Unable to create masked variable because: The value must have 8 characters

Question

I want to set up a Git_CI_USER. I get the message “Unable to create masked variable because: The value must have 8 characters.” My GIT_CI_USER only has 7 characters. Perhaps the problem can be solved with the help of a Personal Access Token, job ID or SSL?

Here are a few lines from my .gitlab-ci.yaml file

This solution doesnt work anymore.

before_script:
  - git remote set-url origin https://$GIT_CI_USER:[email protected]/$CI_PROJECT_PATH.git

I tried to set up a PRIVATE ACCESS TOKEN.

before_script:
  - git remote add origin https://username:[email protected]/$CI_PROJECT_PATH.git

Now I get the error message: error: remote origin already exists.

Please take a look at the screenshot

With PATs GitLab doesn't care about the username but does care about the PAT. This post is obscuring the unimportant part while exposing the secret part. — Chris Becke
– Chris Becke, Commented Sep 15 at 5:30

Chris Becke · Accepted Answer · 2025-09-15 05:26:40Z

0

I found the solution.

The right string in the bevore_script is:

before_script:
- git remote set-url origin https://username:[email protected]/$CI_PROJECT_PATH.git

edited Sep 15 at 5:26

Chris Becke

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answered Sep 14 at 11:24

Aaron

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1 Comment

Chris Becke Sep 15 at 5:26

i dont know its a good idea to post legitimate looking PATs to stackoverflow.

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