---
title: Trigger GitLab Deployments
description: "Trigger deployments with GitLab MCP. Run pipelines with variables, play manual jobs, monitor deploy progress, cancel deployments, and manage CI/CD variables with AI-assisted prompts."
head:
- - meta
- name: keywords
content: gitlab deployment, trigger pipeline, manual jobs, ci/cd variables, deploy staging, deploy production, pipeline automation
---
# Trigger GitLab Deployments
Run pipelines, trigger manual jobs, and manage deployments with GitLab MCP.
## Run a New Pipeline
> "Trigger a pipeline on `main` in `my-org/api`"
> "Run a pipeline on `release/v2.0` with deploy variables"
::: code-group
```json [Simple trigger]
{
"action": "create",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"ref": "main"
}
```
```json [With variables]
{
"action": "create",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"ref": "main",
"variables": [
{ "key": "DEPLOY_ENV", "value": "staging" },
{ "key": "SKIP_TESTS", "value": "false" }
]
}
```
```json [With typed inputs]
{
"action": "create",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"ref": "main",
"inputs": {
"environment": "production",
"dry_run": false,
"replicas": 3
}
}
```
:::
## Trigger with Typed Inputs
For pipelines using GitLab's typed inputs feature:
> "Run a deploy pipeline with environment set to production and dry_run disabled"
```json
{
"action": "create",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"ref": "main",
"inputs": {
"environment": "production",
"dry_run": false,
"replicas": 3
}
}
```
::: info GitLab 15.5+ Required
Pipeline inputs require GitLab 15.5 or later. Check your `.gitlab-ci.yml` for `spec.inputs` to see available inputs.
:::
## Trigger Manual Deploy Jobs
> "Play the deploy-to-staging job in pipeline #1234"
> "Run the manual production deploy job"
::: code-group
```json [Play job]
{
"action": "play",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"job_id": "5678"
}
```
```json [Play with variables]
{
"action": "play",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"job_id": "5678",
"job_variables_attributes": [
{ "key": "DEPLOY_TARGET", "value": "production" }
]
}
```
:::
## Monitor Deploy Progress
> "Check the status of the deploy job #5678"
> "Show me the deploy job logs"
::: code-group
```json [Job status]
{
"action": "job",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"job_id": "5678"
}
```
```json [Job logs]
{
"action": "logs",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"job_id": "5678",
"start": -50,
"limit": 50
}
```
:::
## Cancel a Deploy
> "Cancel the running deploy job — something went wrong"
> "Stop pipeline #1234 immediately"
::: code-group
```json [Cancel job]
{
"action": "cancel",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"job_id": "5678"
}
```
```json [Cancel pipeline]
{
"action": "cancel",
"project_id": "my-org/api",
"pipeline_id": "1234"
}
```
:::
## Deployment Workflow
A typical deployment sequence:
1. > "Run a pipeline on `main` in `my-org/api`"
2. > "Check if all test and build jobs passed in the new pipeline"
3. > "Play the deploy-to-staging job"
4. > "Show me the staging deploy logs"
5. > "Play the deploy-to-production job"
## Manage CI/CD Variables
> "List CI/CD variables for `my-org/api`"
> "What's the value of the DEPLOY_URL variable?"
::: code-group
```json [List variables]
{
"action": "list",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"per_page": 50
}
```
```json [Get variable]
{
"action": "get",
"namespace": "my-org/api",
"key": "DEPLOY_URL"
}
```
:::
## Next Steps
- [Check Status](/prompts/ci-cd/check-status) — Verify deployment succeeded
- [Debug Failure](/prompts/ci-cd/debug-failure) — If deployment fails
