!reference in dynamic pipelines .yml is being split and not correct format

Question

I have the following YAML file that is dynamically created.

one:
    script:
        - !reference [.install_env, before_script]
        - python -c 'from integration_tests.staging_test_pipeline import run_algorithm; run_algorithm()'
        - !reference [.install_env, after_script]
two:
    script:
        - !reference [.install_env, before_script]
        - python -c 'from integration_tests.staging_test_pipeline import run_algorithm; run_algorithm()'
        - !reference [.install_env, after_script]

When the trigger tries to use this file I get this error:

Found errors in your .gitlab-ci.yml:

• !reference [".install_env"
• "before_script"] could not be found

Why is the yaml linter spliting the line?

I am able to use !reference [".install_env", "before_script"] in my .gitlab-ci.yml file just fine.

Answer 1

Need to have

include:
    - local: <file that has .install_env>.yml