 hash of the included remote file. If integrity does not match the actual content, the remote file is not processed and the pipeline fails.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Supported values: Base64-encoded SHA256 hash of the included content.

Example of include:integrity:

include:
  - remote: 'https://gitlab.com/example-project/-/raw/main/.gitlab-ci.yml'
    integrity: 'sha256-L3/GAoKaw0Arw6hDCKeKQlV1QPEgHYxGBHsH4zG1IY8='

stages

Use stages to define stages that contain groups of jobs. Use stage in a job to configure the job to run in a specific stage.

If stages is not defined in the .gitlab-ci.yml file, the default pipeline stages are:

The order of the items in stages defines the execution order for jobs:

  • Jobs in the same stage run in parallel.
  • Jobs in the next stage run after the jobs from the previous stage complete successfully.

If a pipeline contains only jobs in the .pre or .post stages, it does not run. There must be at least one other job in a different stage.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Example of stages:

stages:
  - build
  - test
  - deploy

In this example:

  1. All jobs in build execute in parallel.
  2. If all jobs in build succeed, the test jobs execute in parallel.
  3. If all jobs in test succeed, the deploy jobs execute in parallel.
  4. If all jobs in deploy succeed, the pipeline is marked as passed.

If any job fails, the pipeline is marked as failed and jobs in later stages do not start. Jobs in the current stage are not stopped and continue to run.

Additional details:

  • If a job does not specify a stage, the job is assigned the test stage.
  • If a stage is defined but no jobs use it, the stage is not visible in the pipeline, which can help compliance pipeline configurations:
    • Stages can be defined in the compliance configuration but remain hidden if not used.
    • The defined stages become visible when developers use them in job definitions.

Related topics:

  • To make a job start earlier and ignore the stage order, use the needs keyword.

workflow

Use workflow to control pipeline behavior.

You can use some predefined CI/CD variables in workflow configuration, but not variables that are only defined when jobs start.

Related topics:

workflow:auto_cancel:on_new_commit

Use workflow:auto_cancel:on_new_commit to configure the behavior of the auto-cancel redundant pipelines feature.

Supported values:

  • conservative: Cancel the pipeline, but only if no jobs with interruptible: false have started yet. Default when not defined.
  • interruptible: Cancel only jobs with interruptible: true.
  • none: Do not auto-cancel any jobs.

Example of workflow:auto_cancel:on_new_commit:

workflow:
  auto_cancel:
    on_new_commit: interruptible

job1:
  interruptible: true
  script: sleep 60

job2:
  interruptible: false  # Default when not defined.
  script: sleep 60

In this example:

  • When a new commit is pushed to a branch, GitLab creates a new pipeline and job1 and job2 start.
  • If a new commit is pushed to the branch before the jobs complete, only job1 is canceled.

workflow:auto_cancel:on_job_failure

Use workflow:auto_cancel:on_job_failure to configure which jobs should be canceled as soon as one job fails.

Supported values:

  • all: Cancel the pipeline and all running jobs as soon as one job fails.
  • none: Do not auto-cancel any jobs.

Example of workflow:auto_cancel:on_job_failure:

stages: [stage_a, stage_b]

workflow:
  auto_cancel:
    on_job_failure: all

job1:
  stage: stage_a
  script: sleep 60

job2:
  stage: stage_a
  script:
    - sleep 30
    - exit 1

job3:
  stage: stage_b
  script:
    - sleep 30

In this example, if job2 fails, job1 is canceled if it is still running and job3 does not start.

Related topics:

workflow:name

You can use name in workflow: to define a name for pipelines.

All pipelines are assigned the defined name. Any leading or trailing spaces in the name are removed.

Supported values:

Examples of workflow:name:

A simple pipeline name with a predefined variable:

workflow:
  name: 'Pipeline for branch: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH'

A configuration with different pipeline names depending on the pipeline conditions:

variables:
  PROJECT1_PIPELINE_NAME: 'Default pipeline name'  # A default is not required

workflow:
  name: '$PROJECT1_PIPELINE_NAME'
  rules:
    - if: '$CI_MERGE_REQUEST_LABELS =~ /pipeline:run-in-ruby3/'
      variables:
        PROJECT1_PIPELINE_NAME: 'Ruby 3 pipeline'
    - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"'
      variables:
        PROJECT1_PIPELINE_NAME: 'MR pipeline: $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_SOURCE_BRANCH_NAME'
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH  # For default branch pipelines, use the default name

Additional details:

  • If the name is an empty string, the pipeline is not assigned a name. A name consisting of only CI/CD variables could evaluate to an empty string if all the variables are also empty.
  • workflow:rules:variables become default variables available in all jobs, including trigger jobs which forward variables to downstream pipelines by default. If the downstream pipeline uses the same variable, the variable is overwritten by the upstream variable value. Be sure to either:
    • Use a unique variable name in every project’s pipeline configuration, like PROJECT1_PIPELINE_NAME.
    • Use inherit:variables in the trigger job and list the exact variables you want to forward to the downstream pipeline.

workflow:rules

The rules keyword in workflow is similar to rules defined in jobs, but controls whether or not a whole pipeline is created.

When no rules evaluate to true, the pipeline does not run.

Supported values: You can use some of the same keywords as job-level rules:

Example of workflow:rules:

workflow:
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_TITLE =~ /-draft$/
      when: never
    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH

In this example, pipelines run if the commit title (first line of the commit message) does not end with -draft and the pipeline is for either:

  • A merge request
  • The default branch.

Additional details:

  • If your rules match both branch pipelines (other than the default branch) and merge request pipelines, duplicate pipelines can occur.
  • start_in, allow_failure, and needs are not supported in workflow:rules, but do not cause a syntax violation. Though they have no effect, do not use them in workflow:rules as it could cause syntax failures in the future. See issue 436473 for more details.

Related topics:

workflow:rules:variables

You can use variables in workflow:rules to define variables for specific pipeline conditions.

When the condition matches, the variable is created and can be used by all jobs in the pipeline. If the variable is already defined at the top level as a default variable, the workflow variable takes precedence and overrides the default variable.

