208 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
208 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
---
|
||
comments: false
|
||
description: "Learn how to use GitLab CI/CD, the GitLab built-in Continuous Integration, Continuous Deployment, and Continuous Delivery toolset to build, test, and deploy your application."
|
||
type: index
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
# GitLab CI/CD
|
||
|
||
GitLab CI/CD is a tool built into GitLab for software development
|
||
through the [continuous methodologies](introduction/index.md#introduction-to-cicd-methodologies):
|
||
|
||
- Continuous Integration (CI)
|
||
- Continuous Delivery (CD)
|
||
- Continuous Deployment (CD)
|
||
|
||
NOTE: **Out-of-the-box management systems can decrease hours spent on maintaining toolchains by 10% or more.**
|
||
Watch our
|
||
["Mastering continuous software development"](https://about.gitlab.com/webcast/mastering-ci-cd/)
|
||
webcast to learn about continuous methods and how GitLab’s built-in CI can help you simplify and scale software development.
|
||
|
||
## Overview
|
||
|
||
Continuous Integration works by pushing small code chunks to your
|
||
application's code base hosted in a Git repository, and, to every
|
||
push, run a pipeline of scripts to build, test, and validate the
|
||
code changes before merging them into the main branch.
|
||
|
||
Continuous Delivery and Deployment consist of a step further CI,
|
||
deploying your application to production at every
|
||
push to the default branch of the repository.
|
||
|
||
These methodologies allow you to catch bugs and errors early in
|
||
the development cycle, ensuring that all the code deployed to
|
||
production complies with the code standards you established for
|
||
your app.
|
||
|
||
For a complete overview of these methodologies and GitLab CI/CD,
|
||
read the [Introduction to CI/CD with GitLab](introduction/index.md).
|
||
|
||
<i class="fa fa-youtube-play youtube" aria-hidden="true"></i>
|
||
For a video demonstration of GitLab CI/CD, see [Demo: CI/CD with GitLab](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iXFbchozdY).
|
||
|
||
## Getting started
|
||
|
||
GitLab CI/CD is configured by a file called `.gitlab-ci.yml` placed
|
||
at the repository's root. The scripts set in this file are executed
|
||
by the [GitLab Runner](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/).
|
||
|
||
To get started with GitLab CI/CD, we recommend you read through
|
||
the following documents:
|
||
|
||
- [How GitLab CI/CD works](introduction/index.md#how-gitlab-cicd-works).
|
||
- [Fundamental pipeline architectures](pipelines/pipeline_architectures.md).
|
||
- [GitLab CI/CD basic workflow](introduction/index.md#basic-cicd-workflow).
|
||
- [Step-by-step guide for writing `.gitlab-ci.yml` for the first time](../user/project/pages/getting_started_part_four.md).
|
||
|
||
If you're coming over from Jenkins, you can also check out our handy [reference](jenkins/index.md)
|
||
for converting your pipelines.
|
||
|
||
You can also get started by using one of the
|
||
[`.gitlab-ci.yml` templates](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/tree/master/lib/gitlab/ci/templates)
|
||
available through the UI. You can use them by creating a new file,
|
||
choosing a template that suits your application, and adjusting it
|
||
to your needs:
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
For a broader overview, see the [CI/CD getting started](quick_start/README.md) guide.
|
||
|
||
Once you're familiar with how GitLab CI/CD works, see the
|
||
[`.gitlab-ci.yml` full reference](yaml/README.md)
|
||
for all the attributes you can set and use.
|
||
|
||
NOTE: **Note:**
|
||
GitLab CI/CD and [shared runners](runners/README.md#shared-specific-and-group-runners) are enabled in GitLab.com and available for all users, limited only to the [user's pipelines quota](../user/gitlab_com/index.md#shared-runners).
