How to View Manually Set Variables in GitLab CI Pipeline

Discover how to access and display manually set variables in the GitLab CI pipeline, ensuring you have all the necessary context for your builds.
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Understanding Variables in GitLab CI Pipelines

When working with GitLab CI, one common question among users is how to access the manually set variables after a pipeline is executed. These variables play a crucial role in the build process, influencing job execution and behavior. However, finding a clear way to display these variables can sometimes be tricky.

The Challenge

After running a pipeline in GitLab CI, you might want to review the variables that were utilized during the job. While printing the environment variables directly within the job is one method, it's important to note that there isn't a native option in GitLab that allows for a comprehensive display of all variables used in a pipeline run.

Key Points:

Manually Set Variables: These are typically defined in the GitLab interface and are essential for customizing your CI/CD workflows.

Environment Variables: These include both user-defined and system variables that can influence the behavior of your builds.

Solution: Manually Displaying Variables

While GitLab doesn't provide a straightforward default method to display all variables in a pipeline run, you can still access and view these values through specific commands and settings. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Print Variables in Your Job

Although there is no built-in feature to see all variables directly in the GitLab interface, you can modify your job script to print the desired variables. Here's a basic approach:

Use echo to output the values of variables you want to monitor.

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

Step 2: Recognize Masked Variables

It's essential to understand the concept of masked variables within GitLab CI. If certain variables are defined in the project settings (under Settings → CI/CD → Variables) and are marked as Masked, they won't be displayed even if executed in the job script. Here are a few important tips:

Masked variables are designed for sensitive data and will be hidden in the logs.

To inspect these variables, you would need to reference them without echoing them in the script.

Step 3: Accessing All Environment Variables

If you want a broader list of all available environment variables—including system-defined variables—you can echo all environment variables in your script by using:

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

This will provide a full list of environment variables available at the time your job runs, helping you identify manual entries along with automatically set ones.

Conclusion

While it may be inconvenient that GitLab CI does not offer a direct way to view all variables natively, making use of the echo and printenv commands within your job scripts can help you monitor and access both manually and automatically set variables.

By following the steps outlined above, you can gain insightful visibility into the variable configurations that influence your CI pipeline, leading to better debugging and process control.

For anyone looking to enhance their GitLab CI experience, understanding how to manipulate and display these variables is an essential skill.