Automated CI/CD with AWS CodeDeploy, EC2 Hosting, and GitHub Integration

This guide walks you through setting up a fully automated deployment pipeline using AWS CodeDeploy, EC2, and GitHub. By the end, you’ll have a zero-touch CI/CD solution that streamlines code updates and ensures reliable, tested deployments—no more manual SSH sessions, ad-hoc changes, or fragile rollbacks.

GitHub Repository
    └── CodePipeline
        └── CodeDeploy
            └── EC2 Instance(s)

Technologies Used:

1. GitHub: Stores the application’s source code.
2. AWS CodePipeline: Orchestrates the entire CI/CD process by detecting changes in the repository, triggering builds, and initiating deployments.
3. AWS CodeDeploy: Automates deployments to the EC2 instance. It also provides strategies for rolling updates and easy rollback.
4. Amazon EC2: Your target environment where the web application runs.
5. Amazon S3 (Optional): Stores built artifacts if you’re doing build steps or hosting deployment artifacts.
6. IAM: Grants secure permissions for the pipeline and services to interact with each other.

Business Value

Key Benefits

• Improved Reliability: No more manual SSH deployments. CodeDeploy ensures consistency in every deployment.
• Faster Iteration: Developers can push code and trust that the pipeline will test and deploy it automatically, resulting in quicker feedback loops.
• Rollback Capability: If something goes wrong, CodeDeploy can roll back to a previous stable version quickly, minimizing downtime.

Problem Statement

Your team has been pushing updates to a live EC2-hosted web application by manually SSHing into the server. This approach frequently leads to human error, missed steps, and trouble rolling back to a known stable version. To fix this, you’ll build a pipeline that automatically detects changes in GitHub, deploys them with CodeDeploy, and uses a well-defined process that’s easily tested and repeated.

Implementation Guide

Step 1: GitHub Repository Setup

Step 2: EC2 Configuration

Step 3: CodeDeploy Setup

Step 4: CodePipeline Setup

Step 5: Testing and Verification

Conclusion

By following these steps, you’ve implemented a fully automated CI/CD pipeline using AWS CodeDeploy, CodePipeline, EC2, and GitHub. This setup transforms your deployment process from fragile and manual to consistent, secure, and fast. You’ve minimized human error, introduced a clear rollback mechanism, and set the stage for more advanced enhancements—like adding integration tests, canary deployments, or blue/green strategies.

This is a crucial step toward embracing modern DevOps practices and ensures your team can deliver value to users with speed and confidence.