CI/CD and Deployment Assignment

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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

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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

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Prerequisites

• GitHub account with repository access
• Completed Docker assignment (or equivalent Docker knowledge)
• Basic understanding of YAML syntax
• Python application with tests

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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

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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

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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

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Hints

tip

• 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

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References

1. GitHub Actions Documentation
2. Workflow Syntax Reference
3. GitHub Container Registry
4. Codecov GitHub Action
5. Docker Build Push Action