install: true

[jayvdb]

The docs refer to install: true to disable the default installation routine.
https://github.com/travis-ci/docs-travis-ci-com/blob/19c540badf1544dfbbcbe1927854e05cd0e21288/user/job-lifecycle.md#skipping-the-installation-phase
install: false also works, and seems much more intuitive when reading it regarding what it will do.

And if there is an install: true at the top level, how does one re-instate the default install script for jobs in matrix: / jobs: ? i.e. how to disabled inheriting install: true from the top level?

This would be more logical if install: false was used at the top level, and install: true was then used to use the default install script.

There are limited alternatives to add new syntax, as install: default currently means run default.

Of course switching the meaning of install: true would be a rude shock, but it might be more feasible in the future if the docs started recommending install: false now.

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Related bug report, env: false doesnt work. It results in the job failing to be parsed. env: {} works to disable the env matrix in a job. Also raised as https://travis-ci.community/t/env-false-breaks-job/4208

[native-api]

install: section is a command or a list of commands. true is a Linux command that always returns a success code. false a command that always returns a failure code which is undesirable.
This is why install: true is more logical here.

You can suggest an improvement to the documentation using a link on the top of a documentation page.

[BanzaiMan]

The passage in question should be rewritten to read install: skip, which actually skips the step. Because install: true technically does not.

Here's a more technical discussion. You can dismiss it at will.

The `install` and `script` keys are meant to receive one or more commands to be executed during a job.

install: false causes the default install commands to be executed. This behavior is quite different from skipping it altogether, which is what the document describes. (The same is true for script.)

With install: true, on the other hand, the Boolean value true thus defined will end up in the build script compiler, which will pass this value to Bash, which will interpret it as the command true, which always exits with status 0, which is effectively skipping (but not technically).

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There are limited alternatives to add new syntax, as install: default currently means run default.

What does this mean? Unless you have written a script named default, this is going to fail.

Of course switching the meaning of install: true would be a rude shock, but it might be more feasible in the future if the docs started recommending install: false now.

This does not apply.

[jayvdb]

https://github.com/travis-ci/docs-travis-ci-com/blob/9c76f7bfa48559fc05c2ffefadf9cb4a2a77e9cd/user/build-stages/define-steps.md does mention install: skip

Using install: skip results in "Skipping the install step, as specified in the configuration." Nice. I havent seen that before now. Yes that is better than install: true.

There are limited alternatives to add new syntax, as install: default currently means run default.
What does this mean?

I mean that the ability to add new meanings, with enhancements to travis-build, are quite limited, because any string could be a valid command. But travis has done this by adding meaning to skip. 👍