Deployment approvals

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You can require additional approvals for deployments to protected environments. Deployments are blocked until all required approvals are given.

Use deployment approvals to accommodate testing, security, or compliance processes. For example, you might want to require approvals for deployments to production environments.

Configure deployment approvals

You can require approvals for deployments to protected environments in a project.

Prerequisites:

  • To update an environment, you must have the Maintainer or Owner role.

To configure deployment approvals for a project:

  1. Create a deployment job in the .gitlab-ci.yml file of your project:

    yaml 
    stages:
  - deploy

production:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - 'echo "Deploying to ${CI_ENVIRONMENT_NAME}"'
  environment:
    name: ${CI_JOB_NAME}
    action: start

    The job does not need to be manual (when: manual).

  2. Add the required approval rules.

The environments in your project require approval before deployment.

Add multiple approval rules

Add multiple approval rules to control who can approve and execute deployment jobs.

To add multiple approval rules, you must have the Developer role for the project. To add a group as an approver, you must invite the group to the project. Only invited groups appear in the approvers list.

To configure multiple approval rules, use the CI/CD settings. You can also use the API.

All jobs deploying to the environment are blocked and wait for approvals before running. Make sure the number of required approvals is less than the number of users allowed to deploy.

A user can give only one approval per deployment, even if the user is a member of multiple approver groups. Issue 457541 proposes to change this behavior so that the same user can give multiple approvals per deployment from different approver groups.

After a deployment job is approved, you must run the job manually.

Approval rules when an approver becomes unavailable

If you remove or unshare the sole approver on a rule, GitLab does not change the rule. The rule still names the same user or group, and the environment still requires their approval. Removing a project member or unsharing a group revokes only that one route of access to the project. It does not edit the rule. If the named approver still has access to the project through another route, for example because the project is public or they have a role in an ancestor group, they can still give that approval. To remove a former approver’s ability to approve, reconfigure the rule with a different approver.

If the user account or group that’s the sole approver is permanently deleted, GitLab reassigns the rule automatically. The rule no longer names the deleted user or group. A user with the Maintainer role or above, for the environment’s project or group, can then approve. GitLab records the reassignment as an audit event.

Allow self-approval

By default, the user who triggers a deployment pipeline can’t also approve the deployment job.

A GitLab administrator can approve or reject all deployments.

To allow self-approval of a deployment job:

  1. In the top bar, select Search or go to and find your project.
  2. In the left sidebar, select Settings > CI/CD.
  3. Expand Protected environments.
  4. From the Approval options, select the Allow pipeline triggerer to approve deployment checkbox.

Approve or reject a deployment

In an environment with multiple approval rules, you can:

  • Approve a deployment to allow it to proceed.
  • Reject a deployment to prevent it.

Prerequisites:

  • You have permission to deploy to the protected environment.

To approve or reject a deployment:

  1. In the top bar, select Search or go to and find your project.
  2. In the left sidebar, select Operate > Environments.
  3. Select the environment’s name.
  4. Find the deployment and select its Status badge.
  5. Optional. Add a comment which describes your reason for approving or rejecting the deployment.
  6. Select Approve or Reject.

You can also use the API.

You can give only one approval per deployment, even if you are a member of multiple approver groups. Issue 457541 proposes to change this behavior so that the same user can give multiple approvals per deployment from different approver groups.

Deployment approval doesn’t automatically start the corresponding deployment job. You must manually run the job.

View the approval details of a deployment

Prerequisites:

  • You have permission to deploy to the protected environment.

A deployment to a protected environment can proceed only after all required approvals have been granted.

To view the approval details of a deployment:

  1. In the top bar, select Search or go to and find your project.
  2. In the left sidebar, select Operate > Environments.
  3. Select the environment’s name.
  4. Find the deployment and select its Status badge.

The approval status details are shown:

  • Eligible approvers
  • Number of approvals granted, and number of approvals required
  • Users who have granted approval
  • History of approvals or rejections

View blocked deployments

Review the status of your deployments, including whether a deployment is blocked.

To view your deployments:

  1. In the top bar, select Search or go to and find your project.
  2. In the left sidebar, select Operate > Environments.
  3. Select the environment being deployed to.

A deployment with the blocked label is blocked.

To get the approval status of a deployment, you can also use the API. The status field indicates whether a deployment is blocked.