Troubleshooting GitLab CI: Why Is Only One Job Running?

Описание: Discover how to fix your GitLab CI issues by ensuring jobs run in proper stages and with correct rules. Learn the steps required to run multiple jobs seamlessly.
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Troubleshooting GitLab CI: Why Is Only One Job Running?

If you’ve found yourself in a situation where multiple jobs are defined in your GitLab CI configuration but only one of them seems to execute, you're not alone. Such issues often arise due to configuration settings that aren’t clearly defined, especially around stages and rules. Understanding these settings is crucial for ensuring that your CI/CD pipeline runs smoothly. Let's dive into the solution to this common issue concerning GitLab CI.

The Problem: Understanding the Situation

You have a .gitlab-ci.yml configuration file where one job, update-environment, is set to only run under certain conditions: during a push to the main branch or during a merge request targeting the main branch. Although you’ve ensured that the necessary rules should evaluate to true (confirmed through debugging with printenv), the job still does not appear to be running.

Key Points to Consider

Job Definitions: Each job can be defined with specific conditions or rules under which they should run.

Stage Requirement: Jobs need to be organized into stages to execute properly. If jobs are not assigned to a stage, GitLab CI may not execute them as expected.

The Solution: Correcting Your Configuration

To resolve the issue, you need to ensure that each job is assigned to an appropriate stage. Here’s a refined version of your original configuration with the necessary adjustments:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Breakdown of Changes Made

Defined Stages: I introduced the stages section which categorizes jobs into different stages. In this case, validation has the stage check and update-environment is assigned to the main stage. This organization is crucial as it dictates the order of job execution.

Removed Quotes: The quotes around $CI_DEFAULT_BRANCH in the rules for update-environment were removed to ensure the variable was correctly interpreted by GitLab CI.

Why These Changes Matter

By introducing stages, you explicitly outline the flow of jobs in your pipeline. Each job now has a clear pathway to execution based on its placement in the pipeline stages. When rules are evaluated, the GitLab Runner can see that the jobs are properly categorized, improving their chances of running as expected.

Conclusion

If your GitLab CI setup is not executing jobs as intended, double-check for proper stage definitions and ensure that your rules are correctly formatted. By following the adjustments highlighted in this post, you can set up a functional CI/CD pipeline that efficiently runs all designated jobs.

Feel free to reach out with more questions, and happy coding!