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

1. Define clear stage ordering
2. Use needs to optimize pipeline execution
3. Configure workflow rules to prevent unnecessary pipelines
4. Use include to split large configurations
5. Set appropriate interruptible flags for cancelable jobs