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Mastering GitLab Pipelines: The Ultimate CI/CD Guide

Name: Mastering GitLab Pipelines: The Ultimate CI/CD Guide
Rating: 3.9 (13 reviews)

Learn GitLab CI/CD pipelines, secure secrets, manage environments, and deploy apps with real-world examples.

Created bySascha Delp, Alexander Panov

Last updated 9/2024

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

You will learn how to set up your very first GitLab pipeline from scratch.
Running tests and attaching test results to the pipeline
Creating dynamic environments
Using templates to create a cicd pipeline for a whitelabeled application
Deploying your application via ssh to a compute engine
You will discover how to protect sensitive secrets and configure protected variables.
The difference between cache and artifacts. And when to use which
Use yaml anchors
Registering a shell runner
Deploying the app when a commit message matches a string
Become proficient in managing caching and publishing build results as artifacts.
You will understand how to create and run pipeline jobs based on specific conditions.
Learn to securely pass secrets into your CI/CD pipelines using GitLab variables.

Course content

4 sections • 28 lectures • 5h 5m total length

This is what you will learn in THIS Course!1:20
Master this course to automate workflows with GitLab CI/CD pipelines, learn jobs and runners, and build and test in Node.js projects, including Angular and NX monorepos, across language-agnostic sections.

Introduction first Lesson0:40
Master the core skills of the course by exploring artifacts, caching, rules, and environments in a language-agnostic approach, and follow along with a white-labeled project to reinforce each concept.
Our first pipeline job14:57
Master GitLab pipelines automate tests and deployments via CI/CD, define jobs and stages in a .gitlab-ci.yml, and learn about docker and shell runners.
Making the test job report its results8:14
Attach a JUnit XML artifact under reports JUnit to reveal a live test summary in the pipeline, showing run results and failures alongside test details.
About caching and publishing build results as artifacts16:28
Create a deploy stage in a GitLab CI/CD pipeline, deploying after build and test. Secure credentials with CI/CD variables, including protected and masked options, and manage artifacts for deployment.
Caches and Artifacts
Rules: only run jobs when certain requirements are met8:12
Learn to configure rules to run deployments only on specific events, using if/then ci, tags, commits, and main branch conditions.
CICD variables: pass secrets securely to the pipeline14:03
Configure the default step in GitLab CI to share a default image across jobs, then securely pass secrets via CI/CD variables by writing them to credentials.txt in a before_script.
CICD variables: protected secrets and what they are meant for6:52
Create an install dependencies stage that runs only when package-lock.json changes to improve pipeline performance. Explore managing stages, caching, manual deploy actions, hidden jobs, and only paths using YAML.
Runners: Registering a shell runner on my laptop12:31
Register a macOS shell runner in GitLab by navigating to settings ci cd and installing the platform-specific runner script. Verify the runner and use the macOS tag for deployment.
Modular CICD pipelines: Promoting the deployment step to a template12:33
Explore GitLab templates and include local deployment to reuse steps across projects, using inputs and archive name to generate environment-specific artifacts and enable white-label deployments.
Modular CICD pipelines: Inversion of control. One template for all apps5:54
Master modular ci/cd pipelines through inversion of control, using a single template for all apps, with templates, separate runners, artifact handling, and deployment rules.
Environments: create one via the pipeline10:33
Learn to define environment variables with the variables keyword, create dynamic environments in GitLab CI using deployment.yaml, and configure per-application environments with input-based names and URLs for production.
Demo: Use GitLab pipelines to publish a book2:31
Demonstrates publishing a book with GitLab pipelines by compiling markdown chapters into pdf and epub using Pandoc, and sharing artifacts from a simple build job.
Rules: Pattern matching the commit message10:03
Explore pattern matching in GitLab CI rules by using the CI commit message variable with regex tilde and ignore case to trigger deploys automatically.
Environments: group environments6:38
Group environments in GitLab pipelines by using environment tags with the environment key and names, creating production and development deployments for multiple apps, and sharing the same deployment workflow.