Keyword type: Global keyword.

Supported values: Variable name and value pairs:

  • The name can use only numbers, letters, and underscores (_).
  • The value must be a string.

Example of workflow:rules:variables:

variables:
  DEPLOY_VARIABLE: "default-deploy"

workflow:
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH
      variables:
        DEPLOY_VARIABLE: "deploy-production"  # Override globally-defined DEPLOY_VARIABLE
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /feature/
      variables:
        IS_A_FEATURE: "true"                  # Define a new variable.
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH                   # Run the pipeline in other cases

job1:
  variables:
    DEPLOY_VARIABLE: "job1-default-deploy"
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH
      variables:                                   # Override DEPLOY_VARIABLE defined
        DEPLOY_VARIABLE: "job1-deploy-production"  # at the job level.
    - when: on_success                             # Run the job in other cases
  script:
    - echo "Run script with $DEPLOY_VARIABLE as an argument"
    - echo "Run another script if $IS_A_FEATURE exists"

job2:
  script:
    - echo "Run script with $DEPLOY_VARIABLE as an argument"
    - echo "Run another script if $IS_A_FEATURE exists"

When the branch is the default branch:

  • job1’s DEPLOY_VARIABLE is job1-deploy-production.
  • job2’s DEPLOY_VARIABLE is deploy-production.

When the branch is feature:

  • job1’s DEPLOY_VARIABLE is job1-default-deploy, and IS_A_FEATURE is true.
  • job2’s DEPLOY_VARIABLE is default-deploy, and IS_A_FEATURE is true.

When the branch is something else:

  • job1’s DEPLOY_VARIABLE is job1-default-deploy.
  • job2’s DEPLOY_VARIABLE is default-deploy.

Additional details:

  • workflow:rules:variables become default variables available in all jobs, including trigger jobs which forward variables to downstream pipelines by default. If the downstream pipeline uses the same variable, the variable is overwritten by the upstream variable value. Be sure to either:
    • Use unique variable names in every project’s pipeline configuration, like PROJECT1_VARIABLE_NAME.
    • Use inherit:variables in the trigger job and list the exact variables you want to forward to the downstream pipeline.

workflow:rules:auto_cancel

Use workflow:rules:auto_cancel to configure the behavior of the workflow:auto_cancel:on_new_commit or the workflow:auto_cancel:on_job_failure features.

Supported values:

Example of workflow:rules:auto_cancel:

workflow:
  auto_cancel:
    on_new_commit: interruptible
    on_job_failure: all
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_REF_PROTECTED == 'true'
      auto_cancel:
        on_new_commit: none
        on_job_failure: none
    - when: always                  # Run the pipeline in other cases

test-job1:
  script: sleep 10
  interruptible: false

test-job2:
  script: sleep 10
  interruptible: true

In this example, workflow:auto_cancel:on_new_commit is set to interruptible and workflow:auto_cancel:on_job_failure is set to all for all jobs by default. But if a pipeline runs for a protected branch, the rule overrides the default with on_new_commit: none and on_job_failure: none. For example, if a pipeline is running for:

  • A non-protected branch and a new commit is pushed, test-job1 continues to run and test-job2 is canceled.
  • A protected branch and a new commit is pushed, both test-job1 and test-job2 continue to run.

Header keywords

Some keywords must be defined in a header section of a YAML configuration file. The header must be at the top of the file, separated from the rest of the configuration with ---.

spec

Add a spec section to the header of a YAML file to configure the behavior of a pipeline when a configuration is added to the pipeline with the include keyword.

Specs must be declared at the top of a configuration file, in a header section separated from the rest of the configuration with ---.

spec:inputs

You can use spec:inputs to define inputs for the CI/CD configuration.

Use the interpolation format $[[ inputs.input-id ]] to reference the values outside of the header section. Inputs are evaluated and interpolated when the configuration is fetched during pipeline creation. When using inputs, interpolation completes before the configuration is merged with the contents of the .gitlab-ci.yml file.

Keyword type: Header keyword. spec must be declared at the top of the configuration file, in a header section.

Supported values: A hash of strings representing the expected inputs.

Example of spec:inputs:

spec:
  inputs:
    environment:
    job-stage:
---

scan-website:
  stage: $[[ inputs.job-stage ]]
  script: ./scan-website $[[ inputs.environment ]]

Additional details:

  • Inputs are mandatory unless you use spec:inputs:default to set a default value. Avoid mandatory inputs unless you only use inputs with include:inputs.
  • Inputs expect strings unless you use spec:inputs:type to set a different input type.
  • A string containing an interpolation block must not exceed 1 MB.
  • The string inside an interpolation block must not exceed 1 KB.
  • You can define input values when running a new pipeline.

Related topics:

spec:inputs:default

Inputs are mandatory when included, unless you set a default value with spec:inputs:default.

Use default: '' to have no default value.

Keyword type: Header keyword. spec must be declared at the top of the configuration file, in a header section.

Supported values: A string representing the default value, or ''.

Example of spec:inputs:default:

spec:
  inputs:
    website:
    user:
      default: 'test-user'
    flags:
      default: ''
title: The pipeline configuration would follow...
---

In this example:

  • website is mandatory and must be defined.
  • user is optional. If not defined, the value is test-user.
  • flags is optional. If not defined, it has no value.

Additional details:

  • The pipeline fails with a validation error when the input:
    • Uses both default and options, but the default value is not one of the listed options.
    • Uses both default and regex, but the default value does not match the regular expression.
    • Value does not match the type.
spec:inputs:description

Use description to give a description to a specific input. The description does not affect the behavior of the input and is only used to help users of the file understand the input.

Keyword type: Header keyword. spec must be declared at the top of the configuration file, in a header section.

Supported values: A string representing the description.

Example of spec:inputs:description:

spec:
  inputs:
    flags:
      description: 'Sample description of the `flags` input details.'
title: The pipeline configuration would follow...
---
spec:inputs:options

Inputs can use options to specify a list of allowed values for an input. The limit is 50 options per input.

