debian-mirror-gitlab/doc/ci/environments.md

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---
type: reference
---
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# Environments and deployments
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> Introduced in GitLab 8.9.
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Environments allow control of the continuous deployment of your software,
all within GitLab.
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## Introduction
There are many stages required in the software development process before the software is ready
for public consumption.
For example:
1. Develop your code.
1. Test your code.
1. Deploy your code into a testing or staging environment before you release it to the public.
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This helps find bugs in your software, and also in the deployment process as well.
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GitLab CI/CD is capable of not only testing or building your projects, but also
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deploying them in your infrastructure, with the added benefit of giving you a
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way to track your deployments. In other words, you will always know what is
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currently being deployed or has been deployed on your servers.
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It's important to know that:
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- Environments are like tags for your CI jobs, describing where code gets deployed.
- Deployments are created when [jobs](yaml/README.md#introduction) deploy versions of code to environments,
so every environment can have one or more deployments.
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GitLab:
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- Provides a full history of your deployments for each environment.
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- Keeps track of your deployments, so you always know what is currently being deployed on your
servers.
If you have a deployment service such as [Kubernetes](../user/project/clusters/index.md)
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associated with your project, you can use it to assist with your deployments, and
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can even access a [web terminal](#web-terminals) for your environment from within GitLab!
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## Configuring environments
Configuring environments involves:
1. Understanding how [pipelines](pipelines.md) work.
1. Defining environments in your project's [`.gitlab-ci.yml`](yaml/README.md) file.
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1. Creating a job configured to deploy your application. For example, a deploy job configured with [`environment`](yaml/README.md#environment) to deploy your application to a [Kubernetes cluster](../user/project/clusters/index.md).
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The rest of this section illustrates how to configure environments and deployments using
an example scenario. It assumes you have already:
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- Created a [project](../gitlab-basics/create-project.md) in GitLab.
- Set up [a Runner](runners/README.md).
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In the scenario:
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- We are developing an application.
- We want to run tests and build our app on all branches.
- Our default branch is `master`.
- We deploy the app only when a pipeline on `master` branch is run.
### Defining environments
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Let's consider the following `.gitlab-ci.yml` example:
```yaml
stages:
- test
- build
- deploy
test:
stage: test
script: echo "Running tests"
build:
stage: build
script: echo "Building the app"
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deploy_staging:
stage: deploy
script:
- echo "Deploy to staging server"
environment:
name: staging
url: https://staging.example.com
only:
- master
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```
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We have defined three [stages](yaml/README.md#stages):
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- `test`
- `build`
- `deploy`
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The jobs assigned to these stages will run in this order. If any job fails, then
the pipeline fails and jobs that are assigned to the next stage won't run.
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In our case:
- The `test` job will run first.
- Then the `build` job.
- Lastly the `deploy_staging` job.
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With this configuration, we:
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- Check that the tests pass.
- Ensure that our app is able to be built successfully.
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- Lastly we deploy to the staging server.
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NOTE: **Note:**
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The `environment` keyword is just a hint for GitLab that this job actually
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deploys to the `name` environment. It can also have a `url` that is
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exposed in various places within GitLab. Each time a job that
has an environment specified succeeds, a deployment is recorded, storing
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the Git SHA and environment name.
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In summary, with the above `.gitlab-ci.yml` we have achieved the following:
- All branches will run the `test` and `build` jobs.
- The `deploy_staging` job will run [only](yaml/README.md#onlyexcept-basic) on the `master`
branch, which means all merge requests that are created from branches don't
get deployed to the staging server.
- When a merge request is merged, all jobs will run and the `deploy_staging`
job will deploy our code to a staging server while the deployment
will be recorded in an environment named `staging`.
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#### Environment variables and Runner
Starting with GitLab 8.15, the environment name is exposed to the Runner in
two forms:
- `$CI_ENVIRONMENT_NAME`. The name given in `.gitlab-ci.yml` (with any variables
expanded).
- `$CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG`. A "cleaned-up" version of the name, suitable for use in URLs,
DNS, etc.
If you change the name of an existing environment, the:
- `$CI_ENVIRONMENT_NAME` variable will be updated with the new environment name.
- `$CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG` variable will remain unchanged to prevent unintended side
effects.
Starting with GitLab 9.3, the environment URL is exposed to the Runner via
`$CI_ENVIRONMENT_URL`. The URL is expanded from either:
- `.gitlab-ci.yml`.
- The external URL from the environment if not defined in `.gitlab-ci.yml`.
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### Configuring manual deployments
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Adding `when: manual` to an automatically executed job's configuration converts it to
a job requiring manual action.
