CI/CD and Deployment Assignment#

Assignment Metadata#

Field

Description

Assignment Name

Building a Complete CI/CD Pipeline with GitHub Actions

Course

Basic DevOps Essentials for Developer

Project Name

cicd-pipeline-demo

Estimated Time

150 minutes

Framework

GitHub Actions, Python 3.11+, Docker

Learning Objectives#

After completing this assignment, you will be able to:

  • Create CI/CD workflows using GitHub Actions

  • Configure workflow triggers for different events (push, PR, manual)

  • Implement automated testing and linting in pipelines

  • Build and push Docker images as part of CI/CD

  • Apply caching strategies to speed up pipelines

  • Design deployment strategies (staging/production environments)

  • Utilize secrets management for secure deployments

Prerequisites#

  • GitHub account with repository access

  • Completed Docker assignment (or equivalent Docker knowledge)

  • Basic understanding of YAML syntax

  • Python application with tests

Tasks#

Task 1: Create Basic CI Workflow (20 points)#

  1. Create a GitHub repository with a Python application including:

    • Source code in src/ directory

    • Tests in tests/ directory

    • pyproject.toml with dependencies

  2. Create a basic CI workflow (.github/workflows/ci.yml):

    name: CI Pipeline
on:
  push:
    branches: [main, develop]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

  3. Implement the following jobs:

    • lint: Run Ruff and Black for code quality

    • test: Run pytest with coverage reporting

  4. Configure job dependencies so tests only run after linting passes

Task 2: Implement Matrix Testing (15 points)#

  1. Extend the CI workflow with matrix builds:

    • Test across Python versions: 3.10, 3.11, 3.12

    • Test on multiple OS: ubuntu-latest, macos-latest

  2. Configure fail-fast behavior appropriately

  3. Document the matrix configuration and explain when to use exclude

Task 3: Add Caching and Artifacts (20 points)#

  1. Implement dependency caching:

    • Cache pip dependencies

    • Use cache key based on pyproject.toml hash

  2. Upload test artifacts:

    • Coverage reports

    • Test results (JUnit XML format)

  3. Configure Codecov integration for coverage reporting

  4. Measure and document the time saved by caching:

    Run Type

    Build Time

    Without cache

    ? seconds

    With cache

    ? seconds

Task 4: Build and Push Docker Image (20 points)#

  1. Create a Docker build workflow that:

    • Builds the Docker image on every push to main

    • Tags images with commit SHA and latest

    • Pushes to GitHub Container Registry (ghcr.io)

  2. Configure secrets for registry authentication

  3. Implement conditional builds:

    • Only build Docker image when source code changes

    • Use paths filter to skip builds for documentation changes

  4. Add image scanning in the pipeline using Trivy or Docker Scout

Task 5: Implement Deployment Strategy (25 points)#

  1. Create environment-specific deployments:

    • staging: Auto-deploy on push to develop branch

    • production: Manual approval required, deploy on push to main

  2. Implement a deployment workflow with:

    • Environment protection rules

    • Deployment status notifications

    • Health check verification after deployment

  3. Create a simple deployment script (deploy.sh) that:

    • Pulls the new Docker image

    • Performs health check

    • Reports deployment status

  4. Document the deployment flow with a diagram:

    Code Push → CI Tests → Build Image → Deploy Staging → Manual Approval → Deploy Production

Submission Requirements#

Required Deliverables#

  • GitHub repository URL with all workflows

  • .github/workflows/ci.yml - CI pipeline

  • .github/workflows/docker.yml - Docker build pipeline

  • .github/workflows/deploy.yml - Deployment pipeline

  • README.md with pipeline documentation

  • Screenshots of successful workflow runs

  • Screenshots of coverage reports and artifacts

Submission Checklist#

  • CI workflow runs on push and pull requests

  • Matrix testing across multiple Python versions

  • Caching implemented and working

  • Docker image builds and pushes successfully

  • Deployment workflow with environment protection

  • All workflows pass without errors

Evaluation Criteria#

Criteria

Points

Basic CI workflow implementation

20

Matrix testing configuration

15

Caching and artifacts

20

Docker build and push

20

Deployment strategy implementation

25

Total

100

Hints#

  • Use workflow_dispatch to enable manual triggering for testing

  • Use needs keyword to define job dependencies

  • Check workflow runs in the Actions tab of your repository

  • Use ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }} for GHCR authentication

  • Test workflows on a branch before merging to main

  • Use if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' for conditional steps

References#

  1. GitHub Actions Documentation

  2. Workflow Syntax Reference

  3. GitHub Container Registry

  4. Codecov GitHub Action

  5. Docker Build Push Action