How to use if-else condition on gitlabci - if-statement

Question

How to use if else condition inside the gitlab-CI.
I have below code:
deploy-dev:
image: testimage
environment: dev
tags:
- kubectl
script:
- kubectl apply -f demo1 --record=true
- kubectl apply -f demo2 --record=true
Now I want to add a condition something like this
script:
- (if [ "$flag" == "true" ]; then kubectl apply -f demo1 --record=true; else kubectl apply -f demo2 --record=true);
Could someone provide the correct syntax for the same? Is there any documentation for the conditions (if-else, for loop) in gitlabci?

Answer 1

Hereunder three syntax options for that kind of statement. From gitlab-ci documentation :
Using shell variable
deploy-dev:
image: testimage
environment: dev
tags:
- kubectl
script:
- if [ "$flag" == "true" ]; then MODULE="demo1"; else MODULE="demo2"; fi
- kubectl apply -f ${MODULE} --record=true
Using shell variable with yaml multiline block
deploy-dev:
image: testimage
environment: dev
tags:
- kubectl
script:
- >
if [ "$flag" == "true" ]; then
kubectl apply -f demo1 --record=true
else
kubectl apply -f demo2 --record=true
fi
Using gitlab rules
workflow:
rules:
- if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "schedule"'
when: never
- if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push"'
when: never
- when: always
Using gitlab templates and variables
demo1-deploy-dev:
extends: .deploy-dev
only:
variables: [ $flag == "true" ]
variables:
MODULE: demo1
demo2-deploy-dev:
extends: .deploy-dev
only:
variables: [ $flag == "false" ]
variables:
MODULE: demo2
.deploy-dev:
image: testimage
environment: dev
tags:
- kubectl
script:
- kubectl apply -f ${MODULE} --record=true

Answer 2

Note that with GitLab 13.3 (August 2020), there is an improvement to the if-else rule syntax:
CI/CD rules:if support logical expressions with parentheses
If you use the rules keyword with if clauses, it’s now even more powerful, with support for bracketed expressions evaluated by the pipeline processor.
You can use more complex and efficient AND (&&) / OR (||) expressions, making your pipelines rules more logical, powerful, and easier to manage.
See Documentation and Issue.
And, with GitLab 13.8 (January 2021)
Support variables for pipeline rules
Previously, the rules keyword was limited in scope and only determined if a job should be included or excluded from pipelines. In this release, you can now decide if certain conditions are met and subsequently override variables in jobs, providing you with more flexibility when configuring your pipelines.
See Documentation and Issue.
With GitLab 13.12 (May 2021):
Support variables in CI/CD pipeline 'workflow:rules'
Previously, the rules keyword was limited in scope and only determined if a job should be included or excluded from pipelines. In 13.8, we added the ability to use the variables keyword with rules to set variable values in a job based on which rule matched.
In this release we’ve extended this ability to workflow: rules, so you can set variable values for the whole pipeline if certain conditions match.
This helps you make your pipelines even more flexible.
See Documentation and Issue.

Answer 3

I think you need to just add a semicolon and closing "fi" at the end.
I couldn't find a link to documentation.
script:
- (if [ "$flag" == "true" ]; then kubectl apply -f demo1 --record=true; else kubectl apply -f demo2 --record=true; fi);

Answer 4

In addition, in the case of a multiline block if you want or need to preserve line breaks you can use the pipe character:
script: |
if [ "$flag" == "true" ]; then
kubectl apply -f demo1 --record=true
else
kubectl apply -f demo2 --record=true
fi
To go deeper, visit https://yaml-multiline.info/

Answer 5

You may consider checking rules
It allows for a list of individual rule objects to be evaluated in order, until one matches and dynamically provides attributes to the job.
Available rule clauses include:
if (similar to only:variables)
changes (same as only:changes)
exists
Example:
job:
script: "echo Hello, Rules!"
rules:
- if: '$CI_MERGE_REQUEST_TARGET_BRANCH_NAME == "master"'
when: always
- if: '$VAR =~ /pattern/'
when: manual
- when: on_success

Answer 6

This worked for me when using powershell based gitlab scripts:
script:
- 'if ($flag -eq "true") { kubectl apply -f demo1 --record=true; } else { kubectl apply -f demo2 --record=true; }'