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To expand on the [previous example](#defining-environments), the following includes
another job that deploys our app to a production server and is
tracked by a `production` environment.
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The `.gitlab-ci.yml` file for this is as follows:
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```yaml
stages:
- test
- build
- deploy
test:
stage: test
script: echo "Running tests"
build:
stage: build
script: echo "Building the app"
deploy_staging:
stage: deploy
script:
- echo "Deploy to staging server"
environment:
name: staging
url: https://staging.example.com
only:
- master
deploy_prod:
stage: deploy
script:
- echo "Deploy to production server"
environment:
name: production
url: https://example.com
when: manual
only:
- master
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```
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The `when: manual` action:
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- Exposes a "play" button in GitLab's UI for that job.
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- Means the `deploy_prod` job will only be triggered when the "play" button is clicked.
You can find the "play" button in the pipelines, environments, deployments, and jobs views.
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| View | Screenshot |
|:----------------|:-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Pipelines | ![Pipelines manual action](img/environments_manual_action_pipelines.png) |
| Single pipeline | ![Pipelines manual action](img/environments_manual_action_single_pipeline.png) |
| Environments | ![Environments manual action](img/environments_manual_action_environments.png) |
| Deployments | ![Deployments manual action](img/environments_manual_action_deployments.png) |
| Jobs | ![Builds manual action](img/environments_manual_action_jobs.png) |
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Clicking on the play button in any view will trigger the `deploy_prod` job, and the
deployment will be recorded as a new environment named `production`.
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NOTE: **Note:**
If your environment's name is `production` (all lowercase),
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it will get recorded in [Cycle Analytics](../user/project/cycle_analytics.md).
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### Configuring dynamic environments
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Regular environments are good when deploying to "stable" environments like staging or production.
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However, for environments for branches other than `master`, dynamic environments
can be used. Dynamic environments make it possible to create environments on the fly by
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declaring their names dynamically in `.gitlab-ci.yml`.
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Dynamic environments are a fundamental part of [Review apps](review_apps/index.md).
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#### Allowed variables
The `name` and `url` parameters for dynamic environments can use most available CI/CD variables,
including:
- [Predefined environment variables](variables/README.md#predefined-environment-variables)
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- [Project and group variables](variables/README.md#gitlab-cicd-environment-variables)
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- [`.gitlab-ci.yml` variables](yaml/README.md#variables)
However, you cannot use variables defined:
- Under `script`.
- On the Runner's side.
There are also other variables that are unsupported in the context of `environment:name`.
For more information, see [Where variables can be used](variables/where_variables_can_be_used.md).
#### Example configuration
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GitLab Runner exposes various [environment variables](variables/README.md) when a job runs, so
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you can use them as environment names.
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In the following example, the job will deploy to all branches except `master`:
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```yaml
deploy_review:
stage: deploy
script:
- echo "Deploy a review app"
environment:
name: review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME
url: https://$CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG.example.com
only:
- branches
except:
- master
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```
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In this example:
- The job's name is `deploy_review` and it runs on the `deploy` stage.
- We set the `environment` with the `environment:name` as `review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME`.
Since the [environment name](yaml/README.md#environmentname) can contain slashes (`/`), we can
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use this pattern to distinguish between dynamic and regular environments.
- We tell the job to run [`only`](yaml/README.md#onlyexcept-basic) on branches,
[`except`](yaml/README.md#onlyexcept-basic) `master`.
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For the value of:
- `environment:name`, the first part is `review`, followed by a `/` and then `$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME`,
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which receives the value of the branch name.
- `environment:url`, we want a specific and distinct URL for each branch. `$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME`
may contain a `/` or other characters that would be invalid in a domain name or URL,
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so we use `$CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG` to guarantee that we get a valid URL.
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For example, given a `$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME` of `100-Do-The-Thing`, the URL will be something
like `https://100-do-the-4f99a2.example.com`. Again, the way you set up
the web server to serve these requests is based on your setup.
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We have used `$CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG` here because it is guaranteed to be unique. If
you're using a workflow like [GitLab Flow](../workflow/gitlab_flow.md), collisions
are unlikely and you may prefer environment names to be more closely based on the
branch name. In that case, you could use `$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG` in `environment:url` in
the example above: `https://$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG.example.com`, which would give a URL
of `https://100-do-the-thing.example.com`.
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NOTE: **Note:**
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You are not required to use the same prefix or only slashes (`/`) in the dynamic environments'
names. However, using this format will enable the [grouping similar environments](#grouping-similar-environments)
feature.
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### Complete example
The configuration in this section provides a full development workflow where your app is:
- Tested.
