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CI/CD pipelines in the VS Code extension

doc/editor_extensions/visual_studio_code/cicd.md

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If your project uses GitLab CI/CD pipelines, you can use the GitLab for VS Code extension to start, monitor, and update pipelines directly in your IDE.

Prerequisites

Monitor and manage pipelines

Use the extension to monitor and manage pipelines for your project.

Prerequisites:

  • Your project uses CI/CD pipelines.
  • A merge request exists for your current Git branch.
  • The most recent commit on your current Git branch has a CI/CD pipeline.

View pipeline status

To view the status of your branch pipeline, check the bottom status bar in VS Code.

Possible statuses include:

  • Pipeline canceled
  • Pipeline failed
  • Pipeline passed
  • Pipeline pending
  • Pipeline running
  • Pipeline skipped
  • No pipeline, if a pipeline has not run yet.

Manage pipelines

To start, monitor, and debug CI/CD pipelines in GitLab:

  1. In VS Code, in the bottom status bar, select the pipeline status to open the Command Palette and access the available actions.

  2. Select your desired action and follow the prompts:

    • Create New Pipeline from Current Branch
    • Cancel Last Pipeline
    • Download Artifacts from Latest Pipeline
    • Retry Last Pipeline
    • View Latest Pipeline on GitLab

View CI/CD job output

To view the output for a CI/CD job for your current branch:

  1. In the left sidebar, select GitLab ({{< icon name="tanuki" >}}).

  2. Expand For current branch to view the most recent pipeline.

  3. Select a job to open it in a new VS Code tab:

To open a downstream pipeline's job log:

  1. Find downstream pipelines under the list of branch pipeline jobs.
  2. Select the arrow icons to expand or collapse the downstream pipeline information.
  3. Select a downstream pipeline to open the job log in a new VS Code tab.

Manage pipeline alerts

The extension can display an alert in VS Code when a pipeline for your current branch completes:

To turn pipeline alerts on or off:

  1. In VS Code, open the Settings editor:
    • For macOS, press <kbd>Command</kbd>+<kbd>,</kbd>.
    • For Windows or Linux, press <kbd>Control</kbd>+<kbd>,</kbd>.
  2. Depending on your configuration, select either User or Workspace settings.
  3. Select Extensions > GitLab > Other.
  4. Under GitLab: Show Pipeline Update Notifications, select or deselect the checkbox.

Manage your CI/CD configuration

The extension also provides tools you can use to create and manage the CI/CD configuration for your project.

Autocomplete CI/CD variables

When you write or edit your CI/CD configuration file, use variable autocompletion to find variables quickly.

Prerequisites:

  • The name of your CI/CD configuration file starts with .gitlab-ci and ends with .yml or .yaml. For example, .gitlab-ci.yml or .gitlab-ci.production.yml

To autocomplete a variable:

  1. In VS Code, open your .gitlab-ci.yml file, and ensure the file's tab is in focus.

  2. Begin entering the variable name. The extension displays autocomplete options.

  3. Select an option to use it:

Test GitLab CI/CD configuration

To test your project's GitLab CI/CD configuration locally:

  1. In VS Code, open your .gitlab-ci.yml file, and ensure the file's tab is in focus.
  2. Open the Command Palette:
    • For macOS, press <kbd>Command</kbd>+<kbd>Shift</kbd>+<kbd>P</kbd>.
    • For Windows or Linux, press <kbd>Control</kbd>+<kbd>Shift</kbd>+<kbd>P</kbd>.
  3. Type GitLab: Validate GitLab CI Config and press <kbd>Enter</kbd>.

The extension shows an alert if it detects a problem with your configuration.

Show merged configuration file

To see a preview of your merged CI/CD configuration file, with all includes and references resolved:

  1. In VS Code, open your .gitlab-ci.yml file, and ensure the file's tab is in focus.

  2. In the upper right, select Show Merged GitLab CI/CD Configuration:

VS Code opens a new tab (.gitlab-ci (Merged).yml) with full information.