Matrix variables no longer available during rules: evaluation (regression)

Summary

Matrix variables defined under parallel:matrix are no longer available during rules: evaluation.
As a result, rules: conditions that previously disabled specific matrix jobs (e.g. based on DISABLE_BUILD flags) no longer work, and GitLab always creates all matrix job instances regardless of the variable values.

This behavior is a regression: it worked correctly earlier (at least until mid-November 2025), and nothing in GitLab documentation suggests that matrix variables should be unavailable to rules.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Create a job using parallel:matrix with a variable, e.g. DISABLE_BUILD: "true".
  2. Add rules: that check the matrix variable: 
    rules:
  - if: '$DISABLE_BUILD == "true"'
    when: never
  3. Trigger a pipeline.
  4. Observe that all matrix jobs are created, including those where DISABLE_BUILD="true".

Minimal example:

variables:
  DISABLE_ARM64_BUILD: "true"

build:
  stage: build
  parallel:
    matrix:
      - ARCH: "amd64"
        DISABLE_BUILD: $DISABLE_AMD64_BUILD
      - ARCH: "arm64"
        DISABLE_BUILD: $DISABLE_ARM64_BUILD
  script:
    - echo "Building $ARCH"
  rules:
    - if: '$DISABLE_BUILD == "true"'
      when: never
    - when: on_success

Example Project

A minimal reproduction repository can be provided on GitLab.com if needed.

What is the current bug behavior?

  • rules: does not see matrix variables.
  • Conditions like if: $DISABLE_BUILD == "true" always evaluate as empty, not "true".
  • GitLab creates all matrix job instances, even those that should be disabled.

What is the expected correct behavior?

  • Matrix variables should be available during rules: evaluation, as they were before.
  • Jobs whose matrix item sets a disable flag should be skipped entirely, not created.

Relevant logs and/or screenshots

The issue occurs during the job creation phase, before any logs are produced.
GitLab UI shows all matrix jobs being created, even those where DISABLE_BUILD="true".

Possible fixes

This likely relates to the order of evaluation for matrix expansion vs rules:.
Restoring previous behavior where matrix variables were injected before rules evaluation would fix the issue.

Edited by 🤖 GitLab Bot 🤖