Keyword type: Header keyword. spec must be declared at the top of the configuration file, in a header section.

Supported values: An array of input options.

Example of spec:inputs:options:

spec:
  inputs:
    environment:
      options:
        - development
        - staging
        - production
title: The pipeline configuration would follow...
---

In this example:

  • environment is mandatory and must be defined with one of the values in the list.

Additional details:

  • The pipeline fails with a validation error when:
    • The input uses both options and default, but the default value is not one of the listed options.
    • Any of the input options do not match the type, which can be either string or number, but not boolean when using options.
spec:inputs:regex

Use spec:inputs:regex to specify a regular expression that the input must match.

Keyword type: Header keyword. spec must be declared at the top of the configuration file, in a header section.

Supported values: Must be a regular expression.

Example of spec:inputs:regex:

spec:
  inputs:
    version:
      regex: ^v\d\.\d+(\.\d+)?$
title: The pipeline configuration would follow...
---

In this example, inputs of v1.0 or v1.2.3 match the regular expression and pass validation. An input of v1.A.B does not match the regular expression and fails validation.

Additional details:

  • inputs:regex can only be used with a type of string, not number or boolean.
  • Do not enclose the regular expression with the / character. For example, use regex.*, not /regex.*/.
  • inputs:regex uses RE2 to parse regular expressions.
  • Validation of the input against the regular expression happens before variable expansion. If the input text includes a variable name, the raw value of the input (the variable name) is validated, not the variable value.
spec:inputs:type

By default, inputs expect strings. Use spec:inputs:type to set a different required type for inputs.

Keyword type: Header keyword. spec must be declared at the top of the configuration file, in a header section.

Supported values: Can be one of:

  • array, to accept an array of inputs.
  • string, to accept string inputs (default when not defined).
  • number, to only accept numeric inputs.
  • boolean, to only accept true or false inputs.

Example of spec:inputs:type:

spec:
  inputs:
    job_name:
    website:
      type: string
    port:
      type: number
    available:
      type: boolean
    array_input:
      type: array
title: The pipeline configuration would follow...
---

Job keywords

The following topics explain how to use keywords to configure CI/CD pipelines.

after_script

Use after_script to define an array of commands to run last, after a job’s before_script and script sections complete. after_script commands also run when:

  • The job is canceled while the before_script or script sections are still running.
  • The job fails with failure type of script_failure, but not other failure types.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values: An array including:

CI/CD variables are supported.

Example of after_script:

job:
  script:
    - echo "An example script section."
  after_script:
    - echo "Execute this command after the `script` section completes."

Additional details:

Scripts you specify in after_script execute in a new shell, separate from any before_script or script commands. As a result, they:

  • Have the current working directory set back to the default (according to the variables which define how the runner processes Git requests).
  • Don’t have access to changes done by commands defined in the before_script or script, including:
    • Command aliases and variables exported in script scripts.
    • Changes outside of the working tree (depending on the runner executor), like software installed by a before_script or script script.
  • Have a separate timeout. For GitLab Runner 16.4 and later, this defaults to 5 minutes, and can be configured with the RUNNER_AFTER_SCRIPT_TIMEOUT variable. In GitLab 16.3 and earlier, the timeout is hard-coded to 5 minutes.
  • Don’t affect the job’s exit code. If the script section succeeds and the after_script times out or fails, the job exits with code 0 (Job Succeeded).
  • There is a known issue with using CI/CD job tokens with after_script. You can use a job token for authentication in after_script commands, but the token immediately becomes invalid if the job is canceled. See issue for more details.

For jobs that time out:

  • after_script commands do not execute by default.
  • You can configure timeout values to ensure after_script runs by setting appropriate RUNNER_SCRIPT_TIMEOUT and RUNNER_AFTER_SCRIPT_TIMEOUT values that don’t exceed the job’s timeout.

Related topics:

allow_failure

Use allow_failure to determine whether a pipeline should continue running when a job fails.

  • To let the pipeline continue running subsequent jobs, use allow_failure: true.
  • To stop the pipeline from running subsequent jobs, use allow_failure: false.

When jobs are allowed to fail (allow_failure: true) an orange warning ( status_warning ) indicates that a job failed. However, the pipeline is successful and the associated commit is marked as passed with no warnings.

This same warning is displayed when:

  • All other jobs in the stage are successful.
  • All other jobs in the pipeline are successful.

The default value for allow_failure is:

  • true for manual jobs.
  • false for jobs that use when: manual inside rules.
  • false in all other cases.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values:

  • true or false.

Example of allow_failure:

job1:
  stage: test
  script:
    - execute_script_1

job2:
  stage: test
  script:
    - execute_script_2
  allow_failure: true

job3:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - deploy_to_staging
  environment: staging

In this example, job1 and job2 run in parallel:

  • If job1 fails, jobs in the deploy stage do not start.
  • If job2 fails, jobs in the deploy stage can still start.

Additional details:

  • You can use allow_failure as a subkey of rules.
  • If allow_failure: true is set, the job is always considered successful, and later jobs with when: on_failure don’t start if this job fails.
  • You can use allow_failure: false with a manual job to create a blocking manual job. A blocked pipeline does not run any jobs in later stages until the manual job is started and completes successfully.

allow_failure:exit_codes

Use allow_failure:exit_codes to control when a job should be allowed to fail. The job is allow_failure: true for any of the listed exit codes, and allow_failure false for any other exit code.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values:

  • A single exit code.
  • An array of exit codes.

Example of allow_failure:

test_job_1:
  script:
    - echo "Run a script that results in exit code 1. This job fails."
    - exit 1
  allow_failure:
    exit_codes: 137

test_job_2:
  script:
    - echo "Run a script that results in exit code 137. This job is allowed to fail."
    - exit 137
  allow_failure:
    exit_codes:
      - 137
      - 255

artifacts

Use artifacts to specify which files to save as job artifacts. Job artifacts are a list of files and directories that are attached to the job when it succeeds, fails, or always.

