# CI Pipeline Knowledge > CI/CD pipeline knowledge base. Provides platforms overview (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI), pipeline stages, caching strategies, parallelization, artifact management, and environment management. Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/ci-pipeline-knowledge` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/ci-pipeline-knowledge` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/ci-pipeline-knowledge/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: DevOps & Infra - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/ci-pipeline-knowledge --- # CI/CD Pipeline Knowledge Base Quick reference for CI/CD pipeline patterns, platforms, and best practices. ## Pipeline Stages ``` ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ │ Install │───▶│ Lint │───▶│ Test │───▶│ Build │───▶│ Deploy │ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ Deps Code Style PHPUnit Docker Production Cache PHPStan Coverage Artifacts Environments ``` **Standard PHP Pipeline:** 1. **Install** — Composer dependencies, cache restore 2. **Lint** — PHPStan, Psalm, PHP-CS-Fixer, DEPTRAC 3. **Test** — PHPUnit, code coverage, mutation testing 4. **Build** — Docker image, version tagging 5. **Deploy** — Environment deployment, health checks ## Platform Comparison | Feature | GitHub Actions | GitLab CI | |---------|----------------|-----------| | Config file | `.github/workflows/*.yml` | `.gitlab-ci.yml` | | Runners | GitHub-hosted / self-hosted | GitLab-hosted / self-hosted | | Caching | `actions/cache` | Built-in `cache:` | | Artifacts | `actions/upload-artifact` | Built-in `artifacts:` | | Secrets | Repository/Environment secrets | CI/CD Variables | | Matrix builds | `strategy.matrix` | `parallel:matrix` | | Reusable | Composite actions, workflows | `include:`, `extends:` | | Container | `container:` | `image:` | ## GitHub Actions Structure ```yaml name: CI Pipeline on: push: branches: [main, develop] pull_request: branches: [main] env: PHP_VERSION: '8.4' COMPOSER_CACHE_DIR: ~/.composer/cache jobs: lint: runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - uses: actions/checkout@v4 - uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2 with: php-version: ${{ env.PHP_VERSION }} coverage: none - name: Cache Composer uses: actions/cache@v4 with: path: ${{ env.COMPOSER_CACHE_DIR }} key: composer-${{ hashFiles('composer.lock') }} - run: composer install --no-progress --prefer-dist - run: vendor/bin/phpstan analyse test: needs: lint runs-on: ubuntu-latest services: mysql: image: mysql:8.0 env: MYSQL_DATABASE: test MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root ports: - 3306:3306 steps: - uses: actions/checkout@v4 - uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2 with: php-version: ${{ env.PHP_VERSION }} coverage: xdebug - run: composer install --no-progress --prefer-dist - run: vendor/bin/phpunit --coverage-clover coverage.xml - uses: codecov/codecov-action@v4 ``` ## GitLab CI Structure ```yaml stages: - install - lint - test - build - deploy variables: PHP_VERSION: "8.4" COMPOSER_CACHE_DIR: "$CI_PROJECT_DIR/.composer-cache" .php_template: &php_template image: php:${PHP_VERSION}-cli cache: key: composer-$CI_COMMIT_REF_SLUG paths: - .composer-cache/ - vendor/ policy: pull install: <<: *php_template stage: install cache: policy: pull-push script: - composer install --no-progress --prefer-dist lint:phpstan: <<: *php_template stage: lint needs: [install] script: - vendor/bin/phpstan analyse --memory-limit=1G test:unit: <<: *php_template stage: test needs: [lint:phpstan] services: - mysql:8.0 variables: MYSQL_DATABASE: test MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: root script: - vendor/bin/phpunit --coverage-cobertura coverage.xml coverage: '/^\s*Lines:\s*\d+.