CI/CD & Deployment

Core: start here

• Continuous IntegrationAutomatically building and testing every change.
• DeploymentPutting a new version into an environment.
• RollbackReturning to the previous version when a deploy goes wrong.

Core: start here

• Secrets ManagementKeeping API keys and passwords in a vault, not in code.
• Continuous Delivery / DeploymentKeeping every change releasable, or releasing it automatically.
• Canary ReleaseReleasing to a small share of users first.
• Feature FlagsTurning features on and off without deploying.

• Deploying Schema and Code TogetherOrdering migrations and code changes so neither breaks the other.
• Deployment FrequencyHow often a team ships; a key DevOps metric.
• Dark LaunchRunning new code in production without users seeing it.
• Progressive DeliveryGradual rollouts with automatic checks at each step.
• Release TrainShipping on a fixed schedule with whatever is ready.

• DORA MetricsFour delivery metrics: deploy frequency, lead time, change failure rate and recovery time.

• Feature FlagsTurning features on and off without deploying.

• Continuous IntegrationAutomatically building and testing every change.
• Staging EnvironmentA production-like environment for final testing.
• CI PipelineThe sequence of automated build, test and deploy steps.
• DeploymentPutting a new version into an environment.
• Build ArtifactThe packaged output of a build, deployed as-is.
• GitHub ActionsGitHub's built-in CI/CD.
• HotfixAn urgent fix shipped outside the normal release cycle.
• RollbackReturning to the previous version when a deploy goes wrong.

• Preview EnvironmentA temporary deployment for each pull request.
• Secrets ManagementKeeping API keys and passwords in a vault, not in code.
• Blue-Green DeploymentSwitching traffic between two identical environments.
• Continuous Delivery / DeploymentKeeping every change releasable, or releasing it automatically.
• Rolling DeploymentReplacing instances a few at a time.
• Secrets in CIHandling credentials safely in pipelines.
• Artifact RepositoryStorage for built packages and images.
• Build CachingReusing previous build outputs to make CI fast.
• Canary ReleaseReleasing to a small share of users first.
• Deploy vs ReleaseShipping code vs exposing it to users.
• Deployment FreezeA period when deploys are paused, like around holidays.
• Feature Flag CleanupRemoving flags once rollout is done so they don't pile up as debt.
• Roll ForwardFixing a bad deploy with a new deploy instead of reverting.

• Deploying Schema and Code TogetherOrdering migrations and code changes so neither breaks the other.
• Deployment FrequencyHow often a team ships; a key DevOps metric.
• Dark LaunchRunning new code in production without users seeing it.
• Progressive DeliveryGradual rollouts with automatic checks at each step.
• Release TrainShipping on a fixed schedule with whatever is ready.

• DORA MetricsFour delivery metrics: deploy frequency, lead time, change failure rate and recovery time.

Core: start here

• Continuous IntegrationAutomatically building and testing every change.
• DeploymentPutting a new version into an environment.

Core: start here

• Feature FlagsTurning features on and off without deploying.

• Deployment FrequencyHow often a team ships; a key DevOps metric.
• Dark LaunchRunning new code in production without users seeing it.
• Progressive DeliveryGradual rollouts with automatic checks at each step.
• Release TrainShipping on a fixed schedule with whatever is ready.

• DORA MetricsFour delivery metrics: deploy frequency, lead time, change failure rate and recovery time.

• Feature FlagsTurning features on and off without deploying.