[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":800},["ShallowReactive",2],{"/en-us/blog/ssg-overview-gitlab-pages-part-2":3,"navigation-en-us":33,"banner-en-us":443,"footer-en-us":453,"blog-post-authors-en-us-Marcia Ramos":695,"blog-related-posts-en-us-ssg-overview-gitlab-pages-part-2":709,"assessment-promotions-en-us":751,"next-steps-en-us":790},{"id":4,"title":5,"authorSlugs":6,"body":8,"categorySlug":9,"config":10,"content":14,"description":8,"extension":22,"isFeatured":12,"meta":23,"navigation":24,"path":25,"publishedDate":20,"seo":26,"stem":30,"tagSlugs":31,"__hash__":32},"blogPosts/en-us/blog/ssg-overview-gitlab-pages-part-2.yml","Ssg Overview Gitlab Pages Part 2",[7],"marcia-ramos",null,"engineering",{"slug":11,"featured":12,"template":13},"ssg-overview-gitlab-pages-part-2",false,"BlogPost",{"title":15,"description":16,"authors":17,"heroImage":19,"date":20,"body":21,"category":9},"SSGs Part 2: What are modern static site generators","This is Part 2: Modern Static Site Generators, where we provide you with an overview on the subject.",[18],"Marcia Ramos","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1749684846/Blog/Hero%20Images/ssg-overview-gitlab-pages-cover.jpg","2016-06-10","\nWhat are Static Site Generators? What are they for? Why should I use them? Do they have\nlimitations? How can I use them with **GitLab Pages**?\n\nIf these questions ring a bell, this **series of posts** is for you! We are preparing\nthree articles around the same theme \"**Static Site Generators (SSGs)**\".\n\nThis is **Part 2: Modern Static Site Generators**, where we provide you with an overview on\nthe subject.\n\nThe previous post was [**Part 1: Dynamic x Static Websites**][part-1], where we briefly explained\nthe differences between them, and their pros and cons.\n\nStay tuned for the next post: **[Part 3: Build any SSG site with GitLab Pages][part-3]**!\n\n**Note:** For this series, we assume you are familiar with web development, curious about\nStatic Site Generators, and excited to see your site getting deployed with GitLab Pages.\n\n\n\u003C!-- more -->\n\n----------\n\n### What's in this overview?\n{:.no_toc}\n\n- TOC\n{: toc}\n\n----\n\n## Benefits of Modern Static Site Generators\n\nStatic Site Generators (**[SSGs]**) are software created to automate web development to\n**output** static sites from **dynamic** writing. So, we code dynamically and publish\nstatically. No pain, all gain.\n\nThe most fascinating thing of any SSG is the ability to code fast, save money (on web\nhosting), and incredibly [decrease the page loading time][page-load]\n(compared to server-side dynamic webpages). Also, if we have a lot of visitors at the same\ntime, our [static sites have less chance to crash][server-crash] due to server overload\n[than dynamic ones][site-down].\n\n**Note:** if you want to know more about it, read the introductory article for this series:\n\"[SSGs Part 1: Static x Dynamic Websites][part-1]\".\n\n\n## Structure of SSGs\n\nThe structure of SSGs is a combination of features to make static sites development faster\nand less repetitive. Let's take a quick look at the list below, then describe them one by one.\n\n- Environment\n- Template engine\n- Markup language\n- Preprocessors\n- Directory structure\n\n### \u003Ci class=\"fas fa-terminal fa-fw\" style=\"color:rgb(226,67,41); font-size:.85em\">\u003C/i> Environment\n{: #environment}\n\nThe **environment**, also called **platform**, consists essentially on the [programming language]\nthe SSG was written in. It will make difference on the configuration, customization, and performance\nof the SSG. Examples: [Ruby], [Python], [Node JS][node].\n\n\u003Ca name=\"template-engine\">\u003C/a>\n\n### \u003Ci class=\"fas fa-cogs fa-flip-horizontal fa-fw\" style=\"color:rgb(107,79,187); font-size:.85em\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\u003C/i> Template engine\n{: #template_engine}\n\nThe **template engine** is very important we understand, since all the dynamic structure of our sites\nwill depend on that. It's essential that we choose an SSG with a [templating system][template-sys]\nthat we can use comfortably. Examples: [Liquid], [Haml] and [Slim]  (Ruby), [Twig]  (PHP),\n[Swig]  (JavaScript).\n\nTo give you a picture, let's see an example for an HTML file, in which we are using the\n[Liquid Templating Engine][liquid]:\n\n```html\n\u003C!DOCTYPE html>\n\u003Chtml lang=\"en\">\n\t{% include head.html %}\n\u003Cbody>\n\t{% include header.html %}\n\t\u003Cmain class=\"content\">\n\t\t{{ content }}\n\t\u003C/main>\n\t{% include footer.html %}\n\u003C/body>\n\u003C/html>\n```\n\nAs you may have guessed, we have three files for the content that **repeats** sitewide (head, header\nand footer), which are included to every page using this template. The only thing that is different\nis the `{{ content }}` of that page, which is written in a separate file, and also included\ndynamically to the template with this tag. Finally, all the files will be **compiled** to regular\nHTML pages **before** being stored in the web server. This process is called **build**. GitLab Pages\n**builds** any SSG.\n\n_Advantages over flat HTML_\n\n- Minimize typography errors (\"typos\"): all files are considerably reduced, improving readability\n- Avoid repetition: every block repeated sitewide would be included to every page, equivalently\n- Update faster: if we change something in the file `footer.html`, it will affect the entire site\n\n### \u003Ci class=\"fas fa-pencil-alt fa-flip-horizontal fa-fw\" style=\"color:rgb(226,67,41); font-size:.85em\">\u003C/i> Markup language\n{: #markup-language}\n\n**[Markup language]** is a system to write documents making them somehow syntactically distinguishable\nfrom text. [Lightweight markup languages][wiki-markup] have a simplified and unobtrusive syntax, designed to be\neasily written within any text editor. That's what we'll use to write our content.\n\nThe majority of SSGs use **markdown engines** for this purpose. But there are many more\nlightweight markup languages used likely, such as [AsciiDoc], [Textile] and [ReStructuredText].\n\nAmong those SSGs which use markdown markup, generally we are allowed to choose which markdown engine\nwe want to use. It is set up on the site configuration.\nFor example, in Ruby there are a handful of Markdown implementations:\n[Kramdown], [RDiscount], [Redcarpet], [RedCloth].\n\nA blog **post** or a **page** written in [markdown] will most likely start with a **front matter**\nsection containing information about that page or post, and then comes the content just below it.\nThis is an `example.md` file used in a [Jekyll] site, and also an `example.html.md` file for\na [Middleman] site:\n\n```markdown\n---\n# front matter (between three-dashes block)\ntitle: \"Hello World\" # post or page title\ndate: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS # date and time, e.g. \"2016-04-30 11:00:00\"\nauthor: \"Foo Bar\" # a common variable to exemplify\n---\n\n# An h1 heading\n\nSome text.\n```\n\nThe front matter variables, which are `title`, `date` and `author` for our example above,\ncan be called with template tags all over the site. With Liquid, if we write:\n\n```liquid\n\u003Ch2>Title: {{ page.title }}\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Date: {{ page.date }}\u003C/p>\t \u003Cp>By {{ page.author }}\u003C/p>\n```\n\nThe output would be:\n\n```xml\n\u003Ch2>Title: Hello World\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Date: 2016-04-30 11:00:00\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>By Foo Bar\u003C/p>\n```\n\nThe content for our example would output simply:\n\n```html\n\u003Ch1>An h1 heading\u003C/h1>\n\u003Cp>Some text.\u003C/p>\n```\n\n### \u003Ci class=\"fas fa-puzzle-piece fa-fw\" style=\"color:rgb(107,79,187); font-size:.85em\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\u003C/i> Preprocessors\n{: #preprocessors}\n\nThe **preprocessors** are made to speed up our development process too. They simplify\nthe way we code, and then compile their own files into standard ones. Examples: [Sass]\nand [Stylus] for CSS, [CoffeeScript] for JavaScript.