|
||
|
||
## Configuration
|
||
|
||
GitLab CI/CD supports numerous configuration options:
|
||
|
||
| Configuration | Description |
|
||
|:--------------|:-------------|
|
||
| [Pipelines](pipelines.md) | Structure your CI/CD process through pipelines. |
|
||
| [Environment variables](variables/README.md) | Reuse values based on a variable/value key pair. |
|
||
| [Environments](environments.md) | Deploy your application to different environments (e.g., staging, production). |
|
||
| [Job artifacts](../user/project/pipelines/job_artifacts.md) | Output, use, and reuse job artifacts. |
|
||
| [Cache dependencies](caching/index.md) | Cache your dependencies for a faster execution. |
|
||
| [Schedule pipelines](../user/project/pipelines/schedules.md) | Schedule pipelines to run as often as you need. |
|
||
| [Custom path for `.gitlab-ci.yml`](../user/project/pipelines/settings.md#custom-ci-configuration-path) | Define a custom path for the CI/CD configuration file. |
|
||
| [Git submodules for CI/CD](git_submodules.md) | Configure jobs for using Git submodules.|
|
||
| [SSH keys for CI/CD](ssh_keys/README.md) | Using SSH keys in your CI pipelines. |
|
||
| [Pipelines triggers](triggers/README.md) | Trigger pipelines through the API. |
|
||
| [Pipelines for Merge Requests](merge_request_pipelines/index.md) | Design a pipeline structure for running a pipeline in merge requests. |
|
||
| [Integrate with Kubernetes clusters](../user/project/clusters/index.md) | Connect your project to Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) or an existing Kubernetes cluster. |
|
||
| [GitLab Runner](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/) | Configure your own GitLab Runners to execute your scripts. |
|
||
| [Optimize GitLab and Runner for large repositories](large_repositories/index.md) | Recommended strategies for handling large repos. |
|
||
| [`.gitlab-ci.yml` full reference](yaml/README.md) | All the attributes you can use with GitLab CI/CD. |
|
||
|
||
Note that certain operations can only be performed according to the
|
||
[user](../user/permissions.md#gitlab-cicd-permissions) and [job](../user/permissions.md#job-permissions) permissions.
|
||
|
||
## Feature set
|
||
|
||
Use the vast GitLab CI/CD to easily configure it for specific purposes.
|
||
Its feature set is listed on the table below according to DevOps stages.
|
||
|
||
| Feature | Description |
|
||
|:--------|:------------|
|
||
| **Configure** ||
|
||
| [Auto DevOps](../topics/autodevops/index.md) | Set up your app's entire lifecycle. |
|
||
| [ChatOps](chatops/README.md) | Trigger CI jobs from chat, with results sent back to the channel. |
|
||
|---+---|
|
||
| **Verify** ||
|
||
| [Browser Performance Testing](../user/project/merge_requests/browser_performance_testing.md) | Quickly determine the performance impact of pending code changes. |
|
||
| [CI services](services/README.md) | Link Docker containers with your base image.|
|
||
| [Code Quality](../user/project/merge_requests/code_quality.md) **(STARTER)** | Analyze your source code quality. |
|
||
| [GitLab CI/CD for external repositories](ci_cd_for_external_repos/index.md) **(PREMIUM)** | Get the benefits of GitLab CI/CD combined with repositories in GitHub and Bitbucket Cloud. |
|
||
| [Interactive Web Terminals](interactive_web_terminal/index.md) **(CORE ONLY)** | Open an interactive web terminal to debug the running jobs. |
|
||
| [JUnit tests](junit_test_reports.md) | Identify script failures directly on merge requests. |
|
||
| [Using Docker images](docker/using_docker_images.md) | Use GitLab and GitLab Runner with Docker to build and test applications. |
|
||
|---+---|
|
||
| **Release** ||
|
||
| [Auto Deploy](../topics/autodevops/index.md#auto-deploy) | Deploy your application to a production environment in a Kubernetes cluster. |
|
||
| [Building Docker images](docker/using_docker_build.md) | Maintain Docker-based projects using GitLab CI/CD. |
|
||
| [Canary Deployments](../user/project/canary_deployments.md) **(PREMIUM)** | Ship features to only a portion of your pods and let a percentage of your user base to visit the temporarily deployed feature. |
|
||
| [Deploy Boards](../user/project/deploy_boards.md) **(PREMIUM)** | Check the current health and status of each CI/CD environment running on Kubernetes. |
|
||
| [Feature Flags](../user/project/operations/feature_flags.md) **(PREMIUM)** | Deploy your features behind Feature Flags. |
|
||
| [GitLab Pages](../user/project/pages/index.md) | Deploy static websites. |
|
||
| [GitLab Releases](../user/project/releases/index.md) | Add release notes to Git tags. |
|
||
| [Review Apps](review_apps/index.md) | Configure GitLab CI/CD to preview code changes. |
|
||
| [Cloud deployment](cloud_deployment/index.md) | Deploy your application to a main cloud provider. |
|
||
|---+---|
|
||
| **Secure** ||
|
||
| [Container Scanning](../user/application_security/container_scanning/index.md) **(ULTIMATE)** | Check your Docker containers for known vulnerabilities.|
|
||
| [Dependency Scanning](../user/application_security/dependency_scanning/index.md) **(ULTIMATE)** | Analyze your dependencies for known vulnerabilities. |
|
||
| [License Compliance](../user/application_security/license_compliance/index.md) **(ULTIMATE)** | Search your project dependencies for their licenses. |
|
||
| [Security Test reports](../user/application_security/index.md) **(ULTIMATE)** | Check for app vulnerabilities. |
|
||
|
||
## Examples
|
||
|
||
Find example project code and tutorials for using GitLab CI/CD with a variety of app frameworks, languages, and platforms
|
||
on the [CI Examples](examples/README.md) page.
