What is CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery)?
CI/CD is a software development practice that automates the process of integrating code changes (CI) and delivering them to production (CD).
Continuous Integration means developers merge code changes frequently (multiple times per day) into a shared repository, where automated tests verify each change. Continuous Delivery extends this by automatically preparing code for release to production. Continuous Deployment goes further by automatically deploying every change that passes tests to production.
CI/CD is the foundation of modern software delivery. Teams with mature CI/CD pipelines achieve deployment frequencies of multiple times per day with change failure rates below 15% — the hallmarks of elite engineering performance per DORA metrics.
Why It Matters
CI/CD eliminates the 'integration hell' of infrequent, large merges and enables the rapid, reliable delivery that modern businesses require. It's a prerequisite for achieving elite DORA metrics.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CI/CD?
CI/CD automates code integration and delivery. CI merges and tests code frequently. CD automatically prepares or deploys tested code to production.
What tools are used for CI/CD?
Popular CI/CD tools include GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, CircleCI, and Vercel (for frontend). Infrastructure tools include Terraform, Pulumi, and AWS CDK.
Related Terms
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