\n\nAgain, just to give you a picture, check a CSS code block written in CSS directly, and\nthe other written in Sass:\n\nCSS:\n\n```css\nh1 {\n  color: #333;\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\np {\n  color: #333;\n}\n```\n\nSass:\n\n```sass\n$clr = #333\nh1\n  color: $clr\n  padding-top: 30px\np\n  color: $clr\n```\n\nIn a large-scale styling, saving all curly brackets `{ }` and semi-colons `;` makes a lot\nof difference for who is typing. Also, with Sass variables (e.g., `$clr` above), we can\ndefine some standards and apply them all over our stylesheets. In the end, everything\nwill be compiled to regular CSS. There are more interesting features and advantages of preprocessors, but that's not in focus on this post.\nBy the way, the given Sass example will be compiled exactly to the CSS code above it.\n\n### \u003Ci class=\"far fa-folder-open fa-fw\" style=\"color:rgb(226,67,41); font-size:.85em\">\u003C/i> Directory structure\n{: #directory-structure}\n\nThe **directory structure** is different for each SSG. It's important to study the file\ntree before we start working with an SSG, otherwise we might face odd build errors that\nwe won't understand solely because we didn't use its structure accordingly.\nExamples: [Hexo structure][hexo-struc], [Middleman structure][middle-struc],\n[Jekyll structure][jekyll-struc]. So, just make sure you add new files to the correct directories.\n\n## SSGs built-in features\n\nIn addition to their standard components, there are also a number of built-in features\nthat make building and previewing static sites easier - and faster. For example:\n\n- Most of SSGs have a pre-installed server for previewing the sites locally\n- Some of them also contain in their installation package a LiveReload plugin, so we\ndon't need to refresh the page in our browser every time we save it\n- Most of them provide us with built-in compilers for their supported preprocessors\n\n## Blog-Aware SSGs\n\nOne of the most attractive features for the majority of modern SSGs is the ability to manage\nblog content without the need of storing posts, or post contents,\nin databases or in server-side-only processed files.\n\nA blog-aware website generator will create blog-style content, such as lists of content in\nreverse chronological order, archive lists, and other common blog-style features.\nHow would an SSG do that?\n\nWith their file tree and their template engine. The file tree defines the specific\ndirectory for `posts` and the template engine calls the posts dynamically.\n\nWith a `for` loop through the posts, they can be displayed in a single page, as\nillustrated below (with [Liquid]):\n\n```liquid\n  \u003Cul>\n    {% for post in site.posts %}\n      \u003Cli>\n        \u003Cspan>{{ post.date }}\u003C/span>\n        \u003Ch2>\n          \u003Ca class=\"post-link\" href=\"{{ post.url }}\">{{ post.title }}\u003C/a>\n        \u003C/h2>\n      \u003C/li>\n    {% endfor %}\n  \u003C/ul>\n```\n\nThis code means that, **for each post** within the **site posts**\n(`{% for post in site.posts %}`), all of them would be displayed as items of an\nunordered list of posts, within links for their respective paths.\n\nOf course, we can adapt the HTML structure according to our needs. Also, we can use\nthe blog-aware structure to create different kinds of dynamic insertion. For example,\nwe could use them to display multiple things within the same category, as a collection\nof photos, books, etc. So, each time we add a new item, the SSG uses it's template\nengine to bring our collections together.\n\n## Supported content\n\nStatic servers fully support any language or script interpreted by browsers, known as\n[**client-side** processing][part-1]. Let's just remember that a static site is essentially\ncomposed of three components: the structure (HTML), the layout and styles (CSS),\nand the behavior (JavaScript).\n\n_Supported languages and file extensions_\n\n- Common file extensions: `.html` / `.css` / `.js` / `.xml` / `.pdf` / `.txt`\n- Common media files: [images], [audio], [video], [SVG]\n\n_Supported interactive services (examples)_\n\n- Commenting Systems (e.g., [Disqus], [Facebook Comments], and [many others][comment-systems])\n- Live Chat (e.g., [JivoChat], [Tawk.to])\n- [PayPal Payments Standard]\n- [Facebook Social Plugins]\n- [Twitter Kit]\n- Google Apps (e.g., [Analytics], [Adwords], [AdSense], etc)\n- Site Search Engine (e.g., [Google Search][google-cse], [Swiftype], [Tipue])\n- Mailing lists and blog subscriptions (e.g., [MailChimp])\n\n_Supported utilities (examples)_\n\n- HTML/CSS/JS frameworks and libraries. E.g, [Bootstrap], [Foundation], [Normalize], [Modernizr], [Skeleton], [jQuery], [HTML5 Boilerplate][html5-boiler], [Animate.css]\n- [Schema.org] markup, making [search engines][schema-seo] to understand our site content better. This is [one of the numerous SEO][seo] techniques\n- [Sitemaps], important for [SEO][seo-sitemaps] too. E.g., [Jekyll Sitemap plugin][jek-sitemap], [Middleman Sitemap][middle-sitemap], [Hexo Sitemap plugin][hexo-sitemap]\n\n## Limitations of SSGs\n\nWe've just described what we **can do** with SSGs. Now let's see what we **cannot**.\n\n- Register users\n- Have admin access\n- Send emails via `mail()` function\n- Use any server-side language or script\n\nThese kinds of actions depend necessarily on server-side processing, which are not handled\nby static-only web servers, as we explained in the [first post of this series][part-1].\n\n### Overcoming the limitations\n\n_User Authentication_\n\nDespite not having the ability to register users, nor having admin access for ourselves,\nwith tools like [Firebase] we can power-up our static site with\n[user authentication][firebase-user-auth]. Find more [cool stuff][firebase-cool-stuff] here,\nfrom the same source.\n\n_Content management_\n\nWe can edit the content of our SSGs directly from the web browser with [Teletext.io]. We can't\ncreate new pages, but we can edit pages' content easily. Follow the [Teletext.io tutorial] to learn\nhow to implement this for your own website.\n\n_Contact Forms_\n\nYes, we can offer contact forms in our static websites. We can't process the **server-side**\nscript in our static-server, but there are some third-party services we can use for that.\nFor example, you can try [Formspree], [FormKeep], [Wufoo], [FoxyForm], [Google Forms] or any\nother related service . However, if you want to take control over your mail script, you can\ntry the [parse method with SendGrid][sendgrid-parse].\n\n_JavaScript disabled_\n\nEverything based on JavaScript is allowed to be added to our static sites. However, if\nJavaScript is disabled on the user's browser, those scripts will not work. But there is\nsomething we can do to minimize this issue. We can add a [`\u003Cnoscript>`][no-script] tag\nto our web pages, containing a message that will be displayed only if JavaScript disabled:\n\n```html\n\u003Cnoscript>Please enable JavaScript on your browser for a better experience with this website!\u003C/noscript>\n```\n\n## Conclusion\n\nHopefully now you understand the logic of Static Site Generators, how we can use them wisely,\nand what we can and cannot do with them. Dynamic websites are great, for sure. But if we don't need all their functionality, SSGs are certainly wonderful alternatives.\n\nIn the [third post][part-3], which is the last chapter of this series, we will bring you a lot of examples\nfor SSGs already running on GitLab Pages. Therefore, we're confident you'll be able to see and understand different GitLab CI configurations, and create your own.\n\nWe already have prepared a bunch of SSGs example projects, you'll find them in the\n[GitLab Pages][ci-examples] official group. You are very welcome to [contribute][pages-contribute]\nwith new SSGs.\n\nDon't you have an account on [GitLab.com][sign-up] yet? Let's create one! Remember, we can\nuse GitLab Pages to [build any SSG][post-pages] for us and host it for free!\n\nFollow [@GitLab][twitter] on Twitter and stay tuned for updates!\n\n### Useful links\n\n- [GitLab Pages Quick Start][pages] - learn how to get started with GitLab Pages by forking an existing project\n- [GitLab Pages on GitLab.com][post-pages] - learn how to set up a GitLab Pages project from strach\n- [GitLab Pages Docs][pages-ee] - the official documentation with all the details you might be interested in\n- [SSGs Part 1: Static vs Dynamic Websites][part-1] - the first post of this series\n- [SSGs Part 3: Build any SSG site with GitLab Pages][part-3] - the third post of this series\n\n\u003C!-- Cover image: https://unsplash.com/photos/6g0KJWnBhxg -->\n\n\u003C!-- IDENTIFIERS -->\n\n\u003C!