GitLab CI/CD Setup Guide

This guide provides detailed instructions for setting up GitLab CI/CD in your projects and creating efficient pipelines.

Requirements

• GitLab account (Cloud or Self-hosted)
• Repository with code to build/test/deploy
• .gitlab-ci.yml file in repository root
• GitLab Runner (Cloud or Self-hosted)

Basic Setup

Pipeline Configuration

# .gitlab-ci.yml
stages:
  - build
  - test
  - deploy
 
build:
  stage: build
  image: node:20
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npm run build
 
test:
  stage: test
  image: node:20
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npm test

Runner Setup

# Free tier
- 400 CI/CD minutes/month
# Premium
- 10,000 CI/CD minutes/month
# Ultimate
- 50,000 CI/CD minutes/month

Common Pipeline Examples

CI/CD Variables

Cache and Artifacts

cache:
  key: ${CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG}
  paths:
    - node_modules/
    - .npm/
 
artifacts:
  paths:
    - dist/
  reports:
    coverage: coverage/lcov.info
    junit: junit.xml

Troubleshooting

Best Practices

1. Pipeline Optimization

   • Use parallel jobs when possible
   • Implement caching strategy
   • Use dependencies wisely
   • Keep build times under 10 minutes

2. Security

   • Use masked variables for secrets
   • Implement review apps
   • Scan for vulnerabilities
   • Use protected branches

3. Maintenance

   • Regular runner updates
   • Clean old artifacts
   • Monitor pipeline metrics
   • Document CI/CD configurations