How to Access GitLab CI/CD Artifacts in Your Pipeline Jobs

Learn how to effectively use GitLab CI/CD artifacts from one job in subsequent jobs, ensuring seamless integration and efficient builds.
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Understanding GitLab CI/CD Artifacts

In continuous integration and deployment (CI/CD), managing artifacts is crucial for ensuring that various parts of your application can efficiently communicate and build upon one another. If you've ever faced challenges in accessing artifacts from a job in your GitLab pipeline, you’re not alone.

Let's explore a common scenario that often puzzles developers: where are the artifacts downloaded to and how can you utilize them in your GitLab CI/CD jobs?

The Problem Statement

In a GitLab pipeline, two stages - build-base and build - involve the creation and utilization of artifacts. The build-deps job generates dependencies that need to be carried over to the build job. However, locating these artifacts for use in the subsequent job can be quite tricky.

Pipeline Stages Overview

build-base: This job builds a base image triggered by certain file changes.

build: This stage has:

build-deps: Creates and builds necessary dependencies.

build: Derives from the base image and attempts to install artifacts created by build-deps.

Analyzing the Issue

When running the build job, many users, including yourself, might have faced trouble directly accessing the artifacts produced by build-deps. Below is a typical setup for both jobs:

Job Setup Explanation

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

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Despite using the need keyword to declare dependency on build-deps, the artifacts might not be found within the expected locations during the build job execution.

The Solution: Correct Context and Dockerfile Path

Upon investigation, the real issue was with how the context was specified in the Kaniko executor command. The context should reflect the actual file path containing the artifacts.

Correcting the Context

Change the --context argument to refer to the root directory instead of a subdirectory:

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

Explanation of Changes

Context: By setting the context to . (the root of the checked-out repository), Kaniko can access the artifacts generated by build-deps.

Dockerfile Path: The --dockerfile flag should point to where your Dockerfile is located, in this case, ./final/Dockerfile.

This change allows Kaniko to locate the files it needs during its build execution, effectively resolving the prior issues where it couldn't find the necessary artifacts for inclusion in the final image.

Conclusion

Using artifacts across different jobs in GitLab CI/CD can be complex, especially when it involves proper path handling. Ensuring the correct specifications of context and paths can make all the difference.

If you're facing similar issues, carefully reviewing your paths, contexts, and artifact setups can save you a lot of time and frustration in your CI/CD workflows!

By understanding and implementing these adjustments, you can ensure a smoother building process in your GitLab pipelines, paving the way for more efficient application development and deployment.