-- Alphabetical, miscellaneous -->\n\n[part-1]: /blog/ssg-overview-gitlab-pages-part-1-dynamic-x-static/\n[part-3]: /blog/ssg-overview-gitlab-pages-part-3-examples-ci/\n\n[AdSense]: https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/181950\n[Adwords]: https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/6331314\n[Analytics]: https://developers.google.com/analytics/devguides/collection/analyticsjs/\n[AsciiDoc]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AsciiDoc\n[audio]: http://www.w3schools.com/html/html5_audio.asp\n[comment-systems]: http://brianshim.com/webtricks/add-a-comment-wall-to-your-website/\n[Disqus]: https://disqus.com/\n[Facebook Comments]: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/comments\n[Facebook Social Plugins]: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins\n[firebase]: https://www.firebase.com/\n[firebase-cool-stuff]: https://www.firebase.com/docs/web/examples.html\n[firebase-user-auth]: http://jsfiddle.net/firebase/a221m6pb/\n[FormKeep]: https://formkeep.com/\n[Formspree]: https://formspree.io/\n[foxyform]: http://www.foxyform.com/\n[google-cse]: https://support.google.com/customsearch/answer/4513751?hl=en&ref_topic=4513742&rd=1\n[Google Forms]: https://www.google.com/forms/about/\n[HTML5]: http://www.w3schools.com/html/html5_intro.asp\n[images]: http://vormplus.be/blog/article/using-images-in-your-html5-document\n[Jekyll]: https://jekyllrb.com\n[JivoChat]: https://www.jivochat.com/\n[MailChimp]: http://mailchimp.com/\n[Markup language]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markup_language\n[no-script]: http://www.w3schools.com/tags/tag_noscript.asp\n[page-load]: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2015/11/modern-static-website-generators-next-big-thing/#dynamic-websites-and-caching\n[PayPal Payments Standard]: https://developer.paypal.com/docs/classic/button-manager/integration-guide/SOAP/ButtonMgrOverview\n[programming language]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programming_language\n[Schema.org]: http://schema.org/\n[schema-seo]: http://schema.org/docs/gs.html\n[sendgrid-parse]: https://sendgrid.com/blog/send-email-static-websites-using-parse/\n[SEO]: http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/03/20/schema-seo\n[seo-sitemaps]: http://www.webconfs.com/importance-of-sitemaps-article-17.php\n[server-crash]: http://noahveltman.com/static-dynamic/\n[sitemaps]: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/156184?hl=en\n[site-down]: http://www.sitepoint.com/wordpress-vs-jekyll-might-want-make-switch/#2-wordpress-struggles-under-heavy-load\n[SSGs]: https://www.staticgen.com/\n[svg]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Vector_Graphics\n[swiftype]: https://swiftype.com/\n[Tawk.to]: https://www.tawk.to/\n[teletext.io]: https://teletext.io/\n[teletext.io tutorial]: https://medium.com/teletext-io-blog/empower-your-static-generated-jekyll-site-with-instant-content-management-capabilities-82ce5569d7fb#.v2vo6pp2n\n[template-sys]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_template_system\n[tipue]: http://www.tipue.com/\n[Twitter Kit]: https://dev.twitter.com/web/overview\n[video]: http://www.w3schools.com/html/html5_video.asp\n[wiki-markup]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweight_markup_language\n[Wufoo]: http://www.wufoo.com/\n\n\u003C!-- GitLab -->\n\n[get-help]: /get-help/\n[gitlab-com]: /gitlab-com/\n[pages]: https://pages.gitlab.io\n[pages-ee]: http://doc.gitlab.com/ee/pages/README.html\n[pages-issues]: https://gitlab.com/pages/pages.gitlab.io/issues\n[post-pages]: /blog/gitlab-pages-setup/\n[sign-up]: https://gitlab.com/users/sign_in \"Sign Up!\"\n[twitter]: https://twitter.com/gitlab\n\n\u003C!-- SSGs -->\n\n[hexo-struc]: https://hexo.io/docs/setup.html\n[jekyll-struc]: https://jekyllrb.com/docs/structure/\n[Middleman]: https://middlemanapp.com/\n[middle-struc]: https://middlemanapp.com/basics/directory-structure/\n\n[jek-sitemap]: https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll-sitemap\n[middle-sitemap]: https://middlemanapp.com/advanced/sitemap/\n[hexo-sitemap]: https://github.com/hexojs/hexo-generator-sitemap\n\n\u003C!-- Languages, preprocessors, libraries and frameworks -->\n\n[animate.css]: https://daneden.github.io/animate.css/\n[Bootstrap]: http://getbootstrap.com\n[CoffeeScript]: http://coffeescript.org/\n[Foundation]: http://foundation.zurb.com/\n[go]: https://golang.org/\n[haml]: http://haml.info/\n[html5-boiler]: https://html5boilerplate.com/\n[jquery]: http://code.jquery.com/\n[kramdown]: http://kramdown.gettalong.org/\n[liquid]: https://shopify.github.io/liquid/\n[markdown]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown\n[modernizr]: https://modernizr.com/\n[node]: https://nodejs.org/en/\n[normalize]: https://necolas.github.io/normalize.css/\n[Python]: https://www.python.org/\n[rdiscount]: http://dafoster.net/projects/rdiscount/\n[redcarpet]: https://github.com/vmg/redcarpet\n[redcloth]: http://redcloth.org/\n[restructuredtext]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReStructuredText\n[Ruby]: https://www.ruby-lang.org/\n[Sass]: http://sass-lang.com/\n[skeleton]: http://getskeleton.com/\n[Slim]: http://slim-lang.com/\n[Stylus]: http://stylus-lang.com/\n[textile]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textile_(markup_language)\n[twig]: http://twig.sensiolabs.org/\n\n\u003C!-- 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Where they diverge is what happens when your delivery needs get real: a monorepo with a dozen services, microservices spread across multiple repositories, deployments to dozens of environments, or a platform team trying to enforce standards without becoming a bottleneck.\n  \nGitLab's pipeline execution model was designed for that complexity. Parent-child pipelines, DAG execution, dynamic pipeline generation, multi-project triggers, merge request pipelines with merged results, and CI/CD Components each solve a distinct class of problems. Because they compose, understanding the full model unlocks something more than a faster pipeline. In this article, you'll learn about the five patterns where that model stands out, each mapped to a real engineering scenario with the configuration to match.\n  \nThe configs below are illustrative. The scripts use echo commands to keep the signal-to-noise ratio low. Swap them out for your actual build, test, and deploy steps and they are ready to use.\n\n\n## 1. Monorepos: Parent-child pipelines + DAG execution\n\n\nThe problem: Your monorepo has a frontend, a backend, and a docs site. Every commit triggers a full rebuild of everything, even when only a README changed.\n\n\nGitLab solves this with two complementary features: [parent-child pipelines](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/pipelines/downstream_pipelines/#parent-child-pipelines) (which let a top-level pipeline spawn isolated sub-pipelines) and [DAG execution via `needs`](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/yaml/#needs) (which breaks rigid stage-by-stage ordering and lets jobs start the moment their dependencies finish).\n\n\nA parent pipeline detects what changed and triggers only the relevant child pipelines:\n\n```yaml\n# .gitlab-ci.yml\nstages:\n  - trigger\n\ntrigger-services:\n  stage: trigger\n  trigger:\n    include:\n      - local: '.gitlab/ci/api-service.yml'\n      - local: '.gitlab/ci/web-service.yml'\n      - local: '.gitlab/ci/worker-service.yml'\n    strategy: depend\n```\n\n\nEach child pipeline is a fully independent pipeline with its own stages, jobs, and artifacts. The parent waits for all of them via [strategy: depend](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/pipelines/downstream_pipelines/#wait-for-downstream-pipeline-to-complete) so you get a single green/red signal at the top level, with full drill-down into each service's pipeline. This organizational separation is the bigger win for large teams: each service owns its pipeline config, changes in one cannot break another, and the complexity stays manageable as the repo grows.\n\n\nOne thing worth knowing: when you pass [multiple files to a single `trigger: include:`](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/pipelines/downstream_pipelines/#combine-multiple-child-pipeline-configuration-files), GitLab merges them into a single child pipeline configuration. This means jobs defined across those files share the same pipeline context and can reference each other with `needs:`, which is what makes the DAG optimization possible. If you split them into separate trigger jobs instead, each would be its own isolated pipeline and cross-file `needs:` references would not work.