CI/CD

What is CI/CD?

CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (or Continuous Deployment). Continuous Integration means that developers merge their code changes into a shared repository frequently, with each change automatically built and tested. Continuous Delivery extends this by automating the deployment pipeline so that validated changes can be released to production at any time.

What problem does it solve?

Without CI/CD, teams accumulate large batches of changes that are integrated and tested infrequently. This leads to "integration hell," where merging divergent codebases causes unexpected conflicts and bugs. Manual testing and deployment processes are slow, inconsistent, and prone to human error, making releases stressful and risky.

How does it help?

CI/CD pipelines catch bugs early by running automated tests on every code change. Small, frequent releases reduce the risk per deployment since each change is incremental and easier to debug. Automated pipelines ensure that every release follows the same process, improving reliability and freeing developers to focus on building features instead of managing deployments.