Merge branch 'archive-builds-documentation' into 'master'

Add documentation for archive builds

Closes #53534

See merge request gitlab-org/gitlab-ce!22909

2 files changed, 21 insertions, 5 deletions

diff --git a/app/views/admin/application_settings/_ci_cd.html.haml b/app/views/admin/application_settings/_ci_cd.html.haml
index adb496495d1..0d42094fc89 100644
--- a/app/views/admin/application_settings/_ci_cd.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/admin/application_settings/_ci_cd.html.haml
@@ -42,12 +42,12 @@
         <code>4 mins 2 sec</code>, <code>2h42min</code>.
         = link_to icon('question-circle'), help_page_path('user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration', anchor: 'default-artifacts-expiration')
     .form-group
-      = f.label :archive_builds_in_human_readable, 'Archive builds in', class: 'label-bold'
+      = f.label :archive_builds_in_human_readable, 'Archive jobs', class: 'label-bold'
       = f.text_field :archive_builds_in_human_readable, class: 'form-control', placeholder: 'never'
       .form-text.text-muted
-        Set the duration when build gonna be considered old. Archived builds cannot be retried.
-        Make it empty to never expire builds. It has to be larger than 1 day.
-        The default unit is in seconds, but you can define an alternative. For example:
-        <code>4 mins 2 sec</code>, <code>2h42min</code>.
+        Set the duration for which the jobs will be considered as old and expired.
+        Once that time passes, the jobs will be archived and no longer able to be
+        retried. Make it empty to never expire jobs. It has to be no less than 1 day,
+        for example: <code>15 days</code>, <code>1 month</code>, <code>2 years</code>.
 
   = f.submit 'Save changes', class: "btn btn-success"
diff --git a/doc/user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration.md b/doc/user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration.md
index 6025a5bbcda..d4853a5842e 100644
--- a/doc/user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration.md
+++ b/doc/user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration.md
@@ -49,3 +49,19 @@ and the default value is `30 days`. On GitLab.com they
 This setting is set per job and can be overridden in
 [`.gitlab-ci.yml`](../../../ci/yaml/README.md#artifacts-expire_in).
 To disable the expiration, set it to `0`. The default unit is in seconds.
+
+## Archive jobs **[CORE ONLY]**
+
+Archiving jobs is useful for reducing the CI/CD footprint on the system by
+removing some of the capabilities of the jobs (metadata needed to run the job),
+but persisting the traces and artifacts for auditing purposes.
+
+To set the duration for which the jobs will be considered as old and expired:
+
+1. Go to **Admin area > Settings > CI/CD > Continuous Integration and Deployment**.
+1. Change the value of "Archive jobs".
+1. Hit **Save changes** for the changes to take effect.
+
+Once that time passes, the jobs will be archived and no longer able to be
+retried. Make it empty to never expire jobs. It has to be no less than 1 day,
+for example: <code>15 days</code>, <code>1 month</code>, <code>2 years</code>.