Gitlab CI CD Tutorial | End To End Real-time Project [Full Course] 🔥

Introduction

This tutorial provides a comprehensive guide on setting up and using GitLab CI/CD, suitable for beginners and those looking to enhance their DevOps skills. By the end of this course, you will understand the CI/CD process, how to create pipelines, and integrate GitLab with AWS.

Step 1: Understand CI/CD Concepts

• CI (Continuous Integration) involves automatically testing and merging code changes.
• CD (Continuous Deployment) automates the deployment of applications to production.
• Familiarize yourself with key terms such as pipelines, runners, caches, artifacts, and variables.

Step 2: Explore GitLab CI/CD Overview

• GitLab CI/CD allows you to automate the software development lifecycle.
• Review the GitLab interface and locate the CI/CD options in your project settings.

Step 3: Create Your First GitLab CI Project

1. Create a new project in GitLab.
2. Set up a .gitlab-ci.yml file in your project root to define your CI/CD pipeline.
3. Begin with a simple "Hello World" pipeline:

   stages:
     - build
   build-job:
     stage: build
     script:
       - echo "Hello, World!"
   

Step 4: Learn About GitLab Runners

• A GitLab Runner is an application that runs your CI/CD jobs.
• Install GitLab Runner on your local machine or a server.
  • Use SSH to gain access to the server.
  • Follow the official installation instructions from GitLab.

Step 5: Set Up a Sample Node.js Pipeline

1. Create a Node.js application.
2. Update your .gitlab-ci.yml to include Node.js installation and tests:

   stages:
     - test
   test-job:
     stage: test
     image: node:latest
     script:
       - npm install
       - npm test
   

Step 6: Understand Caches and Artifacts

• Cache: Used to store dependencies to speed up subsequent jobs.
• Artifacts: Files generated by a job that can be downloaded after the job completes.
• Update your pipeline to use cache and artifacts:

  cache:
    paths:
      - node_modules/
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - build/
  

Step 7: Use Pipeline Variables

• Variables allow you to customize your pipelines without hardcoding values.
• Define variables in your project settings or in your .gitlab-ci.yml file:

  variables:
    NODE_ENV: production
  

Step 8: Provision AWS Infrastructure

1. Set up AWS EC2 and S3 buckets for hosting your application.
2. Use the AWS CLI to manage your infrastructure.
3. Ensure that your GitLab pipeline can deploy to these services.

Step 9: Implement Git Flow

• Git Flow is a branching model that helps manage features, releases, and hotfixes.
• Familiarize yourself with branching strategies to maintain your codebase effectively.

Step 10: Override Variables in Pipelines

• Learn how to override default variables for specific jobs within your pipeline.
• This can be useful for testing different configurations.

Step 11: Understand the Architecture of GitLab CI/CD with AWS

• Review how GitLab integrates with AWS services like EC2 and S3.
• Create diagrams to visualize your CI/CD architecture.

Step 12: Use S3 as a Build Repository

• Configure your pipeline to upload build artifacts to an S3 bucket.
• This helps in managing your builds and deployments efficiently.

Conclusion

You have now learned how to set up and manage a GitLab CI/CD pipeline, integrate it with AWS, and apply best practices in version control. For further learning, explore the provided resources on GitLab and AWS, and consider building more complex projects using the skills you have acquired. Happy coding!