\n\n\nCombine this with `needs:` inside each child pipeline and you get DAG execution. Your integration tests can start the moment the build finishes, without waiting for other jobs in the same stage.\n\n```yaml\n# .gitlab/ci/api-service.yml\nstages:\n  - build\n  - test\n\nbuild-api:\n  stage: build\n  script:\n    - echo \"Building API service\"\n\ntest-api:\n  stage: test\n  needs: [build-api]\n  script:\n    - echo \"Running API tests\"\n```\n\n\nWhy it matters: Teams with large monorepos typically report significant reductions in pipeline runtime after switching to DAG execution, since jobs no longer wait on unrelated work in the same stage. Parent-child pipelines add the organizational layer that keeps the configuration maintainable as the repo and team grow.\n\n![Local downstream pipelines](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1775738759/Blog/Imported/hackathon-fake-blog-post-s/image3_vwj3rz.png \"Local downstream pipelines\")\n\n## 2. Microservices: Cross-repo, multi-project pipelines\n\n\nThe problem: Your frontend lives in one repo, your backend in another. When the frontend team ships a change, they have no visibility into whether it broke the backend integration and vice versa.\n\n\nGitLab's [multi-project pipelines](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/pipelines/downstream_pipelines/#multi-project-pipelines) let one project trigger a pipeline in a completely separate project and wait for the result. The triggering project gets a linked downstream pipeline right in its own pipeline view.\n\n\nThe frontend pipeline builds an API contract artifact and publishes it, then triggers the backend pipeline. The backend fetches that artifact directly using the [Jobs API](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/api/jobs.html#download-a-single-artifact-file-from-specific-tag-or-branch) and validates it before allowing anything to proceed. If a breaking change is detected, the backend pipeline fails and the frontend pipeline fails with it.\n\n```yaml\n# frontend repo: .gitlab-ci.yml\nstages:\n  - build\n  - test\n  - trigger-backend\n\nbuild-frontend:\n  stage: build\n  script:\n    - echo \"Building frontend and generating API contract...\"\n    - mkdir -p dist\n    - |\n      echo '{\n        \"api_version\": \"v2\",\n        \"breaking_changes\": false\n      }' > dist/api-contract.json\n    - cat dist/api-contract.json\n  artifacts:\n    paths:\n      - dist/api-contract.json\n    expire_in: 1 hour\n\ntest-frontend:\n  stage: test\n  script:\n    - echo \"All frontend tests passed!\"\n\ntrigger-backend-pipeline:\n  stage: trigger-backend\n  trigger:\n    project: my-org/backend-service\n    branch: main\n    strategy: depend\n  rules:\n    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == \"main\"\n```\n\n```yaml\n# backend repo: .gitlab-ci.yml\nstages:\n  - build\n  - test\n\nbuild-backend:\n  stage: build\n  script:\n    - echo \"All backend tests passed!\"\n\nintegration-test:\n  stage: test\n  rules:\n    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"pipeline\"\n  script:\n    - echo \"Fetching API contract from frontend...\"\n    - |\n      curl --silent --fail \\\n        --header \"JOB-TOKEN: $CI_JOB_TOKEN\" \\\n        --output api-contract.json \\\n        \"${CI_API_V4_URL}/projects/${FRONTEND_PROJECT_ID}/jobs/artifacts/main/raw/dist/api-contract.json?job=build-frontend\"\n    - cat api-contract.json\n    - |\n      if grep -q '\"breaking_changes\": true' api-contract.json; then\n        echo \"FAIL: Breaking API changes detected - backend integration blocked!\"\n        exit 1\n      fi\n      echo \"PASS: API contract is compatible!\"\n```\n\n\nA few things worth noting in this config. The `integration-test` job uses `$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"pipeline\"` to ensure it only runs when triggered by an upstream pipeline, not on a standalone push to the backend repo. The frontend project ID is referenced via `$FRONTEND_PROJECT_ID`, which should be set as a [CI/CD variable](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/variables/) in the backend project settings to avoid hardcoding it.\n\n\nWhy it matters: Cross-service breakage that previously surfaced in production gets caught in the pipeline instead. The dependency between services stops being invisible and becomes something teams can see, track, and act on.\n\n\n![Cross-project pipelines](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1775738762/Blog/Imported/hackathon-fake-blog-post-s/image4_h6mfsb.png \"Cross-project pipelines\")\n\n\n## 3. Multi-tenant / matrix deployments: Dynamic child pipelines\n\n\nThe problem: You deploy the same application to 15 customer environments, or three cloud regions, or dev/staging/prod. Updating a deploy stage across all of them one by one is the kind of work that leads to configuration drift. Writing a separate pipeline for each environment is unmaintainable from day one.\n\n\nGitLab's [dynamic child pipelines](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/pipelines/downstream_pipelines/#dynamic-child-pipelines) let you generate a pipeline at runtime. A job runs a script that produces a YAML file, and that YAML becomes the pipeline for the next stage. The pipeline structure itself becomes data.\n\n\n```yaml\n# .gitlab-ci.yml\nstages:\n  - generate\n  - trigger-environments\n\ngenerate-config:\n  stage: generate\n  script:\n    - |\n      # ENVIRONMENTS can be passed as a CI variable or read from a config file.\n      # Default to dev, staging, prod if not set.\n      ENVIRONMENTS=${ENVIRONMENTS:-\"dev staging prod\"}\n      for ENV in $ENVIRONMENTS; do\n        cat > ${ENV}-pipeline.yml \u003C\u003C EOF\n      stages:\n        - deploy\n        - verify\n      deploy-${ENV}:\n        stage: deploy\n        script:\n          - echo \"Deploying to ${ENV} environment\"\n      verify-${ENV}:\n        stage: verify\n        script:\n          - echo \"Running smoke tests on ${ENV}\"\n      EOF\n      done\n  artifacts:\n    paths:\n      - \"*.yml\"\n    exclude:\n      - \".gitlab-ci.yml\"\n\n.trigger-template:\n  stage: trigger-environments\n  trigger:\n    strategy: depend\n\ntrigger-dev:\n  extends: .trigger-template\n  trigger:\n    include:\n      - artifact: dev-pipeline.yml\n        job: generate-config\n\ntrigger-staging:\n  extends: .trigger-template\n  needs: [trigger-dev]\n  trigger:\n    include:\n      - artifact: staging-pipeline.yml\n        job: generate-config\n\ntrigger-prod:\n  extends: .trigger-template\n  needs: [trigger-staging]\n  trigger:\n    include:\n      - artifact: prod-pipeline.yml\n        job: generate-config\n  when: manual\n```\n\n\nThe generation script loops over an `ENVIRONMENTS` variable rather than hardcoding each environment separately. Pass in a different list via a CI variable or read it from a config file and the pipeline adapts without touching the YAML. The trigger jobs use [extends:](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/yaml/#extends) to inherit shared configuration from `.trigger-template`, so `strategy: depend` is defined once rather than repeated on every trigger job. Add a new environment by updating the variable, not by duplicating pipeline config. Add [when: manual](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/yaml/#when) to the production trigger and you get a promotion gate baked right into the pipeline graph.\n\n\nWhy it matters: SaaS companies and platform teams use this pattern to manage dozens of environments without duplicating pipeline logic. The pipeline structure itself stays lean as the deployment matrix grows.\n\n\n![Dynamic pipeline](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1775738765/Blog/Imported/hackathon-fake-blog-post-s/image7_wr0kx2.png \"Dynamic pipeline\")\n\n\n## 4. MR-first delivery: Merge request pipelines, merged results, and workflow routing\n\n\nThe problem: Your pipeline runs on every push to every branch. Expensive tests run on feature branches that will never merge. Meanwhile, you have no guarantee that what you tested is actually what will land on `main` after a merge.\n\n\nGitLab has three interlocking features that solve this together:\n\n\n*   [Merge request pipelines](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/pipelines/merge_request_pipelines/) run only when a merge request exists, not on every branch push. This alone eliminates a significant amount of wasted compute.