- Built.
- Deployed as a Review App.
- Deployed to a staging server once the merge request is merged.
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- Finally, able to be manually deployed to the production server.
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The following combines the previous configuration examples, including:
- Defining [simple environments](#defining-environments) for testing, building, and deployment to staging.
- Adding [manual actions](#configuring-manual-deployments) for deployment to production.
- Creating [dynamic environments](#configuring-dynamic-environments) for deployments for reviewing.
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```yaml
stages:
- test
- build
- deploy
test:
stage: test
script: echo "Running tests"
build:
stage: build
script: echo "Building the app"
deploy_review:
stage: deploy
script:
- echo "Deploy a review app"
environment:
name: review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME
url: https://$CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG.example.com
only:
- branches
except:
- master
deploy_staging:
stage: deploy
script:
- echo "Deploy to staging server"
environment:
name: staging
url: https://staging.example.com
only:
- master
deploy_prod:
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stage: deploy
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script:
- echo "Deploy to production server"
environment:
name: production
url: https://example.com
when: manual
only:
- master
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```
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A more realistic example would also include copying files to a location where a
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webserver (for example, NGINX) could then access and serve them.
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The example below will copy the `public` directory to `/srv/nginx/$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG/public`:
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```yaml
review_app:
stage: deploy
script:
- rsync -av --delete public /srv/nginx/$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG
environment:
name: review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME
url: https://$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG.example.com
```
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This example requires that NGINX and GitLab Runner are set up on the server this job will run on.
NOTE: **Note:**
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See the [limitations](#limitations) section for some edge cases regarding the naming of
your branches and Review Apps.
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The complete example provides the following workflow to developers:
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- Create a branch locally.
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- Make changes and commit them.
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- Push the branch to GitLab.
- Create a merge request.
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Behind the scenes, GitLab Runner will:
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- Pick up the changes and start running the jobs.
- Run the jobs sequentially as defined in `stages`:
- First, run the tests.
- If the tests succeed, build the app.
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- If the build succeeds, the app is deployed to an environment with a name specific to the
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branch.
So now, every branch:
- Gets its own environment.
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- Is deployed to its own unique location, with the added benefit of:
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- Having a [history of deployments](#viewing-deployment-history).
- Being able to [rollback changes](#retrying-and-rolling-back) if needed.
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For more information, see [Using the environment URL](#using-the-environment-url).
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### Protected environments
Environments can be "protected", restricting access to them.
For more information, see [Protected environments](environments/protected_environments.md).
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## Working with environments
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Once environments are configured, GitLab provides many features for working with them,
as documented below.
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### Viewing environments and deployments
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A list of environments and deployment statuses is available on each project's **Operations > Environments** page.
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For example:
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![Environment view](img/environments_available.png)
This example shows:
- The environment's name with a link to its deployments.
- The last deployment ID number and who performed it.
- The job ID of the last deployment with its respective job name.
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- The commit information of the last deployment, such as who committed it, to what
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branch, and the Git SHA of the commit.
- The exact time the last deployment was performed.
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- A button that takes you to the URL that you defined under the `environment` keyword
in `.gitlab-ci.yml`.
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- A button that re-deploys the latest deployment, meaning it runs the job
defined by the environment name for that specific commit.
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The information shown in the **Environments** page is limited to the latest
deployments, but an environment can have multiple deployments.
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> **Notes:**
>
> - While you can create environments manually in the web interface, we recommend
> that you define your environments in `.gitlab-ci.yml` first. They will
> be automatically created for you after the first deploy.
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> - The environments page can only be viewed by users with [Reporter permission](../user/permissions.md#project-members-permissions)
> and above. For more information on permissions, see the [permissions documentation](../user/permissions.md).
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> - Only deploys that happen after your `.gitlab-ci.yml` is properly configured
> will show up in the **Environment** and **Last deployment** lists.
### Viewing deployment history
GitLab keeps track of your deployments, so you:
- Always know what is currently being deployed on your servers.
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- Can have the full history of your deployments for every environment.
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Clicking on an environment shows the history of its deployments. Here's an example **Environments** page
with multiple deployments:
![Deployments](img/deployments_view.png)
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This view is similar to the **Environments** page, but all deployments are shown. Also in this view
is a **Rollback** button. For more information, see [Retrying and rolling back](#retrying-and-rolling-back).
### Retrying and rolling back
If there is a problem with a deployment, you can retry it or roll it back.
To retry or rollback a deployment:
1. Navigate to **Operations > Environments**.
1. Click on the environment.
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1. In the deployment history list for the environment, click the:
- **Retry** button next to the last deployment, to retry that deployment.