The artifacts are sent to GitLab after the job finishes. They are available for download in the GitLab UI if the size is smaller than the maximum artifact size.

By default, jobs in later stages automatically download all the artifacts created by jobs in earlier stages. You can control artifact download behavior in jobs with dependencies.

When using the needs keyword, jobs can only download artifacts from the jobs defined in the needs configuration.

Job artifacts are only collected for successful jobs by default, and artifacts are restored after caches.

Read more about artifacts.

artifacts:paths

Paths are relative to the project directory ($CI_PROJECT_DIR) and can’t directly link outside it.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

CI/CD variables are supported.

Example of artifacts:paths:

job:
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - binaries/
      - .config

This example creates an artifact with .config and all the files in the binaries directory.

Additional details:

  • If not used with artifacts:name, the artifacts file is named artifacts, which becomes artifacts.zip when downloaded.

Related topics:

artifacts:exclude

Use artifacts:exclude to prevent files from being added to an artifacts archive.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • An array of file paths, relative to the project directory.
  • You can use Wildcards that use glob or doublestar.PathMatch patterns.

Example of artifacts:exclude:

artifacts:
  paths:
    - binaries/
  exclude:
    - binaries/**/*.o

This example stores all files in binaries/, but not *.o files located in subdirectories of binaries/.

Additional details:

  • artifacts:exclude paths are not searched recursively.
  • Files matched by artifacts:untracked can be excluded using artifacts:exclude too.

Related topics:

artifacts:expire_in

Use expire_in to specify how long job artifacts are stored before they expire and are deleted. The expire_in setting does not affect:

After their expiry, artifacts are deleted hourly by default (using a cron job), and are not accessible anymore.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values: The expiry time. If no unit is provided, the time is in seconds. Valid values include:

  • '42'
  • 42 seconds
  • 3 mins 4 sec
  • 2 hrs 20 min
  • 2h20min
  • 6 mos 1 day
  • 47 yrs 6 mos and 4d
  • 3 weeks and 2 days
  • never

Example of artifacts:expire_in:

job:
  artifacts:
    expire_in: 1 week

Additional details:

  • The expiration time period begins when the artifact is uploaded and stored on GitLab. If the expiry time is not defined, it defaults to the instance wide setting.
  • To override the expiration date and protect artifacts from being automatically deleted:
    • Select Keep on the job page.
    • Set the value of expire_in to never.
  • If the expiry time is too short, jobs in later stages of a long pipeline might try to fetch expired artifacts from earlier jobs. If the artifacts are expired, jobs that try to fetch them fail with a could not retrieve the needed artifacts error. Set the expiry time to be longer, or use dependencies in later jobs to ensure they don’t try to fetch expired artifacts.
  • artifacts:expire_in doesn’t affect GitLab Pages deployments. To configure Pages deployments’ expiry, use pages.expire_in.

artifacts:expose_as

Use the artifacts:expose_as keyword to expose job artifacts in the merge request UI.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • The name to display in the merge request UI for the artifacts download link. Must be combined with artifacts:paths.

Example of artifacts:expose_as:

test:
  script: ["echo 'test' > file.txt"]
  artifacts:
    expose_as: 'artifact 1'
    paths: ['file.txt']

Additional details:

  • Artifacts are saved, but do not display in the UI if the artifacts:paths values:
    • Use CI/CD variables.
    • Define a directory, but do not end with /. For example, directory/ works with artifacts:expose_as, but directory does not.
    • Start with ./. For example, file works with artifacts:expose_as, but ./file does not.
  • A maximum of 10 job artifacts per merge request can be exposed.
  • Glob patterns are unsupported.
  • If a directory is specified and there is more than one file in the directory, the link is to the job artifacts browser.
  • If GitLab Pages is enabled, GitLab automatically renders the artifacts when the artifacts is a single file with one of these extensions:
    • .html or .htm
    • .txt
    • .json
    • .xml
    • .log

Related topics:

artifacts:name

Use the artifacts:name keyword to define the name of the created artifacts archive. You can specify a unique name for every archive.

If not defined, the default name is artifacts, which becomes artifacts.zip when downloaded.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

Example of artifacts:name:

To create an archive with a name of the current job:

job:
  artifacts:
    name: "job1-artifacts-file"
    paths:
      - binaries/

Related topics:

artifacts:public

artifacts:public is now superseded by artifacts:access which has more options.

Use artifacts:public to determine whether the job artifacts should be publicly available.

When artifacts:public is true (default), the artifacts in public pipelines are available for download by anonymous, guest, and reporter users.

To deny read access to artifacts in public pipelines for anonymous, guest, and reporter users, set artifacts:public to false:

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • true (default if not defined) or false.

Example of artifacts:public:

job:
  artifacts:
    public: false

artifacts:access

Use artifacts:access to determine who can access the job artifacts from the GitLab UI or API. This option does not prevent you from forwarding artifacts to downstream pipelines.

You cannot use artifacts:public and artifacts:access in the same job.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values:

  • all (default): Artifacts in a job in public pipelines are available for download by anyone, including anonymous, guest, and reporter users.
  • developer: Artifacts in the job are only available for download by users with the Developer role or higher.
  • maintainer: Artifacts in the job are only available for download by users with the Maintainer role or higher.
  • none: Artifacts in the job are not available for download by anyone.

Example of artifacts:access:

job:
  artifacts:
    access: 'developer'

Additional details:

artifacts:reports

Use artifacts:reports to collect artifacts generated by included templates in jobs.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

Example of artifacts:reports:

rspec:
  stage: test
  script:
    - bundle install
    - rspec --format RspecJunitFormatter --out rspec.xml
  artifacts:
    reports:
      junit: rspec.xml

Additional details:

  • Combining reports in parent pipelines using artifacts from child pipelines is not supported. Track progress on adding support in this issue.
  • To be able to browse and download the report output files, include the artifacts:paths keyword. This uploads and stores the artifact twice.
  • Artifacts created for artifacts: reports are always uploaded, regardless of the job results (success or failure). You can use artifacts:expire_in to set an expiration date for the artifacts.

artifacts:untracked

Use artifacts:untracked to add all Git untracked files as artifacts (along with the paths defined in artifacts:paths). artifacts:untracked ignores configuration in the repository’s .gitignore, so matching artifacts in .gitignore are included.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • true or false (default if not defined).

