⛓️CI/CD Pipeline Fundamentals
Build a working mental model of CI/CD -- stages, gates, artifacts, environments, rollbacks -- then wire up a real GitHub Actions pipeline and design one for a multi-env deploy you actually own.
Phase 1The Mental Model of a Pipeline
See why pipelines exist and how the stages compose
CI/CD is a feedback loop, not a deploy button
6 minCI/CD is a feedback loop, not a deploy button
Build, test, package, deploy -- in that order, every time
6 minBuild, test, package, deploy -- in that order, every time
Pipelines run on events, not on schedules
6 minPipelines run on events, not on schedules
A gate is a contract, not a checkbox
7 minA gate is a contract, not a checkbox
Phase 2Wiring Your First Real Pipeline
Wire a real GitHub Actions pipeline end to end
A workflow is just events, jobs, and steps
6 minA workflow is just events, jobs, and steps
Build is the first promise your pipeline makes
7 minBuild is the first promise your pipeline makes
Tests are the loudest signal in your pipeline
7 minTests are the loudest signal in your pipeline
Secrets aren't config -- they need their own home
7 minSecrets aren't config -- they need their own home
Cache the boring parts so the interesting parts run fast
7 minCache the boring parts so the interesting parts run fast
Phase 3Tests, Artifacts, Environments, Rollbacks
Connect tests, artifacts, environments, and rollbacks
Build once, deploy many -- the same artifact, every environment
7 minBuild once, deploy many -- the same artifact, every environment
Same code, different config -- never the other way around
7 minSame code, different config -- never the other way around
Deploys are not events -- they're transitions you can pause
8 minDeploys are not events -- they're transitions you can pause
If you can't roll back in 60 seconds, you don't have rollbacks
8 minIf you can't roll back in 60 seconds, you don't have rollbacks
Phase 4Design a Multi-Env Deploy Pipeline
Design a pipeline for a real multi-env deploy
Design the pipeline you'd actually trust
8 minDesign the pipeline you'd actually trust
Frequently asked questions
- What's the difference between continuous integration and continuous delivery?
- This is covered in the “CI/CD Pipeline Fundamentals” learning path. Start with daily 5-minute micro-lessons that build from fundamentals to hands-on application.
- Why does my CI pass but production still breaks?
- This is covered in the “CI/CD Pipeline Fundamentals” learning path. Start with daily 5-minute micro-lessons that build from fundamentals to hands-on application.
- How do I roll back a deploy without rebuilding?
- This is covered in the “CI/CD Pipeline Fundamentals” learning path. Start with daily 5-minute micro-lessons that build from fundamentals to hands-on application.
- When should I split staging and production environments?
- This is covered in the “CI/CD Pipeline Fundamentals” learning path. Start with daily 5-minute micro-lessons that build from fundamentals to hands-on application.
- What's the difference between an artifact and a build?
- This is covered in the “CI/CD Pipeline Fundamentals” learning path. Start with daily 5-minute micro-lessons that build from fundamentals to hands-on application.
Related paths
🐍Python Decorators Introduction
Build one mental model for Python decorators that covers closures, argument passing, functools.wraps, and stacking — then ship a working caching or logging decorator from scratch in under 30 lines.
🦀Rust Lifetimes Explained
Stop reading `'a` as line noise and start reading it as scope arithmetic — one failing snippet at a time — until you can thread lifetimes through a small parser or iterator adapter without fighting the borrow checker.
☸️Kubernetes Core Concepts
Stop drowning in 30+ resource types. Build the mental model one primitive at a time -- pods, deployments, services, ingress, config -- then deploy a real app with rolling updates and health checks.
📈Big O Intuition
Stop treating Big O as math you memorized for an interview — build the intuition to spot O(n²) disasters, pick the right data structure without thinking, and rewrite a slow function from O(n²) to O(n) in under five minutes.