Introduction second Lesson0:26
Explore a real-world ci/cd pipeline example, using templates, to build a functional ci/cd workflow for a white-labeled application.
Presentation of the project we'll be working on and CICD first steps (1/2)15:47
Demonstrates applying GitLab pipelines to a monorepo Angular project with NX, including white labeling across apps, dependency installation, and building static bundles for deployment.
Presentation of the project we'll be working on and CICD first steps (2/2)9:36
Explains how to set up a minimal GitLab CI pipeline with node modules caching and artifacts, showing branch-aware caching and how to download build artifacts.
Deploy the application via SFTP and SSH (1/3)15:51
Deploy your application using sftp and ssh within a GitLab pipeline by configuring ssh keys, variables, and a dedicated deploy stage to transfer files and run remote commands.
Deploy the application via SFTP and SSH (2/3)18:07
Learn to deploy an application using sftp and ssh in a GitLab CI/CD pipeline, packaging with tar.gz, configuring permissions and host key verification, and deploying via batch-file to /opt/application.
Deploy the application via SFTP and SSH (3/3)12:29
Deploy the application via SFTP and SSH in GitLab pipelines, optimize with node modules caching and deployment files, and learn about host verification and group variables.
Using templates to simplify whitelabeling (1/2)22:08
Learn to create a GitLab CI template to simplify whitelabeling for multiple customers by parameterizing build and deploy steps with spec inputs, including app name and artifacts.
Using templates to simplify whitelabeling (2/2)20:26
Demonstrate templated GitLab pipelines to whitelabel angular apps, deploying multiple customers from a shared codebase with per-app configs and include templates.
Registering environments and tearing them down13:41
Register and extend GitLab pipelines by configuring custom environments for each customer, including deploy steps, environment URLs, and on stop teardown with manual stop jobs.
Rules: dynamic pattern matching (1/2)18:30
Explore dynamic pattern matching rules in GitLab pipelines to control deployments, triggering releases only on specific commit messages or tags, and manage environment variables and artifacts across jobs.
Rules: dynamic pattern matching (2/2)5:38
Master dynamic pattern matching in GitLab pipelines by debugging regex, environment variables, and bash conditions; explore release rules, deploying via manual actions, and using artifacts and test reports.
Artifacts: Show the test results inside of GitLabs Web UI21:02
Attach junit xml test artifacts to GitLab CI/CD, view test results in the web UI, and be notified on merge requests when changes break the CI.

Requirements

Its good to have a basic understanding of how apps work. (Compiling eg)

Description

Welcome to the Ultimate GitLab Pipeline Course!

Whether you're new to CI/CD or have some experience, this course is designed to guide you step by step through mastering GitLab pipelines. Alexander and I will lead you through the intricacies of creating, managing, and optimizing pipelines tailored to your development needs.

Are you ready to dive deep into GitLab pipelines and learn how to automate and optimize your CI/CD workflows?

Do you want to uncover the secrets behind effective pipeline management and build processes within GitLab?

Are you interested in learning how to securely manage secrets, deploy applications, and streamline your CI/CD pipeline using templates?

Or perhaps you're aiming to become proficient in setting up modular and dynamic pipelines that support scalable deployments.

If any of these resonate with you, this course is perfect for you.

____________________________________________________________________________________

In this comprehensive GitLab pipeline course, you’ll gain all the skills necessary to elevate your pipeline expertise. From creating basic pipelines to mastering complex scenarios involving dynamic rules and environments, we will cover everything in detail.

1. Introduction

We will begin by welcoming you to the course and providing a brief overview of what to expect. You’ll also receive valuable tips on how to approach the lessons to make the most of your learning experience.

2. Pipeline Skills (Language Agnostic)

In this section, we will introduce the core pipeline concepts that apply to any programming language. You will learn how to set up your first pipeline job and make it report test results. We will also cover managing caching and publishing build artifacts. Additionally, you will discover how to define rules to ensure jobs only run under specific conditions. The section also includes handling CI/CD variables to securely pass secrets through the pipeline, protecting sensitive information, and registering a GitLab runner on your local machine. You will further explore the creation of modular pipelines, using templates to promote deployment steps, and implementing inversion of control to standardize templates across applications. We will guide you through setting up and managing environments via pipelines, demonstrate the use of GitLab pipelines to publish a book, and explain how to match commit messages with specific patterns. Finally, you will learn how to group environments to enhance deployment management.

3. Hands-on: Building a White-labeled App CI/CD Pipeline

This section takes a practical approach, walking you through the creation of a CI/CD pipeline for a white-labeled application. We will begin by presenting the project and introducing the initial steps of the pipeline. You will then deploy the application using SFTP and SSH, explained over three detailed steps. Next, we will simplify the white-labeling process by leveraging templates, which will be demonstrated in two parts. You will also learn how to dynamically register and tear down environments as needed. Furthermore, we will explore the use of dynamic pattern matching rules and demonstrate their application in two stages. Lastly, we will show you how to present the test results in GitLab’s web interface using artifacts.

4. End of the Course

As the course concludes, we will provide a final message to acknowledge your completion of the course and leave you with one last piece of valuable information. By this point, you will be fully equipped to apply everything you have learned about GitLab pipelines and confidently implement these skills in your own projects.

____________________________________________________________________________________

By the end of this course, you will have mastered GitLab pipelines, from basic setup to advanced configurations, and will be able to manage complex deployment workflows with confidence.

We are excited to have you on this journey with us and look forward to seeing what you will achieve with your newfound skills.

Thank you for your trust & best regards,

Alexander & Sascha

Who this course is for:

Software Developers that want to increase a projects efficiency
DevOps engineers that want to get advanced knowledge about pipelines

Mastering GitLab Pipelines: The Ultimate CI/CD Guide

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction1 lecture • 1min

Pipeline Skills (Language agnostic)14 lectures • 2hr 10min

Hands on: Building a whitelabeled app CICD pipeline12 lectures • 2hr 54min

End of the course1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: