CI/CD from Scratch

A complete, beginner-to-advanced course on CI/CD with GitHub Actions.

Learn CI/CD from the ground up: what it is, how pipelines work, and how to build, test, containerize, and deploy real projects with GitHub Actions - then make them fast, cheap, and reliable. A free, structured course you can follow lesson by lesson.

Module 1 - Foundations

What CI/CD is and why it matters.

What is CI/CD?A plain-English introduction to CI/CD: what continuous integration, delivery, and deployment mean, how they d… Why CI/CD mattersWhy teams adopt CI/CD: how automation kills integration hell, slow releases, and manual deploy errors, with c… Pipeline anatomyA tour of the stages in a CI/CD pipeline - build, test, and deploy - what each does, why order matters, and h… CI/CD glossaryA beginner glossary of essential CI/CD vocabulary: pipeline, workflow, job, step, runner, and artifact, each… CI vs CD vs CDContinuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, and Continuous Deployment are three distinct ideas. Learn exactl… CI/CD in your workflowFollow a change from commit to production: how CI/CD hooks into the everyday commit, pull request, merge, and…

Module 2 - Git for CI

The version-control basics CI relies on.

Git basics for CIThe Git fundamentals CI depends on: commits, branches, and remotes, explained for beginners so you understand… Branches & pull requestsHow branches and pull requests work together as the unit of change in CI workflows: opening a PR, what CI doe… Branching strategiesCompare trunk-based development and GitFlow for CI/CD, and learn why short-lived branches and frequent merges… Commit conventionsLearn how structured commit messages like Conventional Commits unlock automation: changelogs, versioning, and… Protecting mainHow to guard your main branch with branch protection rules and required status checks so broken code can neve…

Module 3 - Your first workflow

Build and run your first GitHub Actions workflow.

What is GitHub Actions?An introduction to GitHub Actions: how workflows, events, jobs, steps, and runners fit together to automate C… Workflow file anatomyA line-by-line walkthrough of a GitHub Actions workflow YAML file: name, on, jobs, runs-on, and steps, so you… Your first workflowBuild your first GitHub Actions workflow from scratch: create the file, add a trigger, run a job, and watch i… Workflow triggersA guide to GitHub Actions triggers: push, pull_request, schedule, and workflow_dispatch, with examples showin… Jobs, steps & runnersA clear breakdown of the three execution units in GitHub Actions: jobs, steps, and runners, including paralle… Marketplace actionsLearn to use prebuilt actions with uses:, including checkout and the setup-* family, plus how to pin versions… Debugging run logsHow to read GitHub Actions run logs and debug a failing workflow: navigating the UI, finding the failing step…

Module 4 - Workflow building blocks

Secrets, matrix, caching, artifacts, reusable workflows.

Env vars & contextsUnderstand environment variables and contexts in GitHub Actions: setting env at different scopes, reading the… Managing secretsHow to handle secrets in GitHub Actions safely: storing them, referencing the secrets context, masking, and a… Matrix buildsLearn the GitHub Actions matrix strategy to run a job across many versions or platforms at once, with example… Caching dependenciesA tutorial on caching dependencies in GitHub Actions to make CI faster: how the cache action keys work, cache… Sharing with artifactsUse artifacts to pass files between GitHub Actions jobs: uploading build output, downloading it in a later jo… Conditional stepsControl when jobs and steps run in GitHub Actions using if expressions, contexts, status functions, and branc… Reuse & composite actionsReduce duplication in GitHub Actions with reusable workflows and composite actions: what each is, when to use… Job dependencies (needs)Control job order in GitHub Actions with the needs keyword: building sequential pipelines, fan-out and fan-in…

Module 5 - Testing in CI

Run tests, coverage, and tame flakiness.

Running tests in CIHow to run your automated test suite in CI: installing dependencies, invoking your test runner, interpreting… Code coverage in CILearn to measure code coverage in CI and enforce a threshold so coverage cannot silently drop, plus the limit… Parallel & sharded testsSpeed up a slow test suite in CI by parallelizing and sharding: splitting tests across jobs with a matrix, ba… Flaky tests in CIA practical guide to flaky tests in CI: what causes them, how to detect and quarantine them, retry strategies… Publishing test resultsMake CI test results visible: generating standard report formats, publishing them to pull requests and summar… Linting as a CI gateUse linting and static analysis as CI gates to catch issues before tests even run: formatters, linters, type…

Module 6 - Docker in CI

Build and cache images, use service containers.

Why Docker in CI/CDLearn why Docker matters in CI/CD: reproducible builds, "works on my machine" fixes, and consistent environme… Build Docker imagesStep-by-step tutorial for building Docker images in GitHub Actions using Buildx and docker/build-push-action,… Docker layer cachingCut Docker build times in GitHub Actions with BuildKit layer caching. Compare gha, registry, and inline cache… Multi-stage buildsUse multi-stage Docker builds to ship smaller, more secure images: compile in a build stage, copy only artifa… Service containersRun real databases in CI with GitHub Actions service containers. Spin up Postgres or Redis, wait for health c… Push to a registryPush Docker images to GitHub Container Registry, Docker Hub, or Amazon ECR from GitHub Actions. Authenticate…

Module 7 - Deployment & CD

Environments, approvals, OIDC, deploy strategies.

CI to CDUnderstand the jump from continuous integration to continuous delivery and deployment: what each term means,… Environments & approvalsConfigure GitHub Actions environments with required reviewers, wait timers, and environment secrets to add ma… Cloud auth with OIDCReplace long-lived cloud keys with OIDC in GitHub Actions. Configure a trust policy so workflows assume an AW… Deployment strategiesCompare rolling, blue-green, and canary deployment strategies: how each works, their rollback story, and when… DB migrations in CI/CDRun database migrations safely in CI/CD: the expand-and-contract pattern, backward-compatible changes, orderi… Roll back a deployPlan and automate rollbacks in CI/CD: redeploy a known-good image by SHA, handle database state, and add a on… Full pipeline capstoneCapstone tutorial: assemble a complete CI/CD pipeline in GitHub Actions: test, build and push a Docker image,…

Module 8 - Speed, cost & reliability

Make pipelines fast, cheap, and self-healing.

Why CI gets slowUnderstand why CI pipelines get slower and pricier as a team scales: more commits, longer suites, queue conte… CI caching strategyBuild a practical CI caching strategy: cache dependencies and build outputs with good keys, avoid stale-cache… Choosing a CI runnerCompare GitHub-hosted, self-hosted, and managed CI runners on cost, maintenance, and speed, and see why manag… Cut your CI billBreak down what drives your GitHub Actions bill and apply concrete cuts: kill wasted minutes, right-size runn… Handling flaky CITame flaky CI from transient failures: network blips, registry timeouts, and OOM kills. Learn retry patterns… DORA metricsMeasure CI/CD health with the four DORA metrics: deployment frequency, lead time for changes, change failure…

Module 9 - Security & best practices

Secrets, OIDC, least privilege, supply chain.

Securing secretsHandle secrets safely in CI/CD: use the secrets store, avoid leaks in logs and forks, scope access, and prefe… Least-privilege tokenLock down the automatic GITHUB_TOKEN with least-privilege permissions: set a read-only default, grant scopes… Pinning actionsStop running unvetted code in CI: pin third-party GitHub Actions to a full commit SHA, vet what you depend on… Supply-chain securityUnderstand software supply-chain security in CI/CD: the SLSA framework, build provenance, and SBOMs, and why… Scanning in CIAdd dependency and container scanning to CI/CD: catch known CVEs in packages and images, fail builds on sever…

Module 10 - Beyond GitHub Actions

Other CI platforms, migration, managed runners.

Other CI platformsA quick tour of major CI/CD platforms beyond GitHub Actions: GitLab CI, CircleCI, and Jenkins, with their mod… Actions vs othersCompare GitHub Actions to GitLab CI, CircleCI, and Jenkins on config model, ecosystem, runners, and cost, so… Move to managed runnersKnow the signals that you have outgrown GitHub-hosted runners: rising bills, queue waits, and flaky failures,… Where to go nextFinish the CI/CD course with a roadmap for going further: advanced pipelines, platform engineering, GitOps, o…

Explore other topics

GitHub ActionsWorkflow, runner, and YAML errors - diagnosed and fixed. Node.js & npmnpm, yarn, and pnpm failures in CI - solved. DockerBuild, run, compose, and registry errors - explained. Pythonpip, poetry, venv, and pytest failures - fixed. Java & JVMMaven, Gradle, and JVM failures in CI - resolved. GoGo build, module, and test failures - diagnosed.