diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 0a0b6e77526fe0dfd57cf6eac4426317d3959e7c..fc61f9857a6c59cbf6f5f0550ab895105b85040b 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ stages:
   - build
   - run_tests
 
+variables:
+  PROJECT_BRANCH: $CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME
+
 clean-spack:
   stage: clean
   script: