Semaphore CI/CD Learning

Continuous Delivery

Release software such as Docker images, App store applications, or installable packages.

Prerequisites 🗒️

A working Continuous Integration (CI) pipeline.
A testing or stating environment to test the project before launch.

🎯 What are your goals?

Select your goals to show the recommended skills to learn and build a pipeline.

Test application in a staging/test environment.

Validate use requirements

Test performance/capacity of application

Automate database migration

Automate infrastructure configuration and deployment

Speed up the continuous delivery pipeline

View:

Select your goals to show the recommended skills here

Automated release buildBuild deployable artifactWe must build a deployable or releasable package. It should contain everything needed to install and start the application.
Learn more:
Release Management for Microservices
What are artifacts?
Deployment to test environmentAutomated deploymentA set of scripts or mechanisms that deploy the application on a test or staging environment.
The deployment system should be the same used later in production, as this step serves to battle-test the deployment procedure.
Learn more:
5 Options for Deploying Microservices
A Step-by-Step Guide to Continuous Deployment on Kubernetes
Python Continuous Integration and Deployment From Scratch
How To Deploy a Go Web Application with Docker
Continuous Deployment of a Python Flask Application
Example project: 
semaphore-demo-ruby-kubernetes
Infrastructure managementDeploy test/staging infrastructure using codeInfrastructure must be prepared to run the application in test mode. This may include ensuring correct dependencies are installed on the test infrastructure provisioned on demand.
In addition, the application must be started in a suitable mode for testing. This includes environment variables, API keys and tokens, database credentials, and feature flags. Multiple configurations might be used to test the application in different conditions.
Learn more:
A Developer Guide to Terraform
Feature Flags: A Gentle Introduction
Automated database managementPrepare a test-optimized databaseThe database should be prepared with a specially-crafted test dataset to start the application and run the tests.
The dataset should be minimal, the most simple setup that allows the application to run. Test cases should then load up the relevant data before the test and clean it up afterward.
Avoid using a production database. This not only can result in compliance violations, but production data is typically too big to be useful.
Learn more: 
Database Management With CI/CD
Smoke testingCheck application has startedSmoke testing consists of very shallow but broad tests that verify the crucial parts of the application. It is typically a very fast and cost-effective test that can quickly determine if the application has correctly started in the test environment.
Learn more: 
Smoke Testing Keeps Your Delivery Pipeline Safe and Sound
Exploratory testingDiscover new testing opportunitiesExploratory testing is a kind of manual testing in which developers and quality analysts search for new test cases, get a general feel of the application, and evaluate usability issues.
In many cases, users can be brought in to get their feedback. A/B tests can be conducted to evaluate how features affect engagement and satisfaction.
Every round of exploratory testing feeds presents an opportunity to find new acceptance criteria and write new acceptance tests.
Learn more: 
20 Types of Tests Every Developer Should Know
Acceptance testingEnsure business and user requirements are metAcceptance testing is the practice of running high-level, end-to-end tests to ensure that a system follows spec. Acceptance tests are derived from acceptance criteria, which define how an application responds to user actions or events.
Once the acceptance criteria are defined in conjunction with the customer, we can write acceptance tests for their validation. An application that passes all acceptance tests by definition fulfills the user’s needs.
Learn more: 
The Benefits of Acceptance Testing
Non-functional testingCheck application has startedWith the application running in a production-like environment, we can run capacity and performance tests. By stressing the system, we can find its limits and ensure it can handle the expected load.
Non-functional tests also include security, so the InfoSec team should be invited to participate in exploring the system and running system-wide security assessments.
Learn more:
20 Types of Tests Every Developer Should Know
Improving Security in Your CI/CD Pipeline
Automatic Security Testing of Rails Applications Using Brakeman
Elixir Code Security: Prioritize Security in Your CI With 4 Tools
Continuous Container Vulnerability Testing with Trivy
Optimizing continuous deliverySpeed up and streamline software releasesThere are several optimizations that can take place:
Improve and expand the tests.
Use exploratory testing to find new test cases.
Speed up the pipeline by using parallelization and optimizing slow tests.
Using infrastructure as code (IaC) tools like Terraform to provision and delete infrastructure on demand.
Learn more:
9 Ways To Make Slow Tests Faster
5-Step Strategy for Optimizing Slow Tests
Revving up Continuous Integration with Parallel Testing
A Developer Guide to Terraform

Select your goals to view the suggested pipeline here

Semaphore CI/CD Learning

Continuous Delivery

🎯 What are your goals?

Select your goals to show the recommended skills to learn and build a pipeline.

📋 Learning trackLearning track shows you the the skills required to make the most out of your CI/CD platform.

Select your goals to show the recommended skills here

Automated release build

Build deployable artifact

Deployment to test environment

Automated deployment

Infrastructure management

Deploy test/staging infrastructure using code

Automated database management

Prepare a test-optimized database

Smoke testing

Check application has started

Exploratory testing

Discover new testing opportunities

Acceptance testing

Ensure business and user requirements are met

Non-functional testing

Check application has started

Optimizing continuous delivery

Speed up and streamline software releases

🏗️ Suggested CD pipelineThe purpose of the continuous delivery pipeline is to create a package that can be deployed in production or released to the user in a way that is automated and reproducible.