Maven / GitLab CI Basics Interview Questions

What is the 'script', 'before_script', and 'after_script' keywords and how do they differ?

These three keywords define the shell commands that run during a job. They execute in sequence but have different scopes and failure behaviour.

Script keyword comparison
Keyword	When it runs	Fails the job if it fails?	Scope
before_script	Before the main script	Yes	Can be set globally or per-job
script	The job's main work	Yes	Per-job only (required)
after_script	After script (and before_script)	No (always runs)	Can be set globally or per-job

# Global before_script runs before every job's script
default:
  before_script:
    - echo "Global setup"

build-job:
  stage: build
  before_script:
    - echo "Job-specific setup (overrides global)"  # overrides the default
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npm run build
  after_script:
    - echo "Cleanup - always runs even if script fails"

Key behaviours:

before_script defined in a job overrides (not appends to) the global before_script
after_script runs in a separate shell context from script - environment variable changes made in script are not visible in after_script
after_script runs even when the job fails or times out, making it ideal for cleanup tasks

Take quiz

What happens to after_script if the main script fails?after_script is skipped

✗ Try again.

after_script runs anyway - it always executes regardless of script success or failure

✓ Correct! Well done.

after_script runs and its failure fails the job

✗ Try again.

after_script only runs if before_script passed

✗ Try again.

If you define before_script in both the default section and in a specific job, what happens?Both run - the job's before_script appends to the global one

✗ Try again.

The job's before_script overrides (replaces) the global default before_script

✓ Correct! Well done.

The global before_script always takes precedence

✗ Try again.

GitLab raises a configuration error

✗ Try again.

Invest now in Acorns!!! 🚀 Join Acorns and get your $5 bonus!

Invest now in Acorns!!! 🚀
Join Acorns and get your $5 bonus!

Earn passively and while sleeping

Acorns is a micro-investing app that automatically invests your "spare change" from daily purchases into diversified, expert-built portfolios of ETFs. It is designed for beginners, allowing you to start investing with as little as $5. The service automates saving and investing. Disclosure: I may receive a referral bonus.

Invest now!!! Get Free equity stock (US, UK only)!

Use Robinhood app to invest in stocks. It is safe and secure. Use the Referral link to claim your free stock when you sign up!.

The Robinhood app makes it easy to trade stocks, crypto and more.

Webull! Receive free stock by signing up using the link: Webull signup.

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...

Testing

	Interviews Questions Java Spring Hibernate Maven Testing API BigData Web DataStructures AI Database Integration Cloud Scala Python Tools Golang	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.
	contact: javatutorials2016[at]gmail[dot]com
Kindly consider donating for maintaining this website. Thanks.
	Copyright © 2026, javapedia.net, all rights reserved. privacy policy.

Maven / GitLab CI Basics Interview Questions

What is the 'script', 'before_script', and 'after_script' keywords and how do they differ?

Comments & Discussions

Recently added...