288 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
288 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
---
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stage: Verify
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group: Continuous Integration
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info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
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type: tutorial
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---
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# Triggering pipelines through the API **(FREE)**
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Triggers can be used to force a pipeline rerun of a specific `ref` (branch or
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tag) with an API call.
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## Authentication tokens
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The following methods of authentication are supported:
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- [Trigger token](#trigger-token)
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- [CI job token](#ci-job-token)
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If using the `$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE` [predefined CI/CD variable](../variables/predefined_variables.md)
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to limit which jobs run in a pipeline, the value could be either `pipeline` or `trigger`,
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depending on which trigger method is used.
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| `$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE` value | Trigger method |
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|-----------------------------|----------------|
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| `pipeline` | Using the `trigger:` keyword in the CI/CD configuration file, or using the trigger API with `$CI_JOB_TOKEN`. |
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| `trigger` | Using the trigger API using a generated trigger token |
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This also applies when using the `pipelines` or `triggers` keywords with the legacy [`only/except` basic syntax](../yaml/README.md#only--except).
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### Trigger token
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A unique trigger token can be obtained when [adding a new trigger](#adding-a-new-trigger).
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WARNING:
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Passing plain text tokens in public projects is a security issue. Potential
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attackers can impersonate the user that exposed their trigger token publicly in
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their `.gitlab-ci.yml` file. Use [CI/CD variables](../variables/README.md)
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to protect trigger tokens.
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### CI job token
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You can use the `CI_JOB_TOKEN` [CI/CD variable](../variables/README.md#predefined-cicd-variables) (used to authenticate
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with the [GitLab Container Registry](../../user/packages/container_registry/index.md)) in the following cases.
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#### When used with multi-project pipelines
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> - Use of `CI_JOB_TOKEN` for multi-project pipelines was [introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/2017) in [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) 9.3.
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> - Use of `CI_JOB_TOKEN` for multi-project pipelines was [made available](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/31573) in all tiers in GitLab 12.4.
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This way of triggering can only be used when invoked inside `.gitlab-ci.yml`,
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and it creates a dependent pipeline relation visible on the
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[pipeline graph](../multi_project_pipelines.md). For example:
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```yaml
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trigger_pipeline:
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stage: deploy
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script:
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- curl --request POST --form "token=$CI_JOB_TOKEN" --form ref=master "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/9/trigger/pipeline"
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only:
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- tags
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```
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Pipelines triggered that way also expose a special variable:
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`CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE=pipeline`.
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Read more about the [pipelines trigger API](../../api/pipeline_triggers.md).
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#### When a pipeline depends on the artifacts of another pipeline **(PREMIUM)**
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> The use of `CI_JOB_TOKEN` in the artifacts download API was [introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/merge_requests/2346) in [GitLab Premium](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) 9.5.
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With the introduction of dependencies between different projects, one of
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them may need to access artifacts created by a previous one. This process
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must be granted for authorized accesses, and it can be done using the
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`CI_JOB_TOKEN` variable that identifies a specific job. For example:
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```yaml
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build_submodule:
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image: debian
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stage: test
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script:
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- apt update && apt install -y unzip
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- curl --location --output artifacts.zip "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/1/jobs/artifacts/master/download?job=test&job_token=$CI_JOB_TOKEN"
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- unzip artifacts.zip
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only:
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- tags
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```
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This allows you to use that for multi-project pipelines and download artifacts
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from any project to which you have access as this follows the same principles
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with the [permission model](../../user/permissions.md#job-permissions).
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Read more about the [jobs API](../../api/job_artifacts.md#download-the-artifacts-archive).
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## Adding a new trigger
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Go to your
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**Settings > CI/CD** under **Triggers** to add a new trigger. The **Add trigger** button creates
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a new token which you can then use to trigger a rerun of this
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particular project's pipeline.
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Every new trigger you create, gets assigned a different token which you can
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then use inside your scripts or `.gitlab-ci.yml`. You also have a nice
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overview of the time the triggers were last used.
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## Revoking a trigger
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You can revoke a trigger any time by going at your project's
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**Settings > CI/CD** under **Triggers** and hitting the **Revoke** button.
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The action is irreversible.
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## Triggering a pipeline
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To trigger a job you need to send a `POST` request to the GitLab API endpoint:
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```plaintext
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POST /projects/:id/trigger/pipeline
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```
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The required parameters are the [trigger's `token`](#authentication-tokens)
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and the Git `ref` on which the trigger is performed. Valid refs are
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branches or tags. The `:id` of a project can be found by
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[querying the API](../../api/projects.md) or by visiting the **CI/CD**
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settings page which provides self-explanatory examples.
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When a rerun of a pipeline is triggered, jobs are marked as triggered `by API` in
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**CI/CD > Jobs**.
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You can see which trigger caused a job to run by visiting the single job page.
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A part of the trigger's token is exposed in the UI as you can see from the image
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below.
