CI/CD pipelines in the VS Code extension

• Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate
• Offering: GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, GitLab Dedicated

Version history

• Introduced in GitLab VS Code extension 6.14.0 for GitLab 18.1 and later.
• Added downstream pipeline logs for GitLab 18.1 and later.

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

• Authenticate the extension and connect to a repository on GitLab.

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 ({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 Command+,.
   • For Windows or Linux, press Control+,.
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 Command+Shift+P.
   • For Windows or Linux, press Control+Shift+P.
3. Type GitLab: Validate GitLab CI Config and press Enter.

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.

Related topics

• Use CI/CD to build your application