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GitLab CI/CD

Pull Envshed secrets into your GitLab CI/CD jobs without copying them into project- or group-level CI/CD variables. One token in GitLab, every other secret stays in Envshed.

On the roadmap — target Q3 2026

The first-class GitLab template (include-able job + .gitlab-ci.yml snippet) ships in Q3 2026. The CLI workaround below works today and is what we will recommend for self-managed GitLab once the template ships.

How it will work​

  • Single include — one include: remote: line adds an envshed job that fetches secrets and exposes them to downstream jobs via a dotenv artifact.
  • Token in one place — store ENVSHED_TOKEN once as a masked, protected CI/CD variable; everything else lives in Envshed.
  • Per-environment mapping — pick the Envshed environment per pipeline using ENVSHED_ENVIRONMENT, set in rules: or via dotenv from a previous job.
  • Self-managed safe — works against any GitLab version that supports dotenv artifacts (13.0+), including self-hosted instances behind a VPN.

Workaround today​

Use the envshed CLI directly inside your job. The dotenv artifact pattern below is the same one the future template will use under the hood.

variables:
  ENVSHED_ENVIRONMENT: production

stages:
  - secrets
  - deploy

fetch-secrets:
  stage: secrets
  image: node:22-slim
  script:
    - npm install -g envshed
    - envshed pull -e $ENVSHED_ENVIRONMENT -o my-org -p backend -f envshed.env --force
  artifacts:
    reports:
      dotenv: envshed.env

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  needs: ["fetch-secrets"]
  script:
    - ./deploy.sh

A few notes on this pattern:

  • Add ENVSHED_TOKEN as a masked, protected CI/CD variable so it is only available to protected branches and never echoed to logs.
  • Use a service token scoped to the environment you are deploying to — never a personal token.
  • Prefer the dotenv artifact pattern over cat envshed.env >> $GITLAB_ENV; the artifact pattern carries values into downstream jobs without writing them to a file other jobs can read.

Want this sooner?​

The GitLab template waits behind the Vercel integration on the public roadmap. If GitLab CI is the integration that would unblock your team, email contact@envshed.com with a line about your GitLab version (SaaS or self-managed) — that helps us prioritize.