I have a GitLab runner using docker as the executor. My problem is, it pulls the image I have defined for every job, which takes more time to finish the pipeline
How can I cache the image and add a pull policy for the job or the runner ? Anyone please?
The pull policy by default for a docker executor is "Always". You can use "if-not-present" pull policy to make sure it is only pulled when it is not available locally.
Read the documentation for option here and how the policies work here
Check if the latest GitLab 13.8 (January 2021) can help.
Configure multiple image pull policies for Docker executor
When your CI jobs are retrieving a container image from a container registry, a lost network connection can result in hours of lost development time and can negatively impact time-sensitive product deployments.
To address this resiliency problem, the GitLab Runner Docker executor now supports the use of multiple values for the
pull_policyconfiguration, which is defined in the GitLab Runnerconfig.tomlfile.You can use these values, or stacked image pull policies, to configure combinations of pull policies and mitigate the impact caused by lost connectivity.
For example, if you configure
pull_policy =[always, if-not-present], the pull policy willalwayspull the image.
However, if the target container registry is not available, the GitLab Runner Docker executor will fall back and use theif-not-presentpolicy, which means a local copy of the image will be used for that pipeline job.
See Documentation and Issue.
GitLab 15.2 (July 2022) adds:
Set the image pull policy in pipeline configuration
You can select different pull policies for how a GitLab Runner downloads Docker images in CI/CD jobs.
always(the default behavior) ensures the image is always downloaded,if-not-presentdownloads an image only when a local version does not exist, andneveronly uses the local version (never download an image).Previously, you could define the pull policy only at the runner level. In this release we’ve added the ability to define the pull policy at the pipeline level. Use
pull_policyin your.gitlab-ci.ymlto define different pull policies at the job or pipeline level. This feature is not supported by shared runners.
See Documentation and Issue.
add [[runners]] [runners.docker] pull_policy = "if-not-present" to config.toml.
how work: https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/executors/docker.html#how-pull-policies-work
config.toml: https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/configuration/advanced-configuration.html