|
||
|
||
GitLab also provides [example projects](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-examples) pre-configured to use GitLab CI/CD.
|
||
|
||
## Administration **(CORE ONLY)**
|
||
|
||
As a GitLab administrator, you can change the default behavior
|
||
of GitLab CI/CD for:
|
||
|
||
- An [entire GitLab instance](../user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration.md).
|
||
- Specific projects, using [pipelines settings](../user/project/pipelines/settings.md).
|
||
|
||
See also:
|
||
|
||
- [How to enable or disable GitLab CI/CD](enable_or_disable_ci.md).
|
||
- Other [CI administration settings](../administration/index.md#continuous-integration-settings).
|
||
|
||
## References
|
||
|
||
### Why GitLab CI/CD?
|
||
|
||
The following articles explain reasons to use GitLab CI/CD
|
||
for your CI/CD infrastructure:
|
||
|
||
- [Why we chose GitLab CI for our CI/CD solution](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2016/10/17/gitlab-ci-oohlala/)
|
||
- [Building our web-app on GitLab CI](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2016/07/22/building-our-web-app-on-gitlab-ci/)
|
||
- [5 Teams that made the switch to GitLab CI/CD](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/2019/04/25/5-teams-that-made-the-switch-to-gitlab-ci-cd/)
|
||
|
||
See also the [Why CI/CD?](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OGgk2Tcxbpl7DJaIOzCX4Vqg3dlwfELC3u2jEeCBbDk) presentation.
|
||
|
||
### Breaking changes
|
||
|
||
As GitLab CI/CD has evolved, certain breaking changes have
|
||
been necessary. These are:
|
||
|
||
#### 12.0
|
||
|
||
- [Use refspec to clone/fetch Git
|
||
repository](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/issues/4069).
|
||
- [Old cache
|
||
configuration](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/issues/4070).
|
||
- [Old metrics server
|
||
configuration](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/issues/4072).
|
||
- [Remove
|
||
`FF_K8S_USE_ENTRYPOINT_OVER_COMMAND`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/issues/4073).
|
||
- [Remove Linux distributions that reach
|
||
EOL](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/-/merge_requests/1130).
|
||
- [Update command line API for helper
|
||
images](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/issues/4013).
|
||
- [Remove old `git clean`
|
||
flow](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-runner/issues/4175).
|
||
|
||
#### 11.0
|
||
|
||
- No breaking changes.
|
||
|
||
#### 10.0
|
||
|
||
- No breaking changes.
|
||
|
||
#### 9.0
|
||
|
||
- [CI variables renaming for GitLab 9.0](variables/deprecated_variables.md#gitlab-90-renamed-variables). Read about the
|
||
deprecated CI variables and what you should use for GitLab 9.0+.
|
||
- [New CI job permissions model](../user/project/new_ci_build_permissions_model.md).
|
||
See what changed in GitLab 8.12 and how that affects your jobs.
|
||
There's a new way to access your Git submodules and LFS objects in jobs.
|