Automating DevOps with GitLab CI/CD Pipelines

Use GitLab CI/CD pipelines for automating and deploying different steps of your software development lifecycle using best practices and troubleshooting methods.

Key Features

• Automate and optimize every stage of your software development lifecycle with GitLab CI/CD pipelines
• Streamline code collaboration and version control using GitLab’s powerful Git-based workflows
• Troubleshoot and enhance pipeline performance using best practices, Kubernetes, and Terraform
• Purchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBook

Book Description

Developers and release engineers understand the high stakes of building, packaging, and deploying code efficiently. Ensuring that your code is fast, secure, and functionally correct can be a time-consuming and complex task. GitLab CI/CD pipelines simplify these tasks, enabling automation and seamless deployment.

Automating DevOps with GitLab CI/CD Pipelines starts with the fundamentals of Git and GitLab, guiding you through committing and reviewing code. You'll learn how to set up GitLab Runners to execute and autoscale CI/CD pipelines, configure pipelines for different stages of the software development lifecycle, and analyze pipeline results in GitLab. As you progress, you'll gain expertise in deploying code across environments, integrating GitLab with Kubernetes and Terraform, triggering pipelines, and improving pipeline performance. This book also includes troubleshooting techniques, best practices, real-world use cases, and self-assessments to reinforce key CI/CD concepts and help you prepare for GitLab-related interviews and certifications.

By the end of this book, you'll have the skills to build and automate CI/CD pipelines in GitLab, streamline DevOps workflows, and deploy high-quality, secure code with confidence.

What you will learn

• Understand Git, GitLab, and DevOps fundamentals to streamline software development
• Create, configure, and run GitLab CI/CD pipelines for automated code verification and deployment
• Secure and deploy code using GitLab's built-in security tools and best practices
• Set up and optimize GitLab Runners to efficiently execute pipelines
• Leverage advanced CI/CD techniques like DAGs, conditional logic, and GitLab with Kubernetes
• Troubleshoot pipeline failures and implement best practices for reliability
• Use GitLab CI/CD for end-to-end software lifecycle automation

Who this book is for

This book is for DevOps/DevSecOps engineers, application developers, release engineers, quality assurance engineers, security engineers, SREs, and sysadmins looking to automate software delivery using GitLab CI/CD pipelines. If you're preparing for GitLab-related certifications or want to optimize DevOps workflows, this book provides practical examples, best practices, and troubleshooting strategies. Basic knowledge of major stages of the software development life cycle and DevOps processes will be helpful.

Table of Contents

1. Exploring the Life Before DevOps
2. Practicing Basic Git Commands
3. Understanding GitLab Components
4. Understanding GitLab CI/CD Pipeline Structure
5. Installing and Configuring GitLab Runners
6. Verifying Your Code
7. Securing Your Code
8. Packaging and Deploying Your Code
9. Enhancing Speed and Maintainability of CI/CD Pipelines
10. Extending the Reach of CI/CD Pipelines
11. End-to-End Example
12. Troubleshooting and Moving Ahead with GitLab
13. Appendix: Self-Assessment Questions and Answers

Christopher Cowell is a former trainer at GitLab, now building educational content at Instabase. He also worked for two decades as a research and development scientist, consultant, and QA Engineer at companies such as Accenture, Oracle, and Puppet. He thinks the software industry undervalues code quality and thoughtful design, and overvalues delivering mediocre code quickly. Slow down, simplify, and get it right! He holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Berkeley and a B.A. in Computer Science from Harvard. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Nicholas Lotz is a technical trainer at GitLab, where he teaches organizations how to use GitLab to build and ship better software. He has previously worked as a systems engineer, trainer, and consultant in the software infrastructure space. He is passionate about open source and its capacity to help teams innovate. Nicholas holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his Labrador retriever.

Chris Timberlake is a Senior Solutions Architect at GitLab where he works closely with the Product, Services, and Sales teams. Previously, he has worked with Red Hat as a Senior Consultant, where he owned and managed a Digital Marketing firm, and has a background in Security and Law Enforcement. Chris loves technical engineering problems and does whatever possible to have successful customer outcomes. Chris is passionate about open source software, collaborative development, and education. Chris lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee with his family.