- **Rollback** button next to a previously successful deployment, to roll back to that deployment.
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NOTE: **Note:**
The defined deployment process in the job's `script` determines whether the rollback succeeds or not.
### Using the environment URL
The [environment URL](yaml/README.md#environmenturl) is exposed in a few
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places within GitLab:
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- In a merge request widget as a link:
![Environment URL in merge request](img/environments_mr_review_app.png)
- In the Environments view as a button:
![Environment URL in environments](img/environments_available.png)
- In the Deployments view as a button:
![Environment URL in deployments](img/deployments_view.png)
You can see this information in a merge request itself if:
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- The merge request is eventually merged to the default branch (usually `master`).
- That branch also deploys to an environment (for example, `staging` or `production`).
For example:
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![Environment URLs in merge request](img/environments_link_url_mr.png)
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#### Going from source files to public pages
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With GitLab's [Route Maps](review_apps/index.md#route-maps) you can go directly
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from source files to public pages in the environment set for Review Apps.
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### Stopping an environment
Stopping an environment:
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- Moves it from the list of **Available** environments to the list of **Stopped**
environments on the [**Environments** page](#viewing-environments-and-deployments).
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- Executes an [`on_stop` action](yaml/README.md#environmenton_stop), if defined.
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This is often used when multiple developers are working on a project at the same time,
each of them pushing to their own branches, causing many dynamic environments to be created.
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NOTE: **Note:**
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Starting with GitLab 8.14, dynamic environments are stopped automatically
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when their associated branch is deleted.
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#### Automatically stopping an environment
Environments can be stopped automatically using special configuration.
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Consider the following example where the `deploy_review` job calls `stop_review`
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to clean up and stop the environment:
```yaml
deploy_review:
stage: deploy
script:
- echo "Deploy a review app"
environment:
name: review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME
url: https://$CI_ENVIRONMENT_SLUG.example.com
on_stop: stop_review
only:
- branches
except:
- master
stop_review:
stage: deploy
variables:
GIT_STRATEGY: none
script:
- echo "Remove review app"
when: manual
environment:
name: review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME
action: stop
```
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Setting the [`GIT_STRATEGY`](yaml/README.md#git-strategy) to `none` is necessary in the
`stop_review` job so that the [GitLab Runner](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/) won't
try to check out the code after the branch is deleted.
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When you have an environment that has a stop action defined (typically when
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the environment describes a Review App), GitLab will automatically trigger a
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stop action when the associated branch is deleted. The `stop_review` job must
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be in the same `stage` as the `deploy_review` job in order for the environment
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to automatically stop.
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You can read more in the [`.gitlab-ci.yml` reference](yaml/README.md#environmenton_stop).
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### Grouping similar environments
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> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/merge_requests/7015) in GitLab 8.14.
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As documented in [Configuring dynamic environments](#configuring-dynamic-environments), you can
prepend environment name with a word, followed by a `/`, and finally the branch
name, which is automatically defined by the `CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME` variable.
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In short, environments that are named like `type/foo` are all presented under the same
group, named `type`.
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In our [minimal example](#example-configuration), we named the environments `review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME`
where `$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME` is the branch name. Here is a snippet of the example:
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```yaml
deploy_review:
stage: deploy
script:
- echo "Deploy a review app"
environment:
name: review/$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME
```
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In this case, if you visit the **Environments** page and the branches
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exist, you should see something like:
![Environment groups](img/environments_dynamic_groups.png)
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### Monitoring environments
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If you have enabled [Prometheus for monitoring system and response metrics](../user/project/integrations/prometheus.md),
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you can monitor the behavior of your app running in each environment. For the monitoring
dashboard to appear, you need to Configure Prometheus to collect at least one
[supported metric](../user/project/integrations/prometheus_library/index.md).
NOTE: **Note:**
Since GitLab 9.2, all deployments to an environment are shown directly on the monitoring dashboard.
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Once configured, GitLab will attempt to retrieve [supported performance metrics](../user/project/integrations/prometheus_library/index.md)
for any environment that has had a successful deployment. If monitoring data was
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successfully retrieved, a **Monitoring** button will appear for each environment.
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![Environment Detail with Metrics](img/deployments_view.png)
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Clicking on the **Monitoring** button will display a new page showing up to the last
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8 hours of performance data. It may take a minute or two for data to appear
after initial deployment.
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All deployments to an environment are shown directly on the monitoring dashboard,
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which allows easy correlation between any changes in performance and new
versions of the app, all without leaving GitLab.
