— name: gitlab-ci-patterns description: Build GitLab CI/CD pipelines with multi-stage workflows, caching, and distributed runners for scalable automation. Use when implementing GitLab CI/CD, optimizing pipeline performance, or setting up automated testing and deployment. — # GitLab CI Patterns Comprehensive GitLab CI/CD pipeline patterns for automated testing, building, and deployment. ## Purpose Create efficient GitLab CI pipelines with proper stage organization, caching, and deployment strategies. ## When to Use – Automate GitLab-based CI/CD – Implement multi-stage pipelines – Configure GitLab Runners – Deploy to Kubernetes from GitLab – Implement GitOps workflows ## Basic Pipeline Structure “`yaml stages: – build – test – deploy variables: DOCKER_DRIVER: overlay2 DOCKER_TLS_CERTDIR: "/certs" build: stage: build image: node:20 script: – npm ci – npm run build artifacts: paths: – dist/ expire_in: 1 hour cache: key: ${CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG} paths: – node_modules/ test: stage: test image: node:20 script: – npm ci – npm run lint – npm test coverage: '/Lines\s*:\s*(\d+\.\d+)%/' artifacts: reports: coverage_report: coverage_format: cobertura path: coverage/cobertura-coverage.xml deploy: stage: deploy image: bitnami/kubectl:latest script: – kubectl apply -f k8s/ – kubectl rollout status deployment/my-app only: – main environment: name: production url: https://app.example.com “` ## Docker Build and Push “`yaml build-docker: stage: build image: docker:24 services: – docker:24-dind before_script: – docker login -u $CI_REGISTRY_USER -p $CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD $CI_REGISTRY script: – docker build -t $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA . – docker build -t $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:latest . – docker push $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA – docker push $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:latest only: – main – tags “` ## Multi-Environment Deployment “`yaml .deploy_template: &deploy_template image: bitnami/kubectl:latest before_script: – kubectl config set-cluster k8s –server="$KUBE_URL" –insecure-skip-tls-verify=true – kubectl config set-credentials admin –token="$KUBE_TOKEN" – kubectl config set-context default –cluster=k8s –user=admin – kubectl config use-context default deploy:staging: <<: *deploy_template stage: deploy script: – kubectl apply -f k8s/ -n staging – kubectl rollout status deployment/my-app -n staging environment: name: staging url: https://staging.example.com only: – develop deploy:production: <<: *deploy_template stage: deploy script: – kubectl apply -f k8s/ -n production – kubectl rollout status deployment/my-app -n production environment: name: production url: https://app.example.com when: manual only: – main “` ## Terraform Pipeline “`yaml stages: – validate – plan – apply variables: TF_ROOT: ${CI_PROJECT_DIR}/terraform TF_VERSION: "1.6.0" before_script: – cd ${TF_ROOT} – terraform –version validate: stage: validate image: hashicorp/terraform:${TF_VERSION} script: – terraform init -backend=false – terraform validate – terraform fmt -check plan: stage: plan image: hashicorp/terraform:${TF_VERSION} script: – terraform init – terraform plan -out=tfplan artifacts: paths: – ${TF_ROOT}/tfplan expire_in: 1 day apply: stage: apply image: hashicorp/terraform:${TF_VERSION} script: – terraform init – terraform apply -auto-approve tfplan dependencies: – plan when: manual only: – main “` ## Security Scanning “`yaml include: – template: Security/SAST.gitlab-ci.yml – template: Security/Dependency-Scanning.gitlab-ci.yml – template: Security/Container-Scanning.gitlab-ci.yml trivy-scan: stage: test image: aquasec/trivy:latest script: – trivy image –exit-code 1 –severity HIGH,CRITICAL $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA allow_failure: true “` ## Caching Strategies “`yaml # Cache node_modules build: cache: key: ${CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG} paths: – node_modules/ policy: pull-push # Global cache cache: key: ${CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG} paths: – .cache/ – vendor/ # Separate cache per job job1: cache: key: job1-cache paths: – build/ job2: cache: key: job2-cache paths: – dist/ “` ## Dynamic Child Pipelines “`yaml generate-pipeline: stage: build script: – python generate_pipeline.py > child-pipeline.yml artifacts: paths: – child-pipeline.yml trigger-child: stage: deploy trigger: include: – artifact: child-pipeline.yml job: generate-pipeline strategy: depend “` ## Best Practices 1. **Use specific image tags** (node:20, not node:latest) 2. **Cache dependencies** appropriately 3. **Use artifacts** for build outputs 4. **Implement manual gates** for production 5. **Use environments** for deployment tracking 6. **Enable merge request pipelines** 7. **Use pipeline schedules** for recurring jobs 8. **Implement security scanning** 9. **Use CI/CD variables** for secrets 10. **Monitor pipeline performance** ## Related Skills – `github-actions-templates` – For GitHub Actions – `deployment-pipeline-design` – For architecture – `secrets-management` – For secrets handling