\n\n*   [Merged results pipelines](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/pipelines/merged_results_pipelines/) go further. GitLab creates a temporary merge commit (your branch plus the current target branch) and runs the pipeline against that. You are testing what will actually exist after the merge, not just your branch in isolation.\n\n*   [Workflow rules](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/yaml/workflow/) let you define exactly which pipeline type runs under which conditions and suppress everything else. The `$CI_OPEN_MERGE_REQUESTS` guard below prevents duplicate pipelines firing for both a branch and its open MR simultaneously.\n\n\nWith those three working together, here is what a tiered pipeline looks like:\n\n```yaml\n# .gitlab-ci.yml\nworkflow:\n  rules:\n    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"merge_request_event\"\n    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH && $CI_OPEN_MERGE_REQUESTS\n      when: never\n    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH\n    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"schedule\"\n\nstages:\n  - fast-checks\n  - expensive-tests\n  - deploy\n\nlint-code:\n  stage: fast-checks\n  script:\n    - echo \"Running linter\"\n  rules:\n    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"push\"\n    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"merge_request_event\"\n    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == \"main\"\n\nunit-tests:\n  stage: fast-checks\n  script:\n    - echo \"Running unit tests\"\n  rules:\n    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"push\"\n    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"merge_request_event\"\n    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == \"main\"\n\nintegration-tests:\n  stage: expensive-tests\n  script:\n    - echo \"Running integration tests (15 min)\"\n  rules:\n    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"merge_request_event\"\n    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == \"main\"\n\ne2e-tests:\n  stage: expensive-tests\n  script:\n    - echo \"Running E2E tests (30 min)\"\n  rules:\n    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"merge_request_event\"\n    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == \"main\"\n\nnightly-comprehensive-scan:\n  stage: expensive-tests\n  script:\n    - echo \"Running full nightly suite (2 hours)\"\n  rules:\n    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == \"schedule\"\n\ndeploy-production:\n  stage: deploy\n  script:\n    - echo \"Deploying to production\"\n  rules:\n    - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == \"main\"\n      when: manual\n```\n\nWith this setup, the pipeline behaves differently depending on context. A push to a feature branch with no open MR runs lint and unit tests only. Once an MR is opened, the workflow rules switch from a branch pipeline to an MR pipeline, and the full integration and E2E suite runs against the merged result. Merging to `main` queues a manual production deployment. A nightly schedule runs the comprehensive scan once, not on every commit.\n\n\nWhy it matters: Teams routinely cut CI costs significantly with this pattern, not by running fewer tests, but by running the right tests at the right time. Merged results pipelines catch the class of bugs that only appear after a merge, before they ever reach `main`.\n\n\n![Conditional pipelines (within a branch with no MR)](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1775738768/Blog/Imported/hackathon-fake-blog-post-s/image6_dnfcny.png \"Conditional pipelines (within a branch with no MR)\")\n\n\n\n![Conditional pipelines (within an MR)](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1775738772/Blog/Imported/hackathon-fake-blog-post-s/image1_wyiafu.png \"Conditional pipelines (within an MR)\")\n\n\n\n![Conditional pipelines (on the main branch)](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1775738774/Blog/Imported/hackathon-fake-blog-post-s/image5_r6lkfd.png \"Conditional pipelines (on the main branch)\")\n\n## 5. Governed pipelines: CI/CD Components\n\n\nThe problem: Your platform team has defined the right way to build, test, and deploy. But every team has their own `.gitlab-ci.yml` with subtle variations. Security scanning gets skipped. Deployment standards drift. Audits are painful.\n\n\nGitLab [CI/CD Components](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/components/) let platform teams publish versioned, reusable pipeline building blocks. Application teams consume them with a single `include:` line and optional inputs — no copy-paste, no drift. Components are discoverable through the [CI/CD Catalog](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/components/#cicd-catalog), which means teams can find and adopt approved building blocks without needing to go through the platform team directly.\n\n\nHere is a component definition from a shared library:\n\n```yaml\n# templates/deploy.yml\nspec:\n  inputs:\n    stage:\n      default: deploy\n    environment:\n      default: production\n---\ndeploy-job:\n  stage: $[[ inputs.stage ]]\n  script:\n    - echo \"Deploying $APP_NAME to $[[ inputs.environment ]]\"\n    - echo \"Deploy URL: $DEPLOY_URL\"\n  environment:\n    name: $[[ inputs.environment ]]\n```\nAnd here is how an application team consumes it:\n\n```yaml\n# Application repo: .gitlab-ci.yml\nvariables:\n  APP_NAME: \"my-awesome-app\"\n  DEPLOY_URL: \"https://api.example.com\"\n\ninclude:\n  - component: gitlab.com/my-org/component-library/build@v1.0.6\n  - component: gitlab.com/my-org/component-library/test@v1.0.6\n  - component: gitlab.com/my-org/component-library/deploy@v1.0.6\n    inputs:\n      environment: staging\n\nstages:\n  - build\n  - test\n  - deploy\n```\n\nThree lines of `include:` replace hundreds of lines of duplicated YAML. The platform team can push a security fix to `v1.0.7` and teams opt in on their own schedule — or the platform team can pin everyone to a minimum version. Either way, one change propagates everywhere instead of needing to be applied repo by repo.\n\n\nPair this with [resource groups](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/resource_groups/) to prevent concurrent deployments to the same environment, and [protected environments](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/environments/protected_environments/) to enforce approval gates - and you have a governed delivery platform where compliance is the default, not the exception.\n\n\nWhy it matters: This is the pattern that makes GitLab CI/CD scale across hundreds of teams. Platform engineering teams enforce compliance without becoming a bottleneck. Application teams get a fast path to a working pipeline without reinventing the wheel.\n\n\n![Component pipeline (imported jobs)](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1775738776/Blog/Imported/hackathon-fake-blog-post-s/image2_pizuxd.png \"Component pipeline (imported jobs)\")\n\n## Putting it all together\n\nNone of these features exist in isolation. The reason GitLab's pipeline model is worth understanding deeply is that these primitives compose:\n\n*   A monorepo uses parent-child pipelines, and each child uses DAG execution\n\n*   A microservices platform uses multi-project pipelines, and each project uses MR pipelines with merged results\n\n*   A governed platform uses CI/CD components to standardize the patterns above across every team\n\n\nMost teams discover one of these features when they hit a specific pain point. The ones who invest in understanding the full model end up with a delivery system that actually reflects how their engineering organization works, not a pipeline that fights it.\n\n## Other patterns worth exploring\n\n\nThe five patterns above cover the most common structural pain points, but GitLab's pipeline model goes further. A few others worth looking into as your needs grow:\n\n\n*   [Review apps with dynamic environments](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/environments/) let you spin up a live preview for every feature branch and tear it down automatically when the MR closes. Useful for teams doing frontend work or API changes that need stakeholder sign-off before merging.