GitLab CI - Pipeline Configuration

Configure GitLab CI/CD pipelines with proper stage ordering, workflow rules, and execution flow.

Pipeline Structure

.gitlab-ci.yml

stages:

• build
• test
• deploy

default: image: node:20-alpine before_script: - npm ci --cache .npm --prefer-offline cache: key: ${CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG} paths: - .npm/

workflow: rules: - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event" - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH

Stage Configuration

Sequential Stages

stages:

• install
• lint
• test
• build
• deploy

Parallel Jobs Within Stages

test:unit: stage: test script: npm run test:unit

test:integration: stage: test script: npm run test:integration

test:e2e: stage: test script: npm run test:e2e

Workflow Rules

Branch-Based Pipelines

workflow: rules: - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main" variables: DEPLOY_ENV: production - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH =~ /^release// variables: DEPLOY_ENV: staging - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event" - if: $CI_COMMIT_TAG

Auto-Cancel Redundant Pipelines

workflow: auto_cancel: on_new_commit: interruptible

Using Needs for DAG Pipelines

build: stage: build script: npm run build

test:unit: stage: test needs: ["build"] script: npm run test:unit

test:lint: stage: test needs: [] # No dependencies, runs immediately script: npm run lint

deploy: stage: deploy needs: ["build", "test:unit"] script: npm run deploy

Include External Configurations

include:

• local: .gitlab/ci/build.yml
• local: .gitlab/ci/test.yml
• project: 'my-group/my-templates' ref: main file: '/templates/deploy.yml'
• template: Security/SAST.gitlab-ci.yml

Best Practices

• Define clear stage ordering

• Use needs to optimize pipeline execution

• Configure workflow rules to prevent unnecessary pipelines

• Use include to split large configurations

• Set appropriate interruptible flags for cancelable jobs