CI/CD Pipeline Builder

Tier: POWERFUL Category: Engineering Domain: DevOps / Automation

Overview

Use this skill to generate pragmatic CI/CD pipelines from detected project stack signals, not guesswork. It focuses on fast baseline generation, repeatable checks, and environment-aware deployment stages.

Core Capabilities

• Detect language/runtime/tooling from repository files
• Recommend CI stages (lint, test, build, deploy)
• Generate GitHub Actions or GitLab CI starter pipelines
• Include caching and matrix strategy based on detected stack
• Emit machine-readable detection output for automation
• Keep pipeline logic aligned with project lockfiles and build commands

When to Use

• Bootstrapping CI for a new repository
• Replacing brittle copied pipeline files
• Migrating between GitHub Actions and GitLab CI
• Auditing whether pipeline steps match actual stack
• Creating a reproducible baseline before custom hardening

Key Workflows

1. Detect Stack

bash
python3 scripts/stack_detector.py --repo . --format text
python3 scripts/stack_detector.py --repo . --format json > detected-stack.json

Supports input via stdin or --input file for offline analysis payloads.

2. Generate Pipeline From Detection

bash
python3 scripts/pipeline_generator.py \
  --input detected-stack.json \
  --platform github \
  --output .github/workflows/ci.yml \
  --format text

Or end-to-end from repo directly:

bash
python3 scripts/pipeline_generator.py --repo . --platform gitlab --output .gitlab-ci.yml

3. Validate Before Merge

1. Confirm commands exist in project (test, lint, build).
2. Run generated pipeline locally where possible.
3. Ensure required secrets/env vars are documented.
4. Keep deploy jobs gated by protected branches/environments.

4. Add Deployment Stages Safely

• Start with CI-only (lint/test/build).
• Add staging deploy with explicit environment context.
• Add production deploy with manual gate/approval.
• Keep rollout/rollback commands explicit and auditable.

Script Interfaces

• python3 scripts/stack_detector.py --help
• Detects stack signals from repository files
• Reads optional JSON input from stdin/--input
• python3 scripts/pipeline_generator.py --help
• Generates GitHub/GitLab YAML from detection payload
• Writes to stdout or --output

References

• references/pipeline-design-notes.md — common pitfalls, best practices, detection heuristics, generation strategy, platform decision notes, pre-merge validation checklist, and scaling guidance
• references/github-actions-templates.md
• references/gitlab-ci-templates.md
• references/deployment-gates.md
• README.md