Solving GitLab pipeline error (): mapping values are not allowed in this context

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A job in a GitLab pipeline ran into a rather cryptic error, mentioning mapping values in a specific line:

GitLab pipeline error

`.gitlab-ci.yml`: (): mapping values are not allowed in this context at line 336 column 169

At least the UI shows a tag "yaml invalid", which hints to a problem with the YAML format, but besides this, it is unclear what the error means. At least if this is the first time you run into that kind of error.

Colons in strings

Taking a closer look at that specific line 336 reveals that this is within the script context and executes the following shell command:

329   script:
[...]
335     - export sudoershash=$(sha256sum ./conf/mysudoers)
336     - echo -ne "Path: /etc/sudoers.d/mysudoers\nSHA256 Hash: ${sudoershash}" > /tmp/mailcontent
[...}

At first I suspected a problem with the variable (${sudoershash}) inside line 336, but variables are perfectly supported.

By opening the pipeline in the Pipeline Editor and hovering over the marked line 336, an additional information is shown:

GitLab Pipeline Editor shows incorrect type error

Incorrect type. Expected "string | array".

This for me was the final hint I needed. For some reason, the pipeline parser understood the colons (:) in the string as key: value assignment. 

Fixing the error

By simply changing the colons to an equal (=) character, the pipeline was fixed:

329   script:
[...]
335     - export sudoershash=$(sha256sum ./conf/mysudoers)
336     - echo -ne "Path=/etc/sudoers.d/mysudoers\nSHA256 Hash=${sudoershash}" > /tmp/mailcontent
[...}

Another way to fix it is to remove the white spaces behind the colons:

329   script:
[...]
335     - export sudoershash=$(sha256sum ./conf/mysudoers)
336     - echo -ne "Path:/etc/sudoers.d/mysudoers\nSHA256 Hash:${sudoershash}" > /tmp/mailcontent
[...}

Use the method you prefer :-).


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