\d+\%/' artifacts: reports: coverage_report: coverage_format: cobertura path: coverage.xml ``` ## Caching Strategies ### Composer Cache **GitHub Actions:** ```yaml - name: Cache Composer dependencies uses: actions/cache@v4 with: path: | ~/.composer/cache vendor key: php-${{ hashFiles('composer.lock') }} restore-keys: | php- ``` **GitLab CI:** ```yaml cache: key: files: - composer.lock paths: - .composer-cache/ - vendor/ policy: pull-push # pull on jobs, push on install ``` ### Docker Layer Cache **GitHub Actions:** ```yaml - name: Set up Docker Buildx uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@v3 - name: Build and push uses: docker/build-push-action@v5 with: context: . cache-from: type=gha cache-to: type=gha,mode=max ``` **GitLab CI:** ```yaml build: script: - docker build --cache-from $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:latest -t $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_SHA . ``` ## Parallelization Patterns ### Matrix Strategy (GitHub Actions) ```yaml test: strategy: matrix: php: ['8.2', '8.3', '8.4'] database: ['mysql', 'postgres'] exclude: - php: '8.2' database: 'postgres' fail-fast: false runs-on: ubuntu-latest steps: - run: echo "Testing PHP ${{ matrix.php }} with ${{ matrix.database }}" ``` ### Parallel Jobs (GitLab CI) ```yaml test: parallel: matrix: - PHP_VERSION: ['8.2', '8.3', '8.4'] DATABASE: ['mysql', 'postgres'] script: - echo "Testing PHP $PHP_VERSION with $DATABASE" ``` ### Test Splitting ```yaml # Split PHPUnit tests across runners test: parallel: 4 script: - vendor/bin/phpunit --testsuite unit --filter "Test$((($CI_NODE_INDEX - 1) * 25 + 1))-$(($CI_NODE_INDEX * 25))" ``` ## Environment Management ### GitHub Environments ```yaml deploy-production: runs-on: ubuntu-latest environment: name: production url: https://example.com steps: - name: Deploy env: DATABASE_URL: ${{ secrets.DATABASE_URL }} run: ./deploy.sh ``` ### GitLab Environments ```yaml deploy:production: stage: deploy environment: name: production url: https://example.com rules: - if: $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "main" script: - ./deploy.sh ``` ## Artifact Management ### Test Reports **GitHub Actions:** ```yaml - name: Upload test results uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4 if: always() with: name: test-results path: | coverage.xml junit.xml retention-days: 30 ``` **GitLab CI:** ```yaml test: artifacts: when: always paths: - coverage.xml reports: junit: junit.xml coverage_report: coverage_format: cobertura path: coverage.xml expire_in: 30 days ``` ## Pipeline Optimization Checklist | Optimization | Impact | Implementation | |-------------|--------|----------------| | Dependency caching | ⬇️ 2-5 min | Cache composer, npm | | Docker layer caching | ⬇️ 3-10 min | BuildKit cache | | Parallel jobs | ⬇️ 50-80% | Matrix, split tests | | Skip unchanged | ⬇️ Variable | Path filters, needs | | Smaller images | ⬇️ 1-3 min | Alpine, multi-stage | | Fail fast | ⬇️ Variable | Early exit on errors | ## Common Pipeline Patterns ### 1. Monorepo Pipeline ```yaml # Only run when specific paths change on: push: paths: - 'services/api/**' - 'shared/**' ``` ### 2. Pull Request vs Push ```yaml on: pull_request: # Run tests, skip deploy push: branches: [main] # Run full pipeline with deploy ``` ### 3. Scheduled Security Scans ```yaml on: schedule: - cron: '0 0 * * 1' # Weekly Monday workflow_dispatch: # Manual trigger ``` ### 4. Release Workflow ```yaml on: release: types: [published] jobs: publish: steps: - name: Get version run: echo "VERSION=${GITHUB_REF#refs/tags/v}" >> $GITHUB_ENV ``` ## Best Practices ### DO - ✅ Cache dependencies aggressively - ✅ Use specific action versions (`@v4`, not `@latest`) - ✅ Fail fast in PR pipelines - ✅ Run security scans on schedule - ✅ Use environments for deployment gates - ✅ Store secrets in vault, not code ### DON'T - ❌ Run full pipeline on every commit - ❌ Install dependencies in every job - ❌ Use mutable tags for Docker images - ❌ Expose secrets in logs - ❌ Skip tests for "quick fixes" - ❌ Deploy without health checks ## References For detailed information, load these reference files: - `references/github-actions.md` — GitHub Actions deep dive - `references/gitlab-ci.md` — GitLab CI configuration - `references/caching.md` — Caching strategies and patterns --- > Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/dykyi-roman) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.