Document pipeline grouping

doc/ci/pipelines.md

@@ -9,11 +9,17 @@ A pipeline is a group of [jobs][] that get executed in [stages][](batches).
 All of the jobs in a stage are executed in parallel (if there are enough
 concurrent [Runners]), and if they all succeed, the pipeline moves on to the
 next stage. If one of the jobs fails, the next stage is not (usually)
-executed.
+executed. You can access the pipelines page in your project's **Pipelines** tab.
+
+In the following image you can see that the pipeline consists of four stages
+(`build`, `test`, `staging`, `production`) each one having one or more jobs.
+
+>**Note:**
+GitLab capitalizes the stages' names when shown in the [pipeline graphs](#pipeline-graphs).
 
 ![Pipelines example](img/pipelines.png)
 
-## Types of Pipelines
+## Types of pipelines
 
 There are three types of pipelines that often use the single shorthand of "pipeline". People often talk about them as if each one is "the" pipeline, but really, they're just pieces of a single, comprehensive pipeline.
 
@@ -23,7 +29,7 @@ There are three types of pipelines that often use the single shorthand of "pipel
 2. **Deploy Pipeline**: Deploy stage(s) defined in `.gitlab-ci.yml` The flow of deploying code to servers through various stages: e.g. development to staging to production
 3. **Project Pipeline**: Cross-project CI dependencies [triggered via API][triggers], particularly for micro-services, but also for complicated build dependencies: e.g. api -> front-end, ce/ee -> omnibus.
 
-## Development Workflows
+## Development workflows
 
 Pipelines accommodate several development workflows:
 
@@ -45,18 +51,116 @@ confused with a `build` job or `build` stage.
 Pipelines are defined in `.gitlab-ci.yml` by specifying [jobs] that run in
 [stages].
 
-See full [documentation](yaml/README.md#jobs).
+See the reference [documentation for jobs](yaml/README.md#jobs).
 
 ## Seeing pipeline status
 
-You can find the current and historical pipeline runs under **Pipelines** for
-your project.
+You can find the current and historical pipeline runs under your project's
+**Pipelines** tab. Clicking on a pipeline will show the jobs that were run for
+that pipeline.
+
+![Pipelines index page](img/pipelines_index.png)
 
 ## Seeing job status
 
-Clicking on a pipeline will show the jobs that were run for that pipeline.
+When you visit a single pipeline you can see the related jobs for that pipeline.
 Clicking on an individual job will show you its job trace, and allow you to
-cancel the job, retry it,  or erase the job trace.
+cancel the job, retry it, or erase the job trace.
+
+![Pipelines example](img/pipelines.png)
+
+## Pipeline graphs
+
+> [Introduced][ce-5742] in GitLab 8.11.
+
+Pipelines can be complex structures with many sequential and parallel jobs.
+To make it a little easier to see what is going on, you can view a graph
+of a single pipeline and its status.
+
+A pipeline graph can be shown in two different ways depending on what page you
+are on.
+
+---
+
+The regular pipeline graph that shows the names of the jobs of each stage can
+be found when you are on a [single pipeline page](#seeing-pipeline-status).
+
+![Pipelines example](img/pipelines.png)
+
+Then, there is the pipeline mini graph which takes less space and can give you a
+quick glance if all jobs pass or something failed. The pipeline mini graph can
+be found when you visit:
+
+- the pipelines index page
+- a single commit page
+- a merge request page
+
+That way, you can see all related jobs for a single commit and the net result
+of each stage of your pipeline. This allows you to quickly see what failed and
+fix it. Stages in pipeline mini graphs are collapsible. Hover your mouse over
+them and click to expand their jobs.
+
+| **Mini graph** | **Mini graph expanded** |
+| :------------: | :---------------------: |
+| ![Pipelines mini graph](img/pipelines_mini_graph_simple.png) | ![Pipelines mini graph extended](img/pipelines_mini_graph.png) |
+
+### Grouping similar jobs in the pipeline graph
+
+> [Introduced][ce-6242] in GitLab 8.12.
+
+If you have many similar jobs, your pipeline graph becomes very long and hard
+to read. For that reason, similar jobs can automatically be grouped together.
+If the job names are formatted in certain ways, they will be collapsed into
+a single group in regular pipeline graphs (not the mini graphs).
+You'll know when a pipeline has grouped jobs if you don't see the retry or
+cancel button inside them. Hovering over them will show the number of grouped
+jobs. Click to expand them.
+
+![Grouped pipelines](img/pipelines_grouped.png)
+
+The basic requirements is that there are two numbers separated with one of
+the following (you can even use them interchangeably):
+
+- a space
+- a backslash (`/`)
+- a colon (`:`)
+
+>**Note:**
+More specifically, [it uses][regexp] this regular expression: `\d+[\s:\/\\]+\d+\s*`.
+
+The jobs will be ordered by comparing those two numbers from left to right. You
+usually want the first to be the index and the second the total.
+
+For example, the following jobs will be grouped under a job named `test`:
+
+- `test 0 3` => `test`
+- `test 1 3` => `test`
+- `test 2 3` => `test`
+
+The following jobs will be grouped under a job named `test ruby`:
+
+- `test 1:2 ruby` => `test ruby`
+- `test 2:2 ruby` => `test ruby`
+
+The following jobs will be grouped under a job named `test ruby` as well:
+
+- `1/3 test ruby` => `test ruby`
+- `2/3 test ruby` => `test ruby`
+- `3/3 test ruby` => `test ruby`
+
+### Manual actions from the pipeline graph
+
+> [Introduced][ce-7931] in GitLab 8.15.
+
+[Manual actions][manual] allow you to require manual interaction before moving
+forward with a particular job in CI. Your entire pipeline can run automatically,
+but the actual [deploy to production][env-manual] will require a click.
+
+You can do this straight from the pipeline graph. Just click on the play button
+to execute that particular job. For example, in the image below, the `production`
+stage has a job with a manual action.
+
+![Pipelines example](img/pipelines.png)
 
 ## How the pipeline duration is calculated
 
@@ -96,7 +200,13 @@ respective link in the [Pipelines settings] page.
 
 [jobs]: #jobs
 [jobs-yaml]: yaml/README.md#jobs
+[manual]: yaml/README.md#manual
+[env-manual]: environments.md#manually-deploying-to-environments
 [stages]: yaml/README.md#stages
 [runners]: runners/README.html
 [pipelines settings]: ../user/project/pipelines/settings.md
 [triggers]: triggers/README.md
+[ce-5742]: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/merge_requests/5742
+[ce-6242]: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/merge_requests/6242
+[ce-7931]: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/merge_requests/7931
+[regexp]: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/blob/2f3dc314f42dbd79813e6251792853bc231e69dd/app/models/commit_status.rb#L99