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By using cURL you can trigger a pipeline rerun with minimal effort, for example:
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```shell
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curl --request POST \
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--form token=TOKEN \
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--form ref=master \
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"https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/9/trigger/pipeline"
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```
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In this case, the pipeline for the project with ID `9` runs on the `master` branch.
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Alternatively, you can pass the `token` and `ref` arguments in the query string:
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```shell
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curl --request POST \
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"https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/9/trigger/pipeline?token=TOKEN&ref=master"
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```
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You can also benefit by using triggers in your `.gitlab-ci.yml`. Let's say that
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you have two projects, A and B, and you want to trigger a pipeline on the `master`
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branch of project B whenever a tag on project A is created. This is the job you
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need to add in project A's `.gitlab-ci.yml`:
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```yaml
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trigger_pipeline:
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stage: deploy
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script:
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- 'curl --request POST --form token=TOKEN --form ref=master "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/9/trigger/pipeline"'
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only:
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- tags
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```
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This means that whenever a new tag is pushed on project A, the job runs and the
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`trigger_pipeline` job is executed, triggering the pipeline for project B. The
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`stage: deploy` ensures that this job runs only after all jobs with
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`stage: test` complete successfully.
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## Triggering a pipeline from a webhook
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To trigger a job from a webhook of another project you need to add the following
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webhook URL for Push and Tag events (change the project ID, ref and token):
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```plaintext
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https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/9/ref/master/trigger/pipeline?token=TOKEN
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```
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You should pass `ref` as part of the URL, to take precedence over `ref` from
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the webhook body that designates the branch ref that fired the trigger in the
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source repository. Be sure to URL-encode `ref` if it contains slashes.
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### Using webhook payload in the triggered pipeline
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> - [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/31197) in GitLab 13.9.
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> - [Feature flag removed](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/321027) in GitLab 13.11.
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If you trigger a pipeline by using a webhook, you can access the webhook payload with
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the `TRIGGER_PAYLOAD` [predefined CI/CD variable](../variables/predefined_variables.md).
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The payload is exposed as a [file-type variable](../variables/README.md#cicd-variable-types),
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so you can access the data with `cat $TRIGGER_PAYLOAD` or a similar command.
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## Making use of trigger variables
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You can pass any number of arbitrary variables in the trigger API call and they
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are available in GitLab CI/CD so that they can be used in your `.gitlab-ci.yml`
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file. The parameter is of the form:
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```plaintext
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variables[key]=value
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```
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This information is also exposed in the UI. Please note that _values_ are only viewable by Owners and Maintainers.
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Using trigger variables can be proven useful for a variety of reasons:
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- Identifiable jobs. Since the variable is exposed in the UI you can know
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why the pipeline was triggered if you pass a variable that explains the
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purpose.
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- Conditional job processing. You can have conditional jobs that run whenever
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a certain variable is present.
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Consider the following `.gitlab-ci.yml` where we set three
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[stages](../yaml/README.md#stages) and the `upload_package` job is run only
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when all jobs from the test and build stages pass. When the `UPLOAD_TO_S3`
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variable is non-zero, `make upload` is run.
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```yaml
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stages:
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- test
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- build
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- package
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run_tests:
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stage: test
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script:
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- make test
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build_package:
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stage: build
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script:
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- make build
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upload_package:
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stage: package
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script:
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- if [ -n "${UPLOAD_TO_S3}" ]; then make upload; fi
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```
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You can then trigger a pipeline while you pass the `UPLOAD_TO_S3` variable
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and the script of the `upload_package` job is run:
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```shell
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curl --request POST \
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--form token=TOKEN \
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--form ref=master \
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--form "variables[UPLOAD_TO_S3]=true" \
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"https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/9/trigger/pipeline"
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```
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Trigger variables have the [highest priority](../variables/README.md#cicd-variable-precedence)
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of all types of variables.
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## Using cron to trigger nightly pipelines
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Whether you craft a script or just run cURL directly, you can trigger jobs
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in conjunction with cron. The example below triggers a job on the `master`
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branch of project with ID `9` every night at `00:30`:
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```shell
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30 0 * * * curl --request POST --form token=TOKEN --form ref=master "https://gitlab.example.com/api/v4/projects/9/trigger/pipeline"
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```
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This behavior can also be achieved through the GitLab UI with
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[pipeline schedules](../pipelines/schedules.md).
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## Legacy triggers
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Old triggers, created before GitLab 9.0 are marked as legacy.
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Triggers with the legacy label do not have an associated user and only have
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access to the current project. They are considered deprecated and might be
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removed with one of the future versions of GitLab.
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## Troubleshooting
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### '404 not found' when triggering a pipeline
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A response of `{"message":"404 Not Found"}` when triggering a pipeline might be caused
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by using a Personal Access Token instead of a trigger token. [Add a new trigger](#adding-a-new-trigger)
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and use that token to authenticate when triggering a pipeline.
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