\n\n*   [Caching and artifact strategies](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/caching/) are often the fastest way to cut pipeline runtime after the structural work is done. Structuring `cache:` keys around dependency lockfiles and being deliberate about what gets passed between jobs with [artifacts:](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/yaml/#artifacts) can make a significant difference without changing your pipeline shape at all.\n\n*   [Scheduled and API-triggered pipelines](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/pipelines/schedules/) are worth knowing about because not everything should run on a code push. Nightly security scans, compliance reports, and release automation are better modeled as scheduled or [API-triggered](https://docs.gitlab.com/ci/triggers/) pipelines with `$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE` routing the right jobs for each context.\n\n## How to get started\n\nModern software delivery is complex. Teams are managing monorepos with dozens of services, coordinating across multiple repositories, deploying to many environments at once, and trying to keep standards consistent as organizations grow. GitLab's pipeline model was built with all of that in mind.\n\nWhat makes it worth investing time in is how well the pieces fit together. Parent-child pipelines bring structure to large codebases. Multi-project pipelines make cross-team dependencies visible and testable. Dynamic pipelines turn environment management into something that scales gracefully. MR-first delivery with merged results ensures confidence at every step of the review process. And CI/CD Components give platform teams a way to share best practices across an entire organization without becoming a bottleneck.\n\nEach of these features is powerful on its own, and even more so when combined. GitLab gives you the building blocks to design a delivery system that fits how your team actually works, and grows with you as your needs evolve.\n\n> [Start a free trial of GitLab Ultimate](https://about.gitlab.com/free-trial/) to use pipeline logic today.\n\n## Read more\n\n*   [Variable and artifact sharing in GitLab parent-child pipelines](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/variable-and-artifact-sharing-in-gitlab-parent-child-pipelines/)\n*   [CI/CD inputs: Secure and preferred method to pass parameters to a pipeline](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/ci-cd-inputs-secure-and-preferred-method-to-pass-parameters-to-a-pipeline/)\n*   [Tutorial: How to set up your first GitLab CI/CD component](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/tutorial-how-to-set-up-your-first-gitlab-ci-cd-component/)\n*   [How to include file references in your CI/CD components](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/how-to-include-file-references-in-your-ci-cd-components/)\n*   [FAQ: GitLab CI/CD Catalog](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/faq-gitlab-ci-cd-catalog/)\n*   [Building a GitLab CI/CD pipeline for a monorepo the easy way](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/building-a-gitlab-ci-cd-pipeline-for-a-monorepo-the-easy-way/)\n*   [A CI/CD component builder's journey](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/a-ci-component-builders-journey/)\n*   [CI/CD Catalog goes GA: No more building pipelines from scratch](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/ci-cd-catalog-goes-ga-no-more-building-pipelines-from-scratch/)","5 ways GitLab pipeline logic solves real engineering problems","Learn how to scale CI/CD with composable patterns for monorepos, microservices, environments, and governance.",[716],"Omid Khan","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772721753/frfsm1qfscwrmsyzj1qn.png","2026-04-09",[102,720,721,722],"DevOps platform","tutorial","features",{"featured":24,"template":13,"slug":724},"5-ways-gitlab-pipeline-logic-solves-real-engineering-problems",{"content":726,"config":736},{"title":727,"description":728,"authors":729,"heroImage":731,"date":732,"body":733,"category":9,"tags":734},"How to use GitLab Container Virtual Registry with Docker Hardened Images","Learn how to simplify container image management with this step-by-step guide.",[730],"Tim Rizzi","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772111172/mwhgbjawn62kymfwrhle.png","2026-03-12","If you're a platform engineer, you've probably had this conversation:\n  \n*\"Security says we need to use hardened base images.\"*\n\n*\"Great, where do I configure credentials for yet another registry?\"*\n\n*\"Also, how do we make sure everyone actually uses them?\"*\n\nOr this one:\n\n*\"Why are our builds so slow?\"*\n\n*\"We're pulling the same 500MB image from Docker Hub in every single job.\"*\n\n*\"Can't we just cache these somewhere?\"*\n\nI've been working on [Container Virtual Registry](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/packages/virtual_registry/container/) at GitLab specifically to solve these problems. It's a pull-through cache that sits in front of your upstream registries — Docker Hub, dhi.io (Docker Hardened Images), MCR, and Quay — and gives your teams a single endpoint to pull from. Images get cached on the first pull. Subsequent pulls come from the cache. Your developers don't need to know or care which upstream a particular image came from.\n\nThis article shows you how to set up Container Virtual Registry, specifically with Docker Hardened Images in mind, since that's a combination that makes a lot of sense for teams concerned about security and not making their developers' lives harder.\n\n## What problem are we actually solving?\n\nThe Platform teams I usually talk to manage container images across three to five registries:\n\n* **Docker Hub** for most base images\n* **dhi.io** for Docker Hardened Images (security-conscious workloads)\n* **MCR** for .NET and Azure tooling\n* **Quay.io** for Red Hat ecosystem stuff\n* **Internal registries** for proprietary images\n\nEach one has its own:\n\n* Authentication mechanism\n* Network latency characteristics\n* Way of organizing image paths\n\nYour CI/CD configs end up littered with registry-specific logic. Credential management becomes a project unto itself. And every pipeline job pulls the same base images over the network, even though they haven't changed in weeks.\n\nContainer Virtual Registry consolidates this. One registry URL. One authentication flow (GitLab's). Cached images are served from GitLab's infrastructure rather than traversing the internet each time.\n\n## How it works\n\nThe model is straightforward:\n\n```text\nYour pipeline pulls:\n  gitlab.com/virtual_registries/container/1000016/python:3.13\n\nVirtual registry checks:\n  1. Do I have this cached? → Return it\n  2. No? → Fetch from upstream, cache it, return it\n\n```\n\nYou configure upstreams in priority order. When a pull request comes in, the virtual registry checks each upstream until it finds the image. The result gets cached for a configurable period (default 24 hours).\n\n```text\n┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐\n│                    CI/CD Pipeline                       │\n│                          │                              │\n│                          ▼                              │\n│   gitlab.com/virtual_registries/container/\u003Cid>/image   │\n└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘\n                           │\n                           ▼\n┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐\n│            Container Virtual Registry                   │\n│                                                         │\n│  Upstream 1: Docker Hub ────────────────┐               │\n│  Upstream 2: dhi.io (Hardened) ────────┐│               │\n│  Upstream 3: MCR ─────────────────────┐││               │\n│  Upstream 4: Quay.io ────────────────┐│││               │\n│                                      ││││               │\n│                    ┌─────────────────┴┴┴┴──┐            │\n│                    │        Cache          │            │\n│                    │  (manifests + layers) │            │\n│                    └───────────────────────┘            │\n└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘\n```\n\n## Why this matters for Docker Hardened Images\n\n[Docker Hardened Images](https://docs.docker.com/dhi/) are great because of the minimal attack surface, near-zero CVEs, proper software bills of materials (SBOMs), and SLSA provenance. If you're evaluating base images for security-sensitive workloads, they should be on your list.