How to exclude gitlab-ci.yml changes from triggering a job

Question

I am unable to find a solution for how to ignore changes made in .gitlab-ci.yml to trigger a job. So far I have tried the below options:

except:
  changes:
  - .gitlab-ci.yml

and

only
 - Branch A

but every time i make changes in .gitlab.ci-yml file, jobs for Stage B get added in pipeline and show as skipped.

Below are the jobs defined in .gitlab-ci.yml. Do you have any suggestion here?

I do not want Stage B jobs get added in pipeline when:

i) push made against the .gitlab-ci.yml (either manual changing file or git push command)
ii) any merge request for .gitlab-ci.yml

stages:
 - A
 - B
 
Stage A:
  stage: A
  script:
    - echo "TEST"
  rules:
    - if: '$CI_COMMIT_TAG =~ /^\d+\.\d+\.DEV\d+/'
  tags:
    - runner
    
Stage B:
  stage: B
  script:
    - echo "TEST"
  when: manual
  tags:
    - runner

that except rule does not get invoked, and job gets added in pipeline. — Sushil.R, Oct 25 '21 at 15:29

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 22 '21 at 20:44

2

With this setup the Stage B is not added if .gitlab-ci.yml is modified:

stages:
 - A
 - B

Stage A:
  stage: A
  script:
    - echo "Stage A"
  tags:
    - runner

Stage B:
  stage: B
  script:
    - echo "Stage B"
  rules:
    - changes:
      - ".gitlab-ci.yml"
      when: never
    - when: manual
  tags:
   - runner

Otherwise Stage B is showed in the pipeline and can be run manually. Tested with GitLab CI CE 14.1.0.

answered Oct 22 '21 at 20:44

Davide Madrisan

1,969
2
14
22

But will it still shows manual button option for other file push/merge changes? – Sushil.R Oct 25 '21 at 15:31
Yes, as I wrote and tested, the manual job `Stage B` is displayed if at least one file but `.gitlab-ci.yml` is modified. – Davide Madrisan Oct 25 '21 at 16:29

Pelayo · Answer 2 · 2021-10-25T18:34:55.223

1

Could you try using workflow rule? It should determine if the pipeline is created.

P.S: Someone complained a couple of years ago about not being able to activate manual jobs after the exception, but it looks like it was a bug. I can't find the issue mentioned in the post

Edit:

This conf skips any commit with changes README.md or .gitlab-ci.yml:

workflow:
    rules:
        - if:
          changes: 
            - README.md
            - .gitlab-ci.yml
          when: never

edited Oct 25 '21 at 18:34

answered Oct 22 '21 at 20:30

Pelayo

114
5

but job will still get added in pipeline for other files push/merges changes ? please advise. – Sushil.R Oct 25 '21 at 15:32
1

For every push that doesn't modify any of the files listed in `changes`, yes. – Pelayo Oct 25 '21 at 15:38
Tried this , pipeline never get triggered irrespective of the whereever the changes are made – Rajat Oct 22 '22 at 12:09

How to exclude gitlab-ci.yml changes from triggering a job

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