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DevOps / GitLab CI Basics Interview Questions

What are manual jobs in GitLab CI/CD and how do you configure them?

A manual job is a job that is added to the pipeline but does not run automatically - it requires someone to click a button in the GitLab UI (or API call) to trigger it. Manual jobs are commonly used for production deployments that need human approval.

# Method 1: using rules
deploy-production:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - ./deploy.sh production
  environment: production
  rules:
    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main"
      when: manual              # must be clicked to run
      allow_failure: false      # blocks pipeline completion until clicked

# Method 2: legacy "when" keyword
deploy-prod-legacy:
  stage: deploy
  script: ./deploy.sh production
  when: manual
  only:
    - main

# Blocking vs non-blocking manual jobs:
# Non-blocking (default): pipeline is marked as passed without clicking
# Blocking: pipeline stays in "blocked" status until job is triggered

# To make it blocking (requires allow_failure: false):
critical-approval:
  stage: approve
  script: echo "Approval recorded"
  when: manual
  allow_failure: false          # blocks the pipeline

# Protected manual jobs (only certain roles can trigger):
# Set in project Settings > CI/CD > Protected environments

allow_failure with manual jobs: when when: manual is set without allow_failure: false, the job is non-blocking - the pipeline proceeds (and can pass) without the manual job being triggered. With allow_failure: false, the pipeline stays in a blocked state until someone triggers the manual job.

What is the difference between a blocking and non-blocking manual job in GitLab CI?
Which keyword combination makes a manual job block the pipeline from completing?

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