Post-Deployment Automation

Applies to: FlexLab

Overview

Automation runs short scripts on FlexSite *after* GitLab finishes deploying your code. Typical jobs: import Drupal configuration, rebuild caches, or reindex search — tasks that must happen on the live server, not in GitLab’s build container.

Key concepts

  • Post-deploy — the moment the new code is live but Drupal may still need housekeeping commands.
  • Drush — Drupal shell tool; common commands include drush cr (cache rebuild) and drush cim -y (import config).
  • Order matters — automation steps run top to bottom; import config before cache rebuild, for example.

Steps

  1. Open Environments, select an environment, then Automation.
  2. Click Add script (or similar) for each step.
  3. Choose type Drush, WP-CLI, or Shell as appropriate for Drupal projects use Drush.
  4. Enter commands such as drush updatedb -y, drush cim -y, drush cr.
  5. Drag steps to reorder, then Save.
  6. Push a commit to trigger the pipeline; open deployment logs to confirm automation succeeded.

GitLab CI vs FlexSite Automation

WhereBest for
GitLab CI (.gitlab-ci.yml)Running tests, compiling assets, building artifacts
FlexSite AutomationCommands that must run against the live Drupal database on FlexSite

Store API keys referenced in shell scripts as Environment Variables on the same Automation page.