Gitlab CI - unique build number

Question

Is there any unique number in Gitlab CI which can be used as build number as we use in Jenkins. I came to know about the variable "CI_PIPELINE_IID" but the problem with this variable is, it updates for all branches and there is no such variable exist for each branch.

Answer 1

We solved the same issue using the variable $CI_PIPELINE_IID, which is defined as

The project-level IID (internal ID) of the current pipeline. This ID is unique only within the current project.

And is quite similar to Jenkins' $BUILD_NUMBER

See also https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/variables/predefined_variables.html#variables-reference

Answer 2

It looks like CI_COMMIT_SHA or CI_COMMIT_SHORT_SHA are great candidates for this as they give you a reference to the commit it was built from.

For example, if you want to use it as a docker image tag, use

docker build . -t myapp:$CI_COMMIT_SHA

Note that earlier versions of Gitlab (version 8.x) use CI_BUILD_TAG

More variables on: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/ci/variables/predefined_variables.html#variables-reference