GitLab CI Job Exceeds Disk Space Limit

The job exceeds the disk space limit set for the runner or job.

Understanding GitLab CI

GitLab CI/CD is a powerful tool integrated within GitLab that allows developers to automate the process of software development, testing, and deployment. It helps streamline the workflow by automatically running jobs defined in a .gitlab-ci.yml file whenever code is pushed to the repository. This ensures that the code is consistently tested and deployed without manual intervention.

Identifying the Symptom

One common issue developers encounter when using GitLab CI is the error message indicating that a job exceeds the disk space limit. This error typically manifests as a job failure with logs showing messages like "No space left on device" or "Job exceeded disk space limit." This can halt the CI/CD pipeline, preventing further jobs from executing.

Exploring the Issue

The "Job Exceeds Disk Space Limit" error occurs when the job's disk usage surpasses the allocated space on the runner. Each GitLab runner has a predefined disk space limit, and when a job tries to use more space than allowed, it results in this error. This can happen due to large artifacts, excessive logging, or large dependencies being downloaded during the job.

Common Causes

  • Large build artifacts being generated and stored.
  • Excessive logging output during job execution.
  • Downloading large dependencies or datasets.

Steps to Resolve the Issue

To resolve the "Job Exceeds Disk Space Limit" error, you can take several actions to either reduce the disk usage or increase the available disk space.

Reduce Disk Usage

  • Optimize Artifacts: Review the artifacts being generated and stored. Compress them or exclude unnecessary files. Use the artifacts keyword in your .gitlab-ci.yml to specify only essential files.
  • Limit Logging: Reduce the verbosity of logs. Use logging levels to control the amount of information being logged. For example, switch from DEBUG to INFO level.
  • Cache Dependencies: Use caching to avoid re-downloading dependencies. Define a cache in your .gitlab-ci.yml to store dependencies between jobs.

Increase Disk Space

  • Configure Runner: If you control the runner, increase the disk space allocation. Modify the runner's configuration file (e.g., config.toml) to allocate more disk space.
  • Use Larger Runners: Consider using a runner with more disk space if your current runner is insufficient. Check the GitLab Runner Configuration documentation for more details.

Conclusion

By understanding the root cause of the "Job Exceeds Disk Space Limit" error and applying the appropriate solutions, you can ensure that your GitLab CI/CD pipelines run smoothly. Whether by optimizing your job's disk usage or increasing the runner's disk capacity, these steps will help you maintain efficient and uninterrupted CI/CD processes.

For further reading, visit the GitLab CI/CD Documentation for comprehensive guidance on configuring and optimizing your CI/CD pipelines.

Never debug

GitLab CI

manually again

Let Dr. Droid create custom investigation plans for your infrastructure.

Book Demo
Automate Debugging for
GitLab CI
See how Dr. Droid creates investigation plans for your infrastructure.

MORE ISSUES

Made with ❤️ in Bangalore & San Francisco 🏢

Doctor Droid