I am using Gitlab and added a .gitlab-ci.yml file to trigger my pipeline. What I don't understand is the purpose of refs when used in combination with the only keyword. Here is an example I use:
only:
- /^newlib.*$/
But in another example I found this:
only:
refs:
- master
The documentation only states:
The refs strategy can take the same values as the simplified only/except configuration.
Can anyone share some light on this? What is the difference between the two?
There is no difference between your two examples. As you quoted the docs yourself:
The refs strategy can take the same values as the simplified only/except configuration.
That said, you only need to use refs if you also want to use the other options: changes, kubernetes and variables.
The docs has some examples using multiple options such as:
test:
script: npm run test
only:
refs:
- master
- schedules
variables:
- $CI_COMMIT_MESSAGE =~ /run-end-to-end-tests/
kubernetes: active
If you remove the refs you will get an invalid yml file