Let's break down why your RESPONSE variable isn't being recognized, and fix the script step by step.

Key Issues Identified #

1. GitLab CI Variable Interpolation Conflict: GitLab CI tries to resolve $RESPONSE as a predefined CI variable first, instead of treating it as a shell variable you just created. This leads to the truncated echo $ output you see.
2. Incorrect Array Handling: You're trying to use RESPONSE as an array with ${RESPONSE[@]}, but RESPONSE=$(...) assigns a plain string, not an array—this will fail if there are spaces in directory names or multiple Dockerfiles.
3. Potential Working Directory Drift: Using cd ${i} and cd .. can cause issues if directories have special characters or if the loop fails mid-execution.

Fixed Script for Your Job #

Here's the corrected version of your script section, with explanations of each fix:

delayed-build-files-cleaning:
  variables:
    GIT_STRATEGY: none
    GIT_CLONE_PATH: ${BUILDIR}
  script:
    # Explicitly use shell escaping to prevent GitLab CI from interpolating $BUILDIR early
    - 'cd "$BUILDIR" && pwd && ls'
    # Use -print0 to handle paths with spaces, capture output safely
    - 'RESPONSE=$(find . -type f -name Dockerfile -print0 | xargs -0 sed "s|^\./||")'
    # Escape $RESPONSE to force shell interpretation, preserve whitespace with quotes
    - 'echo "$RESPONSE"'
    - |
      if [ -z "$RESPONSE" ]; then
        echo "No Dockerfiles found";
        echo "$RESPONSE";
      else
        echo "Found Dockerfiles";
        # Process each Dockerfile directly to avoid array issues
        find . -type f -name Dockerfile -print0 | while IFS= read -r -d '' dockerfile_path; do
          # Strip leading ./ and get the directory path
          dir_path=$(dirname "${dockerfile_path#./}")
          # Change to target directory safely (exit if cd fails)
          cd "$dir_path" || exit 1
          # Reference external script template
          !reference [.docker-tag-script, script]
          echo "Removing last docker image build";
          # Use quotes to handle special characters in registry/image names
          docker rmi "$NEXUS_DOCKER_REGISTRY/${DOCKER_TARGET_IMAGE}"
          # Return to original build directory explicitly
          cd "$BUILDIR" || exit 1
        done
      fi
    - 'find . -delete'
  when: delayed
  start_in: 120 minutes
  tags:
    - dev

Detailed Fixes Explained #

1. Escape Shell Variables from GitLab CI:

   • Wrap entire commands in single quotes ('...') to prevent GitLab CI from parsing $ as CI variables. For example, 'cd "$BUILDIR" && pwd && ls' ensures $BUILDIR is handled by the shell, not GitLab.
   • Double quotes around $RESPONSE preserve spaces and newlines in the variable's value, so paths with spaces won't break your script.

2. Safe Handling of Paths with Spaces:

   • Using find ... -print0 paired with while IFS= read -r -d '' ensures paths containing spaces, special characters, or newlines are processed correctly—something the original string-based approach would fail at.

3. Avoid Array Misuse:

   • Instead of converting the find output to a string and trying to treat it as an array, processing each Dockerfile path directly in a loop is far more reliable and avoids edge-case failures.

4. Prevent Working Directory Issues:

   • Explicitly cd "$BUILDIR" after processing each directory instead of relying on cd ..—this eliminates the risk of getting stuck in the wrong directory if the loop exits early or the directory structure changes.

Additional Debug Tip #

Add - 'set -x' at the start of your script to enable debug output. This will show exactly how each command is executed, making it easy to spot any remaining interpolation or variable scoping issues.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者Francisco Aguilera