gitlab-ci-patterns

name gitlab-ci-patterns description 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. GitLab CI Patterns Comprehensive GitLab CI/CD pipeline patterns for automated testing, building, and deployment. Purpose Create efficient GitLab CI pipelines with proper stage organization, caching, and deployment strategies. When to Use Automate GitLab-based CI/CD Implement multi-stage pipelines Configure GitLab Runners Deploy to Kubernetes from GitLab Implement GitOps workflows Basic Pipeline Structure 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:1.31 script: - kubectl apply -f k8s/ - kubectl rollout status deployment/my-app only: - main environment: name: production url: https://app.example.com Docker Build and Push 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 $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:latest only: - main - tags Multi-Environment Deployment .deploy_template: &deploy_template image: bitnami/kubectl:1.31 before_script: - kubectl config set-cluster k8s --server="$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 Terraform Pipeline 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 Security Scanning 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:0.58.0 script: - trivy image --exit-code 1 --severity HIGH,CRITICAL $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA allow_failure: true Caching Strategies # 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/ Dynamic Child Pipelines 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 Best Practices Use specific image tags (node:20, not node:latest) Cache dependencies appropriately Use artifacts for build outputs Implement manual gates for production Use environments for deployment tracking Enable merge request pipelines Use pipeline schedules for recurring jobs Implement security scanning Use CI/CD variables for secrets Monitor pipeline performance Related Skills github-actions-templates - For GitHub Actions deployment-pipeline-design - For architecture secrets-management - For secrets handling