Example of artifacts:untracked:

Save all Git untracked files:

job:
  artifacts:
    untracked: true

Related topics:

artifacts:when

Use artifacts:when to upload artifacts on job failure or despite the failure.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • on_success (default): Upload artifacts only when the job succeeds.
  • on_failure: Upload artifacts only when the job fails.
  • always: Always upload artifacts (except when jobs time out). For example, when uploading artifacts required to troubleshoot failing tests.

Example of artifacts:when:

job:
  artifacts:
    when: on_failure

Additional details:

  • The artifacts created for artifacts:reports are always uploaded, regardless of the job results (success or failure). artifacts:when does not change this behavior.

before_script

Use before_script to define an array of commands that should run before each job’s script commands, but after artifacts are restored.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values: An array including:

CI/CD variables are supported.

Example of before_script:

job:
  before_script:
    - echo "Execute this command before any 'script:' commands."
  script:
    - echo "This command executes after the job's 'before_script' commands."

Additional details:

  • Scripts you specify in before_script are concatenated with any scripts you specify in the main script. The combined scripts execute together in a single shell.
  • Using before_script at the top level, but not in the default section, is deprecated.

Related topics:

cache

Use cache to specify a list of files and directories to cache between jobs. You can only use paths that are in the local working copy.

Caches are:

  • Shared between pipelines and jobs.
  • By default, not shared between protected and unprotected branches.
  • Restored before artifacts.
  • Limited to a maximum of four different caches.

You can disable caching for specific jobs, for example to override:

  • A default cache defined with default.
  • The configuration for a job added with include.

For more information about caches, see Caching in GitLab CI/CD.

cache:paths

Use the cache:paths keyword to choose which files or directories to cache.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • An array of paths relative to the project directory ($CI_PROJECT_DIR). You can use wildcards that use glob and doublestar.Glob patterns.

CI/CD variables are supported.

Example of cache:paths:

Cache all files in binaries that end in .apk and the .config file:

rspec:
  script:
    - echo "This job uses a cache."
  cache:
    key: binaries-cache
    paths:
      - binaries/*.apk
      - .config

Additional details:

  • The cache:paths keyword includes files even if they are untracked or in your .gitignore file.

Related topics:

cache:key

Use the cache:key keyword to give each cache a unique identifying key. All jobs that use the same cache key use the same cache, including in different pipelines.

If not set, the default key is default. All jobs with the cache keyword but no cache:key share the default cache.

Must be used with cache: paths, or nothing is cached.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

Example of cache:key:

cache-job:
  script:
    - echo "This job uses a cache."
  cache:
    key: binaries-cache-$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG
    paths:
      - binaries/

Additional details:

  • If you use Windows Batch to run your shell scripts you must replace $ with %. For example: key: %CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG%

  • The cache:key value can’t contain:

    • The / character, or the equivalent URI-encoded %2F.
    • Only the . character (any number), or the equivalent URI-encoded %2E.

  • The cache is shared between jobs, so if you’re using different paths for different jobs, you should also set a different cache:key. Otherwise cache content can be overwritten.

Related topics:

cache:key:files

Use cache:key:files to generate a new cache key when the content of the specified files change. If the content remains unchanged, the cache key remains consistent across branches and pipelines. You can reuse caches and rebuild them less often, which speeds up subsequent pipeline runs.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • An array of up to two file paths or patterns.

CI/CD variables are not supported.

Example of cache:key:files:

cache-job:
  script:
    - echo "This job uses a cache."
  cache:
    key:
      files:
        - Gemfile.lock
        - package.json
    paths:
      - vendor/ruby
      - node_modules

This example creates a cache for Ruby and Node.js dependencies. The cache is tied to the current versions of the Gemfile.lock and package.json files. When one of these files changes, a new cache key is computed and a new cache is created. Any future job runs that use the same Gemfile.lock and package.json with cache:key:files use the new cache, instead of rebuilding the dependencies.

Additional details:

  • The cache key is a SHA computed from the content of the listed files. If a file doesn’t exist, it’s ignored in the key calculation. If none of the specified files exist, the fallback key is default.
  • Wildcard patterns like **/package.json can be used. An issue exists to increase the number of paths or patterns allowed for a cache key.
cache:key:files_commits

Use cache:key:files_commits to generate a new cache key when the latest commit changes for the specified files. cache:key:files_commits cache keys change whenever the specified files have a new commit, even if the file content remains identical.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • An array of up to two file paths or patterns.

Example of cache:key:files_commits:

cache-job:
  script:
    - echo "This job uses a commit-based cache."
  cache:
    key:
      files_commits:
        - package.json
        - yarn.lock
    paths:
      - node_modules

This example creates a cache based on the commit history of package.json and yarn.lock. If the commit history changes for these files, a new cache key is computed and a new cache is created.

Additional details:

  • The cache key is a SHA computed from the most recent commit for each specified file.
  • If a file doesn’t exist, it’s ignored in the key calculation.
  • If none of the specified files exist, the fallback key is default.
  • Cannot be used together with cache:key:files in the same cache configuration.
cache:key:prefix

Use cache:key:prefix to combine a prefix with the SHA computed for cache:key:files.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

Example of cache:key:prefix:

rspec:
  script:
    - echo "This rspec job uses a cache."
  cache:
    key:
      files:
        - Gemfile.lock
      prefix: $CI_JOB_NAME
    paths:
      - vendor/ruby

For example, adding a prefix of $CI_JOB_NAME causes the key to look like rspec-feef9576d21ee9b6a32e30c5c79d0a0ceb68d1e5. If a branch changes Gemfile.lock, that branch has a new SHA checksum for cache:key:files. A new cache key is generated, and a new cache is created for that key. If Gemfile.lock is not found, the prefix is added to default, so the key in the example would be rspec-default.

