1---2name: ci-cd3description: Use when creating or debugging CI/CD pipelines, implementing deployment strategies (blue-green, canary, rolling), optimizing build times, reviewing pipeline security, or working with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, CircleCI, Azure DevOps, or Bitbucket Pipelines.4---5
6# CI/CD Expert
7
8Create, debug, and optimize CI/CD pipelines across platforms.
9
10## Platform Selection
11
12| Platform | Best For | Key Strength |
13|----------|----------|--------------|
14| GitHub Actions | GitHub repos, open source | Marketplace, native integration |
15| GitLab CI | GitLab repos, self-hosted | Built-in registry, Auto DevOps |
16| CircleCI | Complex workflows, speed | Parallelism, orbs |
17| Azure DevOps | Microsoft/enterprise | Azure integration, YAML templates |
18| Bitbucket | Atlassian stack | Jira integration, pipes |
19
20## Key Principles
21
22- **Security first**: Never expose secrets in logs, use environment-specific secrets
23- **Reliability**: Idempotent steps, deterministic builds, pinned dependency versions
24- **Efficiency**: Cache aggressively, parallelize independent jobs, skip unchanged paths
25- **Maintainability**: DRY with reusable workflows/templates, clear naming
26
27## Quick Start Checklist
28
291. Choose platform based on repository hosting
302. Create pipeline with lint → test → build → deploy stages
313. Configure secrets and environment variables
324. Set up caching for dependencies and build artifacts
335. Add deployment strategy (blue-green recommended for production)
346. Review security checklist before going live
35
36## References
37
38| Reference | Description |
39|-----------|-------------|
40| [github-actions-basics.md](references/github-actions-basics.md) | Workflows, triggers, jobs, steps, services |
41| [github-actions-advanced.md](references/github-actions-advanced.md) | Reusable workflows, composite actions, security, complete example |
42| [gitlab-ci-basics.md](references/gitlab-ci-basics.md) | Pipeline structure, triggers, jobs, caching, artifacts, variables |
43| [gitlab-ci-advanced.md](references/gitlab-ci-advanced.md) | Templates, includes, rules, Docker-in-Docker, security scanning |
44| [circleci-basics.md](references/circleci-basics.md) | Config structure, executors, jobs, commands, caching, artifacts |
45| [circleci-advanced.md](references/circleci-advanced.md) | Workflows, orbs, conditionals, Docker builds, complete example |
46| [azure-devops-basics.md](references/azure-devops-basics.md) | Pipeline structure, triggers, agents, variables, tasks, caching |
47| [azure-devops-advanced.md](references/azure-devops-advanced.md) | Templates, environments, deployments, conditions, containers |
48| [bitbucket-pipelines-basics.md](references/bitbucket-pipelines-basics.md) | Pipeline types, steps, caching, artifacts, variables |
49| [bitbucket-pipelines-advanced.md](references/bitbucket-pipelines-advanced.md) | Pipes, Docker, YAML anchors, deployments, complete example |
50| [deployment-strategies-blue-green-canary.md](references/deployment-strategies-blue-green-canary.md) | Blue-green and canary deployments with K8s and AWS examples |
51| [deployment-strategies-rolling-flags-rollback.md](references/deployment-strategies-rolling-flags-rollback.md) | Rolling deploys, feature flags, rollback, health checks |
52| [debugging-error-categories.md](references/debugging-error-categories.md) | Environment, permission, network, resource, timing, cache, Docker errors |
53| [debugging-platform-fixes.md](references/debugging-platform-fixes.md) | Platform-specific debugging, common fix patterns, quick reference |
54| [security-checklist.md](references/security-checklist.md) | Secrets, permissions, supply chain security |
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