CI/CD Pipelines: Automating Software Delivery
June 20, 2024•1 min read
CI/CDDevOpsAutomationGitHub Actions
# CI/CD Pipelines: Automating Software Delivery
Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) automate the software delivery process, enabling teams to release code faster and more reliably.
## CI/CD Fundamentals
### Continuous Integration
CI automatically builds and tests code on every commit:
```yaml
name: CI Pipeline
on:
push:
branches: [main, develop]
pull_request:
branches: [main]
jobs:
test:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- uses: actions/setup-node@v3
with:
node-version: '20'
- run: npm ci
- run: npm test
- run: npm run lint
```
### Continuous Deployment
CD automatically deploys code that passes tests:
```yaml
deploy:
needs: test
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v3
- name: Deploy to Production
run: |
npm run build
# Deployment commands
```
## Pipeline Stages
1. **Build**: Compile and package application
2. **Test**: Run unit, integration, and E2E tests
3. **Security Scan**: Check for vulnerabilities
4. **Deploy**: Deploy to staging/production
5. **Verify**: Health checks and smoke tests
## Best Practices
- Fast feedback loops
- Parallel job execution
- Environment parity
- Automated rollback
- Comprehensive testing
## Conclusion
CI/CD pipelines reduce manual errors and enable rapid, reliable deployments. Invest in automation to improve development velocity and code quality.