🎯 GitLab CI Performance Changes Summary What Was Wrong:

Pipeline was hanging after Git checkout during cache download Cache operations taking 2+ minutes Caching unnecessary files bloating cache size

Changes Made:

1. Fixed Cache Bloat ⭐ BIGGEST WIN yamluntracked: false # Changed from true Why: Was caching thousands of random untracked files. Now only caches what we explicitly list.
2. Added Cache Timeout Protection yamlCACHE_REQUEST_TIMEOUT: 300 RESTORE_CACHE_ATTEMPTS: 2 Why: Prevents indefinite hangs if cache gets stuck.
3. Faster Git Clones yamlGIT_DEPTH: '1' # Changed from '10' Why: Downloads only latest commit, not last 10 commits. 50-80% faster.
4. Cleared Old Corrupted Caches Why: Removed potentially broken cache archives causing hangs.
5. Skip Unnecessary Artifact Downloads yamlneeds:

• job: install:npm artifacts: false # Added this Why: Jobs pull from cache (fast, parallel) instead of waiting for artifacts (slow, sequential).

6. Smart Install Checks yamlif [ -d "vendor" ]; then echo "✓ Found in cache, skipping install" else composer install fi Why: When cache is warm, skip reinstalling entirely.
7. Auto-Cancel Old Pipelines yamlworkflow: auto_cancel: on_new_commit: interruptible Why: New commits cancel old running pipelines (except deployments).
8. Cache Fallback Keys yamlfallback_keys:

• npm- Why: If exact cache miss, try older cache instead of rebuilding from scratch.