issue_closing_pattern.md

stage: Create
group: Code Review
info: "To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments"
description: "Instance administrators can configure a custom issue closing pattern for their GitLab instance."

Issue closing pattern

DETAILS: Tier: Free, Premium, Ultimate Offering: Self-managed

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, it is possible to automatically close these 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. You can change the pattern to suit your needs.

To change the default issue closing pattern:

::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 https://rubular.com. However, Rubular doesn't understand %{issue_ref}. When testing your patterns, replace this string with #\d+, which matches only local issue references like #123.