Additional details:

  • If no file in cache:key:files is changed in any commits, the prefix is added to the default key.

cache:untracked

Use untracked: true to cache all files that are untracked in your Git repository. Untracked files include files that are:

Caching untracked files can create unexpectedly large caches if the job downloads:

  • Dependencies, like gems or node modules, which are usually untracked.
  • Artifacts from a different job. Files extracted from the artifacts are untracked by default.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • true or false (default).

Example of cache:untracked:

rspec:
  script: test
  cache:
    untracked: true

Additional details:

  • You can combine cache:untracked with cache:paths to cache all untracked files, as well as files in the configured paths. Use cache:paths to cache any specific files, including tracked files, or files that are outside of the working directory, and use cache: untracked to also cache all untracked files. For example:

    rspec:
  script: test
  cache:
    untracked: true
    paths:
      - binaries/

    In this example, the job caches all untracked files in the repository, as well as all the files in binaries/. If there are untracked files in binaries/, they are covered by both keywords.

cache:unprotect

Use cache:unprotect to set a cache to be shared between protected and unprotected branches.

When set to true, users without access to protected branches can read and write to cache keys used by protected branches.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • true or false (default).

Example of cache:unprotect:

rspec:
  script: test
  cache:
    unprotect: true

cache:when

Use cache:when to define when to save the cache, based on the status of the job.

Must be used with cache: paths, or nothing is cached.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • on_success (default): Save the cache only when the job succeeds.
  • on_failure: Save the cache only when the job fails.
  • always: Always save the cache.

Example of cache:when:

rspec:
  script: rspec
  cache:
    paths:
      - rspec/
    when: 'always'

This example stores the cache whether or not the job fails or succeeds.

cache:policy

To change the upload and download behavior of a cache, use the cache:policy keyword. By default, the job downloads the cache when the job starts, and uploads changes to the cache when the job ends. This caching style is the pull-push policy (default).

To set a job to only download the cache when the job starts, but never upload changes when the job finishes, use cache:policy:pull.

To set a job to only upload a cache when the job finishes, but never download the cache when the job starts, use cache:policy:push.

Use the pull policy when you have many jobs executing in parallel that use the same cache. This policy speeds up job execution and reduces load on the cache server. You can use a job with the push policy to build the cache.

Must be used with cache: paths, or nothing is cached.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

Example of cache:policy:

prepare-dependencies-job:
  stage: build
  cache:
    key: gems
    paths:
      - vendor/bundle
    policy: push
  script:
    - echo "This job only downloads dependencies and builds the cache."
    - echo "Downloading dependencies..."

faster-test-job:
  stage: test
  cache:
    key: gems
    paths:
      - vendor/bundle
    policy: pull
  script:
    - echo "This job script uses the cache, but does not update it."
    - echo "Running tests..."

Related topics:

cache:fallback_keys

Use cache:fallback_keys to specify a list of keys to try to restore cache from if there is no cache found for the cache:key. Caches are retrieved in the order specified in the fallback_keys section.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • An array of cache keys

Example of cache:fallback_keys:

rspec:
  script: rspec
  cache:
    key: gems-$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG
    paths:
      - rspec/
    fallback_keys:
      - gems
    when: 'always'

coverage

Use coverage with a custom regular expression to configure how code coverage is extracted from the job output. The coverage is shown in the UI if at least one line in the job output matches the regular expression.

To extract the code coverage value from the match, GitLab uses this smaller regular expression: \d+(?:\.\d+)?.

Supported values:

  • An RE2 regular expression. Must start and end with /. Must match the coverage number. May match surrounding text as well, so you don’t need to use a regular expression character group to capture the exact number. Because it uses RE2 syntax, all groups must be non-capturing.

Example of coverage:

job1:
  script: rspec
  coverage: '/Code coverage: \d+(?:\.\d+)?/'

In this example:

  1. GitLab checks the job log for a match with the regular expression. A line like Code coverage: 67.89% of lines covered would match.
  2. GitLab then checks the matched fragment to find a match to the regular expression: \d+(?:\.\d+)?. The sample regex can match a code coverage of 67.89.

Additional details:

  • You can find regex examples in Code Coverage.
  • If there is more than one matched line in the job output, the last line is used (the first result of reverse search).
  • If there are multiple matches in a single line, the last match is searched for the coverage number.
  • If there are multiple coverage numbers found in the matched fragment, the first number is used.
  • Leading zeros are removed.
  • Coverage output from child pipelines is not recorded or displayed. Check the related issue for more details.

dast_configuration

  • Tier: Ultimate
  • Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated

Use the dast_configuration keyword to specify a site profile and scanner profile to be used in a CI/CD configuration. Both profiles must first have been created in the project. The job’s stage must be dast.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use only as part of a job.

Supported values: One each of site_profile and scanner_profile.

  • Use site_profile to specify the site profile to be used in the job.
  • Use scanner_profile to specify the scanner profile to be used in the job.

Example of dast_configuration:

stages:
  - build
  - dast

include:
  - template: DAST.gitlab-ci.yml

dast:
  dast_configuration:
    site_profile: "Example Co"
    scanner_profile: "Quick Passive Test"

In this example, the dast job extends the dast configuration added with the include keyword to select a specific site profile and scanner profile.

Additional details:

  • Settings contained in either a site profile or scanner profile take precedence over those contained in the DAST template.

Related topics:

dependencies

Use the dependencies keyword to define a list of specific jobs to fetch artifacts from. The specified jobs must all be in earlier stages. You can also set a job to download no artifacts at all.

When dependencies is not defined in a job, all jobs in earlier stages are considered dependent and the job fetches all artifacts from those jobs.

To fetch artifacts from a job in the same stage, you must use needs:artifacts. You should not combine dependencies with needs in the same job.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values:

  • The names of jobs to fetch artifacts from.
  • An empty array ([]), to configure the job to not download any artifacts.

