CODEWITHSUNDEEP
gitlabgitlab-ci
joe1531
joe1531

Reputation: 514

Gitlab CI when never

I saw this code on one of the pipelines of my company.

rules:
- if: 'SOME-CONDITION'
  when: manual
- when: never
variables:
...

According to gitlab ci documentation, the when:never field should be used with a condition, to basically tell the pipeline to not add the job if that condition is satisfied. I don't understand its use by itself in the end of the rules. What does it add and how the pipeline will behave without it ?

Upvotes: 5

Views: 24399

Answers (4)

Loremo
Loremo

Reputation: 31

I think that at the end of the rules block the line when: never tells that the pipeline should not be run in any other cases. Because by default it runs after each commit in any created MR.

Upvotes: 3

Joe Caruso
Joe Caruso

Reputation: 1374

Like others have said, the - when: is how you do an 'else' condition. However, in this case it is redundant because - when: never is the default 'else' when rules are used.

As far as why this code is there... This may just be a personal preference or coding standard. Sometimes it's nice to make this explicit for clarity, even if redundant.

Upvotes: 0

Szymon Skurski
Szymon Skurski

Reputation: 1

Imagine rules as a switch with different cases. Satisfying the first condition encountered means that further conditions are not checked.

rules:
  - if: 'SOME-CONDITION'
    when: manual
  - if: 'SOME-CONDITION-2'
    when: manual
  - when: never

So if SOME-CONDITION is met, job is manual and compilation stops on this condition. If SOME-CONDITION-2 is met, job is manual and compilation stops on this condition. If !SOME-CONDITION and !SOME-CONDITION-2, job will never run.

if SOME-CONDITION || SOME-CONDITION-2 then manual
fi
never

Upvotes: 0

Ragland Asir
Ragland Asir

Reputation: 104

The last when: never is not needed.

Even without that line, the job will run only if SOME-CONDITION is satisfied.

Upvotes: 2

Related Questions