GitLab CI and MsBuild - Local CMD Works; GitLab Runner Doesn't? - gitlab

Question

This is really bizarre, but I'm sure I'm misunderstanding or missing something simple.
Whilst RDP'd to the Windows GitLab runner, the following command works without issue:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" C:\GitLab-Runner\builds\rS1z3GJ3\0\folder1\client\build\ClientWebsite.msbuild /t:BuildAndPackage /nowarn:CS0618 /p:IisWebAppName=client /p:IncludeSetAclProviderOnDestination=False /p:ProductVersion=1
Going by the MSBuild file, the build files are then created under C:\GitLab-Runner\builds\rS1z3GJ3\0\folder1\client\deploy_files.
But when I run the exact same command in via the gitlab-ci.yml file, the deployment files aren't generated.
The output from the GitLab job is:
CMD.EXE "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" C:\GitLab-Runner\builds\rS1z3GJ3\0\folder1\client\build\ClientWebsite.msbuild /t:BuildAndPackage /nowarn:CS0618 /p:IisWebAppName=client /p:IncludeSetAclProviderOnDestination=False /p:ProductVersion=1
Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.17763.2628]
(c) 2018 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
C:\GitLab-Runner\builds\rS1z3GJ3\0\folder1\client>
Cleaning up project directory and file based variables 00:00 Job succeeded
I thought perhaps this was an issue with the user the GitLab Runner service was set to run as, but even when trying with a local admin user it still doesn't work.
I suspected it was an issue with the cleaning up of the project directory, but even when setting the deployment files to be exported to a separate folder on another drive they still don't appear.
What could I be doing wrong?
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
EDIT:
GitLab Runner Config:
concurrent = 1
check_interval = 0
[session_server]
session_timeout = 1800
[[runners]]
name = "buildserver01"
url = "https://gitlab.company.co.uk"
token = "rS1z3GJ392utu-J-CkeM"
executor = "shell"
shell = "powershell"
[runners.custom_build_dir]
[runners.cache]
[runners.cache.s3]
[runners.cache.gcs]
[runners.cache.azure]
GitLab-Ci.Yml File:
variables:
SERVICE_NAME: "client"
NODE_VERSION: "14.15.3"
stages:
- build $SERVICE_NAME package with MSBuild.exe
build_package:
stage: build $SERVICE_NAME package with MSBuild.exe
tags:
- client
script:
- echo "Installing NodeJS environment $NODE_VERSION if it's not already installed."
- nvm install $NODE_VERSION
- echo "Selecting NodeJS environment $NODE_VERSION using NVM"
- nvm use $NODE_VERSION
- echo "Creating the Web Deploy Package"
- CMD.EXE "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" C:\GitLab-Runner\builds\rS1z3GJ3\0\folder1\client\build\clientWebsite.msbuild /t:BuildAndPackage /nowarn:CS0618 /p:IisWebAppName=client /p:IncludeSetAclProviderOnDestination=False /p:ProductVersion=1

Answer 1

Thanks to GitLab Support, this has now been resolved.
They advised to completely remove the 'CMD.EXE' command and instead run MSBuild directly via PowerShell:
'& "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\MSBuild\Current\Bin\MSBuild.exe" $CI_PROJECT_DIR\build\ClientWebsite.msbuild /t:BuildAndPackage /nowarn:CS0618 /p:IisWebAppName=Client /p:IncludeSetAclProviderOnDestination=False /p:ProductVersion=1'