Gitlab Ci Patterns CI B2

---
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/

...

## 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

...
```

## Dynamic Child Pipelines

```yaml
generate-pipeline:
  stage: build
  script:
    - python generate_pipeline.py > child-pipeline.yml
  artifacts:
    paths:
      - child-pipeline.yml

...
```

## Reference Files

- `assets/gitlab-ci.yml.template` - Complete pipeline template
- `references/pipeline-stages.md` - Stage organization patterns

## 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**
11. **Initialize environment variables** with `python scripts/env_utils.py`

## Related Skills

- `github-actions-templates` - For GitHub Actions
- `deployment-pipeline-design` - For architecture
- `secrets-management` - For secrets handling