\n\nBut adopting them creates the same operational friction as any new registry:\n\n* **Credential distribution**: You need to get Docker credentials to every system that pulls images from dhi.io.\n* **CI/CD changes**: Every pipeline needs to be updated to authenticate with dhi.io.\n* **Developer friction**: People need to remember to use the hardened variants.\n* **Visibility gap**: It's difficult to tell if teams are actually using hardened images vs. regular ones.\n\nVirtual registry addresses each of these:\n\n**Single credential**: Teams authenticate to GitLab. The virtual registry handles upstream authentication. You configure Docker credentials once, at the registry level, and they apply to all pulls.\n\n**No CI/CD changes per-team**: Point pipelines at your virtual registry. Done. The upstream configuration is centralized.\n\n**Gradual adoption**: Since images get cached with their full path, you can see in the cache what's being pulled. If someone's pulling `library/python:3.11` instead of the hardened variant, you'll know.\n\n**Audit trail**: The cache shows you exactly which images are in active use. Useful for compliance, useful for understanding what your fleet actually depends on.\n\n## Setting it up\n\nHere's a real setup using the Python client from this demo project.\n\n### Create the virtual registry\n\n```python\nfrom virtual_registry_client import VirtualRegistryClient\n\nclient = VirtualRegistryClient()\n\nregistry = client.create_virtual_registry(\n    group_id=\"785414\",  # Your top-level group ID\n    name=\"platform-images\",\n    description=\"Cached container images for platform teams\"\n)\n\nprint(f\"Registry ID: {registry['id']}\")\n# You'll need this ID for the pull URL\n```\n\n### Add Docker Hub as an upstream\n\nFor official images like Alpine, Python, etc.:\n\n```python\ndocker_upstream = client.create_upstream(\n    registry_id=registry['id'],\n    url=\"https://registry-1.docker.io\",\n    name=\"Docker Hub\",\n    cache_validity_hours=24\n)\n```\n\n### Add Docker Hardened Images (dhi.io)\n\nDocker Hardened Images are hosted on `dhi.io`, a separate registry that requires authentication:\n\n```python\ndhi_upstream = client.create_upstream(\n    registry_id=registry['id'],\n    url=\"https://dhi.io\",\n    name=\"Docker Hardened Images\",\n    username=\"your-docker-username\",\n    password=\"your-docker-access-token\",\n    cache_validity_hours=24\n)\n```\n\n### Add other upstreams\n\n```python\n# MCR for .NET teams\nclient.create_upstream(\n    registry_id=registry['id'],\n    url=\"https://mcr.microsoft.com\",\n    name=\"Microsoft Container Registry\",\n    cache_validity_hours=48\n)\n\n# Quay for Red Hat stuff\nclient.create_upstream(\n    registry_id=registry['id'],\n    url=\"https://quay.io\",\n    name=\"Quay.io\",\n    cache_validity_hours=24\n)\n```\n\n### Update your CI/CD\n\nHere's a `.gitlab-ci.yml` that pulls through the virtual registry:\n\n```yaml\nvariables:\n  VIRTUAL_REGISTRY_ID: \u003Cyour_virtual_registry_ID>\n\n  \nbuild:\n  image: docker:24\n  services:\n    - docker:24-dind\n  before_script:\n    # Authenticate to GitLab (which handles upstream auth for you)\n    - echo \"${CI_JOB_TOKEN}\" | docker login -u gitlab-ci-token --password-stdin gitlab.com\n  script:\n    # All of these go through your single virtual registry\n    \n    # Official Docker Hub images (use library/ prefix)\n    - docker pull gitlab.com/virtual_registries/container/${VIRTUAL_REGISTRY_ID}/library/alpine:latest\n    \n    # Docker Hardened Images from dhi.io (no prefix needed)\n    - docker pull gitlab.com/virtual_registries/container/${VIRTUAL_REGISTRY_ID}/python:3.13\n    \n    # .NET from MCR\n    - docker pull gitlab.com/virtual_registries/container/${VIRTUAL_REGISTRY_ID}/dotnet/sdk:8.0\n```\n\n### Image path formats\n\nDifferent registries use different path conventions:\n\n| Registry | Pull URL Example |\n|----------|------------------|\n| Docker Hub (official) | `.../library/python:3.11-slim` |\n| Docker Hardened Images (dhi.io) | `.../python:3.13` |\n| MCR | `.../dotnet/sdk:8.0` |\n| Quay.io | `.../prometheus/prometheus:latest` |\n\n### Verify it's working\n\nAfter some pulls, check your cache:\n\n```python\nupstreams = client.list_registry_upstreams(registry['id'])\nfor upstream in upstreams:\n    entries = client.list_cache_entries(upstream['id'])\n    print(f\"{upstream['name']}: {len(entries)} cached entries\")\n\n```\n\n## What the numbers look like\n\nI ran tests pulling images through the virtual registry:\n\n| Metric | Without Cache | With Warm Cache |\n|--------|---------------|-----------------|\n| Pull time (Alpine) | 10.3s | 4.2s |\n| Pull time (Python 3.13 DHI) | 11.6s | ~4s |\n| Network roundtrips to upstream | Every pull | Cache misses only |\n\n\n\n\nThe first pull is the same speed (it has to fetch from upstream). Every pull after that, for the cache validity period, comes straight from GitLab's storage. No network hop to Docker Hub, dhi.io, MCR, or wherever the image lives.\n\nFor a team running hundreds of pipeline jobs per day, that's hours of cumulative build time saved.\n\n## Practical considerations\nHere are some considerations to keep in mind:\n\n### Cache validity\n\n24 hours is the default. For security-sensitive images where you want patches quickly, consider 12 hours or less:\n\n```python\nclient.create_upstream(\n    registry_id=registry['id'],\n    url=\"https://dhi.io\",\n    name=\"Docker Hardened Images\",\n    username=\"your-username\",\n    password=\"your-token\",\n    cache_validity_hours=12\n)\n```\n\nFor stable, infrequently-updated images (like specific version tags), longer validity is fine.\n\n### Upstream priority\n\nUpstreams are checked in order. If you have images with the same name on different registries, the first matching upstream wins.\n\n### Limits\n\n* Maximum of 20 virtual registries per group\n* Maximum of 20 upstreams per virtual registry\n\n## Configuration via UI\n\nYou can also configure virtual registries and upstreams directly from the GitLab UI—no API calls required. Navigate to your group's **Settings > Packages and registries > Virtual Registry** to:\n\n* Create and manage virtual registries\n* Add, edit, and reorder upstream registries\n* View and manage the cache\n* Monitor which images are being pulled\n\n## What's next\n\nWe're actively developing:\n\n* **Allow/deny lists**: Use regex to control which images can be pulled from specific upstreams.\n\nThis is beta software. It works, people are using it in production, but we're still iterating based on feedback.\n\n## Share your feedback\n\nIf you're a platform engineer dealing with container registry sprawl, I'd like to understand your setup:\n\n* How many upstream registries are you managing?\n* What's your biggest pain point with the current state?\n* Would something like this help, and if not, what's missing?\n\nPlease share your experiences in the [Container Virtual Registry feedback issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/work_items/589630).\n## Related resources\n- [New GitLab metrics and registry features help reduce CI/CD bottlenecks](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/new-gitlab-metrics-and-registry-features-help-reduce-ci-cd-bottlenecks/#container-virtual-registry)\n- [Container Virtual Registry documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/packages/virtual_registry/container/)\n- [Container Virtual Registry API](https://docs.gitlab.com/api/container_virtual_registries/)",[721,735,722],"product",{"featured":12,"template":13,"slug":737},"using-gitlab-container-virtual-registry-with-docker-hardened-images",{"content":739,"config":749},{"title":740,"description":741,"authors":742,"heroImage":744,"date":745,"category":9,"tags":746,"body":748},"How IIT Bombay students are coding the future with GitLab","At GitLab, we often talk about how software accelerates innovation. But sometimes, you have to step away from the Zoom calls and stand in a crowded university hall to remember why we do this.",[743],"Nick Veenhof","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1750099013/Blog/Hero%20Images/Blog/Hero%20Images/blog-image-template-1800x945%20%2814%29_6VTUA8mUhOZNDaRVNPeKwl_1750099012960.png","2026-01-08",[255,617,747],"open source","The GitLab team recently had the privilege of judging the **iHack Hackathon** at **IIT Bombay's E-Summit**. The energy was electric, the coffee was flowing, and the talent was undeniable. But what struck us most wasn't just the code — it was the sheer determination of students to solve real-world problems, often overcoming significant logistical and financial hurdles to simply be in the room.