Issue closing pattern

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NOTE: This page explains how an administrator can configure issue closing patterns. For user documentation about the feature, see Closing issues automatically.

When a commit or merge request resolves one or more issues, GitLab can close those issues when the commit or merge request lands in the project's default branch.

Change the issue closing pattern

The default issue closing pattern covers a wide range of words.

To change the default issue closing pattern to suit your needs:

::Tabs

:::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus)

1. Edit /etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb and change the gitlab_rails['gitlab_issue_closing_pattern'] value:

   gitlab_rails['gitlab_issue_closing_pattern'] = /<regular_expression>/.source

2. Save the file and reconfigure GitLab:

   sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure

:::TabTitle Helm chart (Kubernetes)

1. Export the Helm values:

   helm get values gitlab > gitlab_values.yaml

2. Edit gitlab_values.yaml and change the issueClosingPattern value:

   global:
     appConfig:
       issueClosingPattern: "<regular_expression>"

3. Save the file and apply the new values:

   helm upgrade -f gitlab_values.yaml gitlab gitlab/gitlab

:::TabTitle Docker

1. Edit docker-compose.yml and change the gitlab_rails['gitlab_issue_closing_pattern'] value:

   version: "3.6"
   services:
     gitlab:
       environment:
         GITLAB_OMNIBUS_CONFIG: |
           gitlab_rails['gitlab_issue_closing_pattern'] = /<regular_expression>/.source

2. Save the file and restart GitLab:

   docker compose up -d

:::TabTitle Self-compiled (source)

1. Edit /home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml and change the issue_closing_pattern value:

   production: &base
     gitlab:
       issue_closing_pattern: "<regular_expression>"

2. Save the file and restart GitLab:

   # For systems running systemd
   sudo systemctl restart gitlab.target
   
   # For systems running SysV init
   sudo service gitlab restart

::EndTabs

To test the issue closing pattern, use Rubular. Rubular does not understand %{issue_ref}. When you test your patterns, replace this string with #\d+, which matches only local issue references like #123.