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![Monitoring dashboard](img/environments_monitoring.png)
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#### Linking to external dashboard
Add a [button to the Monitoring dashboard](../user/project/operations/linking_to_an_external_dashboard.md) linking directly to your existing external dashboards.
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#### Embedding metrics in GitLab Flavored Markdown
Metric charts can be embedded within GitLab Flavored Markdown. See [Embedding Metrics within GitLab Flavored Markdown](../user/project/integrations/prometheus.md#embedding-metric-charts-within-gitlab-flavored-markdown) for more details.
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### Web terminals
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> Web terminals were added in GitLab 8.15 and are only available to project Maintainers and Owners.
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If you deploy to your environments with the help of a deployment service (for example,
the [Kubernetes integration](../user/project/clusters/index.md)), GitLab can open
a terminal session to your environment.
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This is a powerful feature that allows you to debug issues without leaving the comfort
of your web browser. To enable it, just follow the instructions given in the service integration
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documentation.
Once enabled, your environments will gain a "terminal" button:
![Terminal button on environment index](img/environments_terminal_button_on_index.png)
You can also access the terminal button from the page for a specific environment:
![Terminal button for an environment](img/environments_terminal_button_on_show.png)
Wherever you find it, clicking the button will take you to a separate page to
establish the terminal session:
![Terminal page](img/environments_terminal_page.png)
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This works just like any other terminal. You'll be in the container created
by your deployment so you can:
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- Run shell commands and get responses in real time.
- Check the logs.
- Try out configuration or code tweaks etc.
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You can open multiple terminals to the same environment, they each get their own shell
session and even a multiplexer like `screen` or `tmux`.
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NOTE: **Note:**
Container-based deployments often lack basic tools (like an editor), and may
be stopped or restarted at any time. If this happens, you will lose all your
changes. Treat this as a debugging tool, not a comprehensive online IDE.
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### Check out deployments locally
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Since GitLab 8.13, a reference in the Git repository is saved for each deployment, so
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knowing the state of your current environments is only a `git fetch` away.
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In your Git configuration, append the `[remote "<your-remote>"]` block with an extra
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fetch line:
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```text
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fetch = +refs/environments/*:refs/remotes/origin/environments/*
```
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### Scoping environments with specs
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> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/merge_requests/2112) in [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) 9.4.
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> - [Scoping for environment variables was moved to Core](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/merge_requests/30779) to Core in GitLab 12.2.
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You can limit the environment scope of a variable by
defining which environments it can be available for.
Wildcards can be used, and the default environment scope is `*`, which means
any jobs will have this variable, not matter if an environment is defined or
not.
For example, if the environment scope is `production`, then only the jobs
having the environment `production` defined would have this specific variable.
Wildcards (`*`) can be used along with the environment name, therefore if the
environment scope is `review/*` then any jobs with environment names starting
with `review/` would have that particular variable.
Some GitLab features can behave differently for each environment.
For example, you can
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[create a secret variable to be injected only into a production environment](variables/README.md#limiting-environment-scopes-of-environment-variables).
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In most cases, these features use the _environment specs_ mechanism, which offers
an efficient way to implement scoping within each environment group.
Let's say there are four environments:
- `production`
- `staging`
- `review/feature-1`
- `review/feature-2`
Each environment can be matched with the following environment spec:
| Environment Spec | `production` | `staging` | `review/feature-1` | `review/feature-2` |
|:-----------------|:-------------|:----------|:-------------------|:-------------------|
| * | Matched | Matched | Matched | Matched |
| production | Matched | | | |
| staging | | Matched | | |
| review/* | | | Matched | Matched |
| review/feature-1 | | | Matched | |
As you can see, you can use specific matching for selecting a particular environment,
and also use wildcard matching (`*`) for selecting a particular environment group,
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such as [Review Apps](review_apps/index.md) (`review/*`).
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NOTE: **Note:**
The most _specific_ spec takes precedence over the other wildcard matching.
In this case, `review/feature-1` spec takes precedence over `review/*` and `*` specs.
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## Limitations
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In the `environment: name`, you are limited to only the [predefined environment variables](variables/predefined_variables.md).
Re-using variables defined inside `script` as part of the environment name will not work.
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## Further reading
Below are some links you may find interesting:
- [The `.gitlab-ci.yml` definition of environments](yaml/README.md#environment)
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- [A blog post on Deployments & Environments](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2016/08/26/ci-deployment-and-environments/)
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- [Review Apps - Use dynamic environments to deploy your code for every branch](review_apps/index.md)
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- [Deploy Boards for your applications running on Kubernetes](../user/project/deploy_boards.md) **(PREMIUM)**
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