\n\n\nThrough our [GitLab for Education program](https://about.gitlab.com/solutions/education/), we aim to empower the next generation of developers with tools and opportunity. Here is a look at what the students built, and how they used GitLab to bridge the gap between idea and reality.\n\n## The challenge: Build faster, build securely\n\nThe premise for the GitLab track of the hackathon was simple: Don't just show us a product; show us how you built it. We wanted to see how students utilized GitLab's platform — from Issue Boards to CI/CD pipelines — to accelerate the development lifecycle.\n\nThe results were inspiring.\n\n## The winners\n\n### 1st place: Team Decode — Democratizing Scientific Research\n\n**Project:** FIRE (Fast Integrated Research Environment)\n\nTeam Decode took home the top prize with a solution that warms a developer's heart: a local-first, blazing-fast data processing tool built with [Rust](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/secure-rust-development-with-gitlab/) and Tauri. They identified a massive pain point for data science students: existing tools are fragmented, slow, and expensive.\n\nTheir solution, FIRE, allows researchers to visualize complex formats (like NetCDF) instantly. What impressed the judges most was their \"hacker\" ethos. They didn't just build a tool; they built it to be open and accessible.\n\n**How they used GitLab:** Since the team lived far apart, asynchronous communication was key. They utilized **GitLab Issue Boards** and **Milestones** to track progress and integrated their repo with Telegram to get real-time push notifications. As one team member noted, \"Coordinating all these technologies was really difficult, and what helped us was GitLab... the Issue Board really helped us track who was doing what.\"\n\n![Team Decode](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1767380253/epqazj1jc5c7zkgqun9h.jpg)\n\n### 2nd place: Team BichdeHueDost — Reuniting to Solve Payments\n\n**Project:** SemiPay (RFID Cashless Payment for Schools)\n\nThe team name, BichdeHueDost, translates to \"Friends who have been set apart.\" It's a fitting name for a group of friends who went to different colleges but reunited to build this project. They tackled a unique problem: handling cash in schools for young children. Their solution used RFID cards backed by a blockchain ledger to ensure secure, cashless transactions for students.\n\n**How they used GitLab:** They utilized [GitLab CI/CD](https://about.gitlab.com/topics/ci-cd/) to automate the build process for their Flutter application (APK), ensuring that every commit resulted in a testable artifact. This allowed them to iterate quickly despite the \"flaky\" nature of cross-platform mobile development.\n\n![Team BichdeHueDost](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1767380253/pkukrjgx2miukb6nrj5g.jpg)\n\n### 3rd place: Team ZenYukti — Agentic Repository Intelligence\n\n**Project:** RepoInsight AI (AI-powered, GitLab-native intelligence platform)\n\nTeam ZenYukti impressed us with a solution that tackles a universal developer pain point: understanding unfamiliar codebases. What stood out to the judges was the tool's practical approach to onboarding and code comprehension: RepoInsight-AI automatically generates documentation, visualizes repository structure, and even helps identify bugs, all while maintaining context about the entire codebase.\n\n**How they used GitLab:** The team built a comprehensive CI/CD pipeline that showcased GitLab's security and DevOps capabilities. They integrated [GitLab's Security Templates](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/tree/master/lib/gitlab/ci/templates/Security) (SAST, Dependency Scanning, and Secret Detection), and utilized [GitLab Container Registry](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/packages/container_registry/) to manage their Docker images for backend and frontend components. They created an AI auto-review bot that runs on merge requests, demonstrating an \"agentic workflow\" where AI assists in the development process itself.\n\n![Team ZenYukti](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1767380253/ymlzqoruv5al1secatba.jpg)\n\n## Beyond the code: A lesson in inclusion\n\nWhile the code was impressive, the most powerful moment of the event happened away from the keyboard.\n\nDuring the feedback session, we learned about the journey Team ZenYukti took to get to Mumbai. They traveled over 24 hours, covering nearly 1,800 kilometers. Because flights were too expensive and trains were booked, they traveled in the \"General Coach,\" a non-reserved, severely overcrowded carriage.\n\nAs one student described it:\n\n*\"You cannot even imagine something like this... there are no seats... people sit on the top of the train. This is what we have endured.\"*\n\nThis hit home. [Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/company/culture/inclusion/) are core values at GitLab. We realized that for these students, the barrier to entry wasn't intellect or skill, it was access.\n\nIn that moment, we decided to break that barrier. We committed to reimbursing the travel expenses for the participants who struggled to get there. It's a small step, but it underlines a massive truth: **talent is distributed equally, but opportunity is not.**\n\n![hackathon class together](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1767380252/o5aqmboquz8ehusxvgom.jpg)\n\n### The future is bright (and automated)\n\nWe also saw incredible potential in teams like Prometheus, who attempted to build an autonomous patch remediation tool (DevGuardian), and Team Arrakis, who built a voice-first job portal for blue-collar workers using [GitLab Duo](https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-duo-agent-platform/) to troubleshoot their pipelines.\n\nTo all the students who participated: You are the future. Through [GitLab for Education](https://about.gitlab.com/solutions/education/), we are committed to providing you with the top-tier tools (like GitLab Ultimate) you need to learn, collaborate, and change the world — whether you are coding from a dorm room, a lab, or a train carriage. **Keep shipping.**\n\n> :bulb: Learn more about the [GitLab for Education program](https://about.gitlab.com/solutions/education/).\n",{"slug":750,"featured":12,"template":13},"how-iit-bombay-students-code-future-with-gitlab",{"promotions":752},[753,767,778],{"id":754,"categories":755,"header":757,"text":758,"button":759,"image":764},"ai-modernization",[756],"ai-ml","Is AI achieving its promise at scale?","Quiz will take 5 minutes or less",{"text":760,"config":761},"Get your AI maturity score",{"href":762,"dataGaName":763,"dataGaLocation":237},"/assessments/ai-modernization-assessment/","modernization assessment",{"config":765},{"src":766},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138786/qix0m7kwnd8x2fh1zq49.png",{"id":768,"categories":769,"header":770,"text":758,"button":771,"image":775},"devops-modernization",[735,563],"Are you just managing tools or shipping innovation?",{"text":772,"config":773},"Get your DevOps maturity score",{"href":774,"dataGaName":763,"dataGaLocation":237},"/assessments/devops-modernization-assessment/",{"config":776},{"src":777},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138785/eg818fmakweyuznttgid.png",{"id":779,"categories":780,"header":782,"text":758,"button":783,"image":787},"security-modernization",[781],"security","Are you trading speed for security?",{"text":784,"config":785},"Get your security maturity score",{"href":786,"dataGaName":763,"dataGaLocation":237},"/assessments/security-modernization-assessment/",{"config":788},{"src":789},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138786/p4pbqd9nnjejg5ds6mdk.png",{"header":791,"blurb":792,"button":793,"secondaryButton":798},"Start building faster today","See what your team can do with the intelligent orchestration platform for DevSecOps.\n",{"text":794,"config":795},"Get your free trial",{"href":796,"dataGaName":44,"dataGaLocation":797},"https://gitlab.com/-/trial_registrations/new?glm_content=default-saas-trial&glm_source=about.gitlab.com/","feature",{"text":499,"config":799},{"href":48,"dataGaName":49,"dataGaLocation":797},1776438102770]