Build Pipelines

Learning objectives#

• Design build stages
• Version every build
• Publish artifacts and images
• Make builds fast and reproducible

Explanation#

Typical steps: checkout → restore dependencies → build → unit test → lint/format check → package (zip or Docker image) → publish artifact.

Reproducible builds use lock files (packages.lock.json, package-lock.json) and pinned tool versions.

Version every artifact: semantic version from a Git tag, or the commit SHA.

Code example: Build and publish a Node.js API image#

1name: build
2on: { push: { branches: [main] } }
3permissions: { contents: read, packages: write }
4

5jobs:
6  image:
7    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
8    steps:
9      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
10      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
11        with: { node-version: 22, cache: npm }
12      - run: npm ci && npm run lint && npm test
13      - uses: docker/login-action@v3
14        with:
15          registry: ghcr.io
16          username: ${{ github.actor }}
17          password: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
18      - uses: docker/build-push-action@v6
19        with:
20          push: true
21          tags: ghcr.io/${{ github.repository }}:${{ github.sha }}

Each commit to main produces an image such as ghcr.io/asha/shop-api:3f2a9c1… after lint and tests pass.

This example is illustrative. Copy or download it and run it in your own environment; the expected output is shown above.

Step-by-step explanation#

1. npm ci installs exactly what the lock file says.
2. Lint and tests run before packaging.
3. The built-in GITHUB_TOKEN logs in to GitHub Container Registry.
4. The image tag is the commit SHA — unique and traceable.

Real-world use case#

Common mistakes#

Best practices#

• Lock files + pinned tool versions
• Fail fast: lint and tests before packaging
• Tag artifacts with SHA/version
• Cache dependencies and Docker layers

Remember this#

Practice exercise#

1dotnet restore --locked-mode

Mini quiz#

Want more? Practise all DevOps MCQs · DevOps interview questions

Related topics#

My notes#

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