Continuous Integration Pipelines Using GitLab CI/CD

Solution Overview

In this guide, we will set up a continuous integration (CI) pipeline using GitLab CI/CD to deploy infrastructure with Pulumi. GitLab CI/CD is a powerful tool for automating the deployment of applications and infrastructure. Pulumi allows us to define and deploy cloud infrastructure using code, and we’ll use it to manage AWS resources in this example.

Step-by-Step Explanation

Step 1: Set Up GitLab Repository

1. Create a new repository in GitLab.
2. Clone the repository to your local machine.

Step 2: Install Pulumi CLI

1. Install the Pulumi CLI on your local machine. Follow the instructions here.

Step 3: Define Pulumi Program

1. Create a new Pulumi project in your repository.
2. Define your infrastructure in TypeScript. For example, create an index.ts file with the following content:

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";

const bucket = new aws.s3.Bucket("my-bucket", {
    website: {
        indexDocument: "index.html",
    },
});

export const bucketName = bucket.bucket;

Step 4: Create GitLab CI/CD Configuration

1. Create a .gitlab-ci.yml file in your repository with the following content:

image: node:14

stages:
  - deploy

variables:
  PULUMI_ACCESS_TOKEN: "$PULUMI_ACCESS_TOKEN"

before_script:
  - curl -fsSL https://get.pulumi.com | sh
  - export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/.pulumi/bin
  - npm install

deploy:
  stage: deploy
  script:
    - pulumi login
    - pulumi stack select dev
    - pulumi up --yes

Step 5: Set Up Environment Variables

1. In your GitLab repository, go to Settings > CI/CD > Variables.
2. Add the following variables:
   • AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID: Your AWS access key ID.
   • AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: Your AWS secret access key.
   • PULUMI_ACCESS_TOKEN: Your Pulumi access token.

Step 6: Commit and Push Changes

1. Commit your changes and push them to the GitLab repository.
2. GitLab CI/CD will automatically run the pipeline and deploy your infrastructure using Pulumi.

Summary

In this guide, we set up a CI pipeline using GitLab CI/CD to deploy AWS infrastructure with Pulumi. We created a GitLab repository, defined our infrastructure using Pulumi in TypeScript, configured GitLab CI/CD, and set up necessary environment variables. This setup allows us to automate the deployment of infrastructure changes, ensuring consistency and reliability in our deployments.

Full Code Example

import * as pulumi from "@pulumi/pulumi";
import * as aws from "@pulumi/aws";

const bucket = new aws.s3.Bucket("my-bucket", {
    website: {
        indexDocument: "index.html",
    },
});

export const bucketName = bucket.bucket;