GitLab CI Patterns Comprehensive GitLab CI/CD pipeline patterns for automated testing, building, and deployment. Do not use this skill when The task is unrelated to gitlab ci patterns You need a different domain or tool outside this scope Instructions Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs. Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes. Provide actionable steps and verification. If detailed examples are required, open resources/implementation-playbook.md . Purpose Create efficient GitLab CI pipelines with proper stage organization, caching, and deployment strategies. Use this skill when Automate GitLab-based CI/CD Implement multi-stage pipelines Configure GitLab Runners Deploy to Kubernetes from GitLab Implement GitOps workflows Basic Pipeline Structure 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 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 $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE : latest only : - main - tags Multi-Environment Deployment .deploy_template : &deploy_template image : bitnami/kubectl : latest before_script : - kubectl config set - cluster k8s - - server="$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 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 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

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 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 Reference Files assets/gitlab-ci.yml.template - Complete pipeline template references/pipeline-stages.md - Stage organization patterns Best Practices Use specific image tags (node:20, not node:latest) Cache dependencies appropriately Use artifacts for build outputs Implement manual gates for production Use environments for deployment tracking Enable merge request pipelines Use pipeline schedules for recurring jobs Implement security scanning Use CI/CD variables for secrets Monitor pipeline performance