GitLab CI/CD
GitLab CI/CD is a built-in continuous integration and continuous deployment platform integrated directly into GitLab, a web-based DevOps lifecycle tool. It automates the software development process by running pipelines to build, test, and deploy code changes, using a YAML configuration file (.gitlab-ci.yml) to define jobs and stages. This enables teams to implement DevOps practices efficiently within a single application, from source code management to deployment.
Developers should use GitLab CI/CD when they need a seamless, all-in-one solution for automating their software delivery pipeline within the GitLab ecosystem, ideal for projects hosted on GitLab repositories. It is particularly valuable for teams adopting DevOps to improve collaboration, speed up releases, and ensure code quality through automated testing and deployment, such as in microservices architectures or cloud-native applications. Use cases include automating builds for web applications, running unit tests in CI pipelines, and deploying to platforms like Kubernetes or AWS.