Prev Next

DevOps / GitLab CI Basics Interview Questions

What is a GitLab CI/CD pipeline?

A pipeline is the top-level component of GitLab CI/CD. It is a complete automated workflow that runs when triggered by an event (such as a git push). A pipeline consists of one or more stages, each containing one or more jobs.

Pipeline hierarchy
LevelComponentDescription
1 (top)PipelineThe complete automated workflow triggered by an event
2StageA group of jobs that run in parallel; stages run sequentially
3 (bottom)JobThe individual unit of work - runs scripts on a runner

Pipeline lifecycle:

  • A pipeline is created when a triggering event occurs (push, merge request, schedule, API call, etc.)
  • Jobs are assigned to available runners which execute them
  • The pipeline passes if all jobs succeed, fails if any job fails
  • Results and logs are visible under Build > Pipelines in the GitLab UI
# A pipeline with 3 stages:
# Stage 1 (build): runs first
# Stage 2 (test): runs after build passes
# Stage 3 (deploy): runs after test passes

stages:
  - build
  - test
  - deploy

build-app:
  stage: build
  script: make build

unit-tests:
  stage: test
  script: make test

deploy-staging:
  stage: deploy
  script: make deploy

In a GitLab CI/CD pipeline, what is the relationship between stages and jobs?
Where can you view running and completed pipelines in the GitLab UI?

More Related questions...

What is GitLab CI/CD and what problem does it solve? What is the.gitlab-ci.yml file and where must it be placed? What is a GitLab CI/CD pipeline? What are stages in GitLab CI/CD and how do you define them? What is a CI/CD job in GitLab and what are the required keywords? What is a GitLab Runner and what types are available? What is the 'script', 'before_script', and 'after_script' keywords and how do they differ? How do you use the 'image' keyword to specify a Docker environment for a job? What are GitLab CI/CD artifacts and how do you use them? What is the difference between cache and artifacts in GitLab CI? What are GitLab CI/CD variables and what types are available? What are the most important predefined CI/CD variables in GitLab? What are 'rules' in GitLab CI/CD and how do they control when jobs run? What is the difference between 'only/except' and 'rules' in GitLab CI? What is the 'needs' keyword in GitLab CI/CD and what problem does it solve? What is the 'workflow' keyword in GitLab CI and how does it control pipeline creation? What is the 'extends' keyword and how does it enable job templates? What is the 'include' keyword and how do you share CI configuration across projects? What are GitLab environments and how do you define them in CI/CD? What are manual jobs in GitLab CI/CD and how do you configure them? What is the 'allow_failure' keyword and how does it affect pipeline status? How does parallel job execution work in GitLab CI/CD? What are GitLab CI/CD scheduled pipelines and how do you set them up? What are pipeline triggers and how can a pipeline be started without a git push? What is the 'retry' keyword and how do you handle flaky tests in GitLab CI? What is the 'timeout' keyword in GitLab CI and what are the defaults? What is the GitLab Container Registry and how do you use it in CI/CD pipelines? What are 'services' in GitLab CI/CD and how do you use them? What is the 'default' keyword in GitLab CI and how does it reduce duplication? What are YAML anchors and aliases in GitLab CI and how do they reduce duplication? What is a merge request pipeline in GitLab CI and how does it differ from a branch pipeline? What is pipeline caching and how do you configure cache keys? What is the GitLab CI Lint tool and how do you validate a.gitlab-ci.yml file? What are GitLab CI/CD components and how do they differ from includes? What are parent-child pipelines in GitLab CI/CD? What is the 'resource_group' keyword and how does it prevent concurrent deployments? What are GitLab's built-in security scanning templates and how do you enable them? What is the 'GIT_STRATEGY' variable in GitLab CI and what are the options? What are protected branches and protected variables in GitLab CI? What are common reasons a GitLab CI pipeline fails and how do you troubleshoot them?
Show more question and Answers...

Ansible Interview questions

Comments & Discussions

Interviews Questions

About Javapedia.net

Javapedia.net is for Java and J2EE developers, technologist and college students who prepare of interview. Also this site includes many practical examples.

This site is developed using J2EE technologies by Steve Antony, a senior Developer/lead at one of the logistics based company.

Follow Javapedia updates

contact: javatutorials2016[at]gmail[dot]com

Kindly consider donating for maintaining this website. Thanks.

Copyright © 2026, javapedia.net, all rights reserved. · .

DMCA.com Protection Status