Build GitLab CI/CD pipelines with multi-stage workflows, caching, and distributed runners for scalable automation. Use when implementing GitLab CI/CD, optimizing pipeline performance, or setting up automated testing and deployment.
Inherits all available tools
Additional assets for this skill
This skill inherits all available tools. When active, it can use any tool Claude has access to.
Comprehensive GitLab CI/CD pipeline patterns for automated testing, building, and deployment.
Create efficient GitLab CI pipelines with proper stage organization, caching, and deployment strategies.
stages:
- build
- test
- deploy
variables:
DOCKER_DRIVER: overlay2
DOCKER_TLS_CERTDIR: "/certs"
build:
stage: build
image: node:20
script:
- npm ci
- npm run build
artifacts:
paths:
- dist/
expire_in: 1 hour
cache:
key: ${CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG}
paths:
- node_modules/
test:
stage: test
image: node:20
script:
- npm ci
- npm run lint
- npm test
coverage: '/Lines\s*:\s*(\d+\.\d+)%/'
artifacts:
reports:
coverage_report:
coverage_format: cobertura
path: coverage/cobertura-coverage.xml
deploy:
stage: deploy
image: bitnami/kubectl:latest
script:
- kubectl apply -f k8s/
- kubectl rollout status deployment/my-app
only:
- main
environment:
name: production
url: https://app.example.com
build-docker:
stage: build
image: docker:24
services:
- docker:24-dind
before_script:
- docker login -u $CI_REGISTRY_USER -p $CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD $CI_REGISTRY
script:
- docker build -t $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA .
- docker build -t $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:latest .
- docker push $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA
- docker push $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:latest
only:
- main
- tags
.deploy_template: &deploy_template
image: bitnami/kubectl:latest
before_script:
- kubectl config set-cluster k8s --server="$KUBE_URL" --insecure-skip-tls-verify=true
- kubectl config set-credentials admin --token="$KUBE_TOKEN"
- kubectl config set-context default --cluster=k8s --user=admin
- kubectl config use-context default
deploy:staging:
<<: *deploy_template
stage: deploy
script:
- kubectl apply -f k8s/ -n staging
- kubectl rollout status deployment/my-app -n staging
environment:
name: staging
url: https://staging.example.com
only:
- develop
deploy:production:
<<: *deploy_template
stage: deploy
script:
- kubectl apply -f k8s/ -n production
- kubectl rollout status deployment/my-app -n production
environment:
name: production
url: https://app.example.com
when: manual
only:
- main
stages:
- validate
- plan
- apply
variables:
TF_ROOT: ${CI_PROJECT_DIR}/terraform
TF_VERSION: "1.6.0"
before_script:
- cd ${TF_ROOT}
- terraform --version
validate:
stage: validate
image: hashicorp/terraform:${TF_VERSION}
script:
- terraform init -backend=false
- terraform validate
- terraform fmt -check
plan:
stage: plan
image: hashicorp/terraform:${TF_VERSION}
script:
- terraform init
- terraform plan -out=tfplan
artifacts:
paths:
- ${TF_ROOT}/tfplan
expire_in: 1 day
apply:
stage: apply
image: hashicorp/terraform:${TF_VERSION}
script:
- terraform init
- terraform apply -auto-approve tfplan
dependencies:
- plan
when: manual
only:
- main
include:
- template: Security/SAST.gitlab-ci.yml
- template: Security/Dependency-Scanning.gitlab-ci.yml
- template: Security/Container-Scanning.gitlab-ci.yml
trivy-scan:
stage: test
image: aquasec/trivy:latest
script:
- trivy image --exit-code 1 --severity HIGH,CRITICAL $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA
allow_failure: true
# Cache node_modules
build:
cache:
key: ${CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG}
paths:
- node_modules/
policy: pull-push
# Global cache
cache:
key: ${CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG}
paths:
- .cache/
- vendor/
# Separate cache per job
job1:
cache:
key: job1-cache
paths:
- build/
job2:
cache:
key: job2-cache
paths:
- dist/
generate-pipeline:
stage: build
script:
- python generate_pipeline.py > child-pipeline.yml
artifacts:
paths:
- child-pipeline.yml
trigger-child:
stage: deploy
trigger:
include:
- artifact: child-pipeline.yml
job: generate-pipeline
strategy: depend
assets/gitlab-ci.yml.template - Complete pipeline templatereferences/pipeline-stages.md - Stage organization patternsgithub-actions-templates - For GitHub Actionsdeployment-pipeline-design - For architecturesecrets-management - For secrets handling