What is a CI/CD Pipeline?
CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery/Deployment. A CI/CD pipeline in Jenkins is essentially a sequence of jobs that automate code integration, building, testing, and deployment — all visually managed as a pipeline view.
Here’s a simple pipeline example:
GitHub → Git Job → Build Website → Test Website
Here's how it works:
- GitHub: Developer pushes code to a repository.
- Git Job: Jenkins pulls the latest code to a local workspace.
- Build Website: Jenkins containerizes the code into an Apache container using Docker.
- Test Website: Selenium test cases run to validate the website functionality.
This streamlined process ensures that every code change is automatically fetched, built, and tested — reducing errors and speeding up releases.
"The best way to secure a system is not to have it accessible in the first place."
by Eugene H. SpaffordaCreating an Automated CI/CD Pipeline in Jenkins
1. Initiate a Git Webhook
- Set up a webhook in your GitHub repository to notify Jenkins whenever new code is pushed. This triggers the first job (Git Job) automatically.
2. Chain Jobs in Sequence
- The Configure Jenkins to run jobs in a specific order — so each job begins only after the previous one completes successfully:
Git Job → Build Website → Test Website
3. Install Pipeline Plugin
- Use the Jenkins Pipeline plugin to visualize the workflow and manage job dependencies through a graphical pipeline view.
4. Commit Code to See Live Changes
- Make changes to the website code, commit them to the Git repo, and Jenkins will automatically re-run the pipeline. This provides instant feedback through build and test reports.
Final Thoughts
CI/CD pipelines are the backbone of modern DevOps workflows. By automating the integration, build, and test processes, Jenkins ensures faster, reliable, and repeatable deployments. With just a few configurations — like webhooks, job chaining, and plugins — you can set up a robust automated CI/CD pipeline that saves time and boosts software quality.