Example of dependencies:

build osx:
  stage: build
  script: make build:osx
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - binaries/

build linux:
  stage: build
  script: make build:linux
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - binaries/

test osx:
  stage: test
  script: make test:osx
  dependencies:
    - build osx

test linux:
  stage: test
  script: make test:linux
  dependencies:
    - build linux

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  script: make deploy
  environment: production

In this example, two jobs have artifacts: build osx and build linux. When test osx is executed, the artifacts from build osx are downloaded and extracted in the context of the build. The same thing happens for test linux and artifacts from build linux.

The deploy job downloads artifacts from all previous jobs because of the stage precedence.

Additional details:

  • The job status does not matter. If a job fails or it’s a manual job that isn’t triggered, no error occurs.
  • If the artifacts of a dependent job are expired or deleted, then the job fails.

environment

Use environment to define the environment that a job deploys to.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values: The name of the environment the job deploys to, in one of these formats:

  • Plain text, including letters, digits, spaces, and these characters: -, _, /, $, {, }.
  • CI/CD variables, including predefined, project, group, instance, or variables defined in the .gitlab-ci.yml file. You can’t use variables defined in a script section.

Example of environment:

deploy to production:
  stage: deploy
  script: git push production HEAD:main
  environment: production

Additional details:

  • If you specify an environment and no environment with that name exists, an environment is created.

environment:name

Set a name for an environment.

Common environment names are qa, staging, and production, but you can use any name.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values: The name of the environment the job deploys to, in one of these formats:

  • Plain text, including letters, digits, spaces, and these characters: -, _, /, $, {, }.
  • CI/CD variables, including predefined, project, group, instance, or variables defined in the .gitlab-ci.yml file. You can’t use variables defined in a script section.

Example of environment:name:

deploy to production:
  stage: deploy
  script: git push production HEAD:main
  environment:
    name: production

environment:url

Set a URL for an environment.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values: A single URL, in one of these formats:

  • Plain text, like https://prod.example.com.
  • CI/CD variables, including predefined, project, group, instance, or variables defined in the .gitlab-ci.yml file. You can’t use variables defined in a script section.

Example of environment:url:

deploy to production:
  stage: deploy
  script: git push production HEAD:main
  environment:
    name: production
    url: https://prod.example.com

Additional details:

  • After the job completes, you can access the URL by selecting a button in the merge request, environment, or deployment pages.

environment:on_stop

Closing (stopping) environments can be achieved with the on_stop keyword defined under environment. It declares a different job that runs to close the environment.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Additional details:

environment:action

Use the action keyword to specify how the job interacts with the environment.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values: One of the following keywords:

ValueDescription
startDefault value. Indicates that the job starts the environment. The deployment is created after the job starts.
prepareIndicates that the job is only preparing the environment. It does not trigger deployments. Read more about preparing environments.
stopIndicates that the job stops an environment. Read more about stopping an environment.
verifyIndicates that the job is only verifying the environment. It does not trigger deployments. Read more about verifying environments.
accessIndicates that the job is only accessing the environment. It does not trigger deployments. Read more about accessing environments.

Example of environment:action:

stop_review_app:
  stage: deploy
  variables:
    GIT_STRATEGY: none
  script: make delete-app
  when: manual
  environment:
    name: review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG
    action: stop

environment:auto_stop_in

The auto_stop_in keyword specifies the lifetime of the environment. When an environment expires, GitLab automatically stops it.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values: A period of time written in natural language. For example, these are all equivalent:

  • 168 hours
  • 7 days
  • one week
  • never

CI/CD variables are supported.

Example of environment:auto_stop_in:

review_app:
  script: deploy-review-app
  environment:
    name: review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG
    auto_stop_in: 1 day

When the environment for review_app is created, the environment’s lifetime is set to 1 day. Every time the review app is deployed, that lifetime is also reset to 1 day.

The auto_stop_in keyword can be used for all environment actions except stop. Some actions can be used to reset the scheduled stop time for the environment. For more information, see Access an environment for preparation or verification purposes.

Related topics:

environment:kubernetes

Use the kubernetes keyword to configure the dashboard for Kubernetes and GitLab-managed Kubernetes resources for an environment.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values:

  • agent: A string specifying the GitLab agent for Kubernetes. The format is path/to/agent/project:agent-name. If the agent is connected to the project running the pipeline, use $CI_PROJECT_PATH:agent-name.
  • dashboard:namespace: A string representing the Kubernetes namespace where the environment is deployed. The namespace must be set together with the agent keyword. namespace is deprecated.
  • dashboard:flux_resource_path: A string representing the full path to the Flux resource, such as a HelmRelease. The Flux resource must be set together with the agent and dashboard:namespace keywords. flux_resource_path is deprecated.
  • managed_resources: A hash with the enabled keyword to configure the GitLab-managed Kubernetes resources for the environment.
    • managed_resources:enabled: A boolean value indicating whether GitLab-managed Kubernetes resources are enabled for the environment.
  • dashboard: A hash with the dashboard:namespace and dashboard:flux_resource_path keywords to configure the dashboard for Kubernetes for the environment.

Example of environment:kubernetes:

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  script: make deploy-app
  environment:
    name: production
    kubernetes:
      agent: path/to/agent/project:agent-name
      dashboard:
        namespace: my-namespace
        flux_resource_path: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2/namespaces/flux-system/helmreleases/helm-release-resource

Example of environment:kubernetes when disabling managed resources:

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  script: make deploy-app
  environment:
    name: production
    kubernetes:
      agent: path/to/agent/project:agent-name
      managed_resources:
        enabled: false
      dashboard:
        namespace: my-namespace
        flux_resource_path: helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2/namespaces/flux-system/helmreleases/helm-release-resource

This configuration:

  • Sets up the deploy job to deploy to the production environment
  • Associates the agent named agent-name with the environment
  • Configures the dashboard for Kubernetes for an environment with the namespace my-namespace and the flux_resource_path set to helm.toolkit.fluxcd.io/v2/namespaces/flux-system/helmreleases/helm-release-resource.

