Nested variables in "rules.changes" don't works

GitLab CI/CD
1

Using nested variable in “rules:changes”

I’m referring to the keyword “rules:changes”.

In GitLab-ci documentation, there is a basic example demonstrating the usage of variables to create more adaptable rules.

docker build:
  variables:
    DOCKERFILES_DIR: 'path/to/files'
  script: docker build -t my-image:$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG .
  rules:
    - changes:
      - $DOCKERFILES_DIR/**/*

I tried to push that a bit further using a nested variable (I need it
because of a ci template that I’m building):

docker build:
  variables:
    DOCKERFILES_DIR: "docker"
    WATCH_FILE: "${DOCKER_DIR}/Dockerfile"
  script: docker build -t my-image:$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG .
  rules:
    - changes:
      - $WATCH_FILE

But the job is never executed. After some attempts, I came to the conclusion
that nested variables do not work in this context.

Steps to reproduce

This is how I’m testing it:

build-job:
  stage: build
  variables:
    DOCKER_DIR: "docker"
    WATCH_FILE: "${DOCKER_DIR}/Dockerfile"
  script:
    - echo "Compiling the code..."
    - echo "Compile complete."
  rules:
    - changes:
        - $WATCH_FILE

build-job_1:
  stage: build
  variables:
    WATCH_FILE: "docker/Dockerfile"
  script:
    - echo "Compiling the code..."
    - echo "Compile complete."
  rules:
    - changes:
        - $WATCH_FILE

I expect to see both jobs executed when I change “docker/Dockerfile”. Yet,
only build-job_1 works.

Versions

  • Self-managed (GitLab Enterprise Edition v16.9.3-ee)
  • GitLab.com SaaS
  • Self-hosted Runners