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A Beginner's Guide: Setting Up a CI/CD Pipeline for Your Frontend Project with GitLab CI/CD

In the current world of software development, having a super helper that checks your code and even delivers it to users in real-time. CI/CD are like your trusty assistants making sure your code is great and gets to users fast. CI/CD known as Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines automate the process of testing, building, and deploying code, ensuring that your application is always in its best shape. In this beginner-friendly guide, I will walk you through setting up a CI/CD pipeline for your front-end project using GitLab CI/CD.

Understanding CI/CD: A Quick Overview

Continuous Integration (CI) as the name implies means continually making code changes that are being integrated into a shared repository. This ensures that all code changes are automatically validated by automated builds and tests. However, on the other hand, Continuous Deployment (CD) automates the release of validated code to production safely sending your checked code to users so they can enjoy it.

Step 1: Creating a GitLab Repository

To begin, create a GitLab repository for your front-end project. If you're new to GitLab, sign up for an account, and then follow the prompts to create a new repository. Once your repository is ready, you can either upload your existing code or clone an empty repository to your local machine.

Step 2: Writing Tests

Before diving into the CI/CD setup, ensure you have a suite of tests for your front-end project. These tests will help catch bugs early in the development process. Frameworks like Jest, Mocha, Cypress or Jasmine can be used for writing tests, depending on your project's technology stack.

Step 3: Creating a .gitlab-ci.yml File

The .gitlab-ci.yml file is where you define your CI/CD pipeline stages and jobs. This file lives in the root directory of your repository. Here's a basic example:

stages:
  - build
  - test
  - deploy

build:
  stage: build
  script:
    - npm install

test:
  stage: test
  script:
    - npm test

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - npm run build
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In this example, we have three stages: build, test, and deploy. GitLab will automatically run jobs in these stages whenever you push new code to your repository.

Step 4: GitLab CI/CD Setup

  1. Navigate to CI/CD Settings: In your GitLab repository, go to "Settings" > "CI/CD".

Navigate to CI/CD

  1. Runner Configuration: Choose whether you want to use shared runners or your runners. Runners are responsible for executing your CI/CD jobs.

Set up runner configuration

  1. Auto DevOps: GitLab offers an Auto DevOps feature that can automatically detect, build, test, and deploy your project based on common practices. For beginners, this can be a great starting point.

enable Auto DevOps

Step 5: Monitoring Your Pipeline

With your CI/CD pipeline set up, GitLab will automatically trigger jobs whenever you push code changes. You can monitor the progress and results of your pipeline in the "CI/CD" section of your GitLab repository.

Conclusion

Setting up a CI/CD pipeline might seem intimidating at first, but with tools like GitLab CI/CD, it becomes a manageable task. By automating the testing and deployment process, you'll save time, reduce errors, and ensure your front-end project is of the highest quality when it reaches your users.

Remember, this article is an introductory guide. As you become more comfortable with CI/CD, you can explore advanced features like environment variables, deployment strategies. I will cover these in a subsequent article.

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