Additional details:

  • To use the dashboard, you must install the GitLab agent for Kubernetes and configure user_access for the environment’s project or its parent group.
  • The user running the job must be authorized to access the cluster agent. Otherwise, the dashboard ignores the agent, namespace, and flux_resource_path attributes.
  • If you only want to set the agent, you do not have to set the namespace, and cannot set flux_resource_path. However, this configuration lists all namespaces in a cluster in the dashboard for Kubernetes.

environment:deployment_tier

Use the deployment_tier keyword to specify the tier of the deployment environment.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values: One of the following:

  • production
  • staging
  • testing
  • development
  • other

Example of environment:deployment_tier:

deploy:
  script: echo
  environment:
    name: customer-portal
    deployment_tier: production

Additional details:

  • Environments created from this job definition are assigned a tier based on this value.
  • Existing environments don’t have their tier updated if this value is added later. Existing environments must have their tier updated via the Environments API.

Related topics:

Dynamic environments

Use CI/CD variables to dynamically name environments.

For example:

deploy as review app:
  stage: deploy
  script: make deploy
  environment:
    name: review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG
    url: https://$CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG.example.com/

The deploy as review app job is marked as a deployment to dynamically create the review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG environment. $CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG is a CI/CD variable set by the runner. The $CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG variable is based on the environment name, but suitable for inclusion in URLs. If the deploy as review app job runs in a branch named pow, this environment would be accessible with a URL like https://review-pow.example.com/.

The common use case is to create dynamic environments for branches and use them as review apps. You can see an example that uses review apps at https://gitlab.com/gitlab-examples/review-apps-nginx/.

extends

Use extends to reuse configuration sections. It’s an alternative to YAML anchors and is a little more flexible and readable.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job.

Supported values:

  • The name of another job in the pipeline.
  • A list (array) of names of other jobs in the pipeline.

Example of extends:

.tests:
  stage: test
  image: ruby:3.0

rspec:
  extends: .tests
  script: rake rspec

rubocop:
  extends: .tests
  script: bundle exec rubocop

In this example, the rspec job uses the configuration from the .tests template job. When creating the pipeline, GitLab:

  • Performs a reverse deep merge based on the keys.
  • Merges the .tests content with the rspec job.
  • Doesn’t merge the values of the keys.

The combined configuration is equivalent to these jobs:

rspec:
  stage: test
  image: ruby:3.0
  script: rake rspec

rubocop:
  stage: test
  image: ruby:3.0
  script: bundle exec rubocop

Additional details:

  • You can use multiple parents for extends.
  • The extends keyword supports up to eleven levels of inheritance, but you should avoid using more than three levels.
  • In the previous example, .tests is a hidden job, but you can extend configuration from regular jobs as well.

Related topics:

hooks

Use hooks to specify lists of commands to execute on the runner at certain stages of job execution, like before retrieving the Git repository.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • A hash of hooks and their commands. Available hooks: pre_get_sources_script.

hooks:pre_get_sources_script

Use hooks:pre_get_sources_script to specify a list of commands to execute on the runner before cloning the Git repository and any submodules. You can use it for example to:

Supported values: An array including:

CI/CD variables are supported.

Example of hooks:pre_get_sources_script:

job1:
  hooks:
    pre_get_sources_script:
      - echo 'hello job1 pre_get_sources_script'
  script: echo 'hello job1 script'

Related topics:

identity

  • Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate
  • Offering: GitLab.com
  • Status: Beta

This feature is in beta.

Use identity to authenticate with third party services using identity federation.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default: section.

Supported values: An identifier. Supported providers:

Example of identity:

job_with_workload_identity:
  identity: google_cloud
  script:
    - gcloud compute instances list

Related topics:

id_tokens

Use id_tokens to create JSON web tokens (JWT) to authenticate with third party services. All JWTs created this way support OIDC authentication. The required aud sub-keyword is used to configure the aud claim for the JWT.

Supported values:

  • Token names with their aud claims. aud supports:

Example of id_tokens:

job_with_id_tokens:
  id_tokens:
    ID_TOKEN_1:
      aud: https://vault.example.com
    ID_TOKEN_2:
      aud:
        - https://gcp.com
        - https://aws.com
    SIGSTORE_ID_TOKEN:
      aud: sigstore
  script:
    - command_to_authenticate_with_vault $ID_TOKEN_1
    - command_to_authenticate_with_aws $ID_TOKEN_2
    - command_to_authenticate_with_gcp $ID_TOKEN_2

Related topics:

image

Use image to specify a Docker image that the job runs in.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values: The name of the image, including the registry path if needed, in one of these formats:

  • <image-name> (Same as using <image-name> with the latest tag)
  • <image-name>:<tag>
  • <image-name>@<digest>

CI/CD variables are supported.

Example of image:

default:
  image: ruby:3.0

rspec:
  script: bundle exec rspec

rspec 2.7:
  image: registry.example.com/my-group/my-project/ruby:2.7
  script: bundle exec rspec

In this example, the ruby:3.0 image is the default for all jobs in the pipeline. The rspec 2.7 job does not use the default, because it overrides the default with a job-specific image section.

Related topics:

image:name

The name of the Docker image that the job runs in. Similar to image used by itself.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values: The name of the image, including the registry path if needed, in one of these formats:

  • <image-name> (Same as using <image-name> with the latest tag)
  • <image-name>:<tag>
  • <image-name>@<digest>

CI/CD variables are supported.

Example of image:name:

test-job:
  image:
    name: "registry.example.com/my/image:latest"
  script: echo "Hello world"

Related topics:

image:entrypoint

Command or script to execute as the container’s entry point.

When the Docker container is created, the entrypoint is translated to the Docker --entrypoint option. The syntax is similar to the Dockerfile ENTRYPOINT directive, where each shell token is a separate string in the array.

Keyword type: Job keyword. You can use it only as part of a job or in the default section.

Supported values:

  • A string.

Example of image:entrypoint:

test-job:
  image:
    name: super/sql:experimental
    entrypoint: [""]
  script: echo "Hello world"

Related topics: