CI/CD Pipelines — Getting Set Up

There's no single "install CI/CD" step — you're configuring a pipeline definition that a CI/CD service runs for you, not installing local software (with one exception: Jenkins, which you self-host). This page covers the two most common starting points.

Option 1: GitHub Actions (fastest way to a working pipeline)

No installation at all if your code is already on GitHub — it's built in.

1.In your repo, create .github/workflows/ci.yml.

2.A minimal pipeline that runs on every push:

yaml

name: CI
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
  build-and-test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test

3.Commit and push — GitHub runs it automatically. Check the "Actions" tab in your repo to see it execute.

Option 2: GitLab CI (if your code is on GitLab)

Also built in — no separate service to install.

1.Create .gitlab-ci.yml at your repo root:

yaml

stages: [build, test]

build:
  stage: build
  script: [npm ci, npm run build]

test:
  stage: test
  script: [npm test]

2.Push — GitLab's shared runners pick it up automatically on most plans; self-hosted runners are a separate, later setup step you only need for private infrastructure access or heavier compute.

Option 3: Jenkins (self-hosted, more setup, more control)

Unlike the above, Jenkins is real software you install and maintain yourself — appropriate when you need on-premises execution, deep plugin customization, or you're integrating with legacy infrastructure that hosted CI/CD can't reach.

bash

# Quick local trial via Docker — not how you'd run it in production
docker run -p 8080:8080 -p 50000:50000 -v jenkins_home:/var/jenkins_home jenkins/jenkins:lts

Then open localhost:8080, complete the setup wizard (it prints an initial admin password to the container logs), and install the Git + Pipeline plugins before creating your first job.

Which one should you actually start with?

If your code already lives on GitHub or GitLab, use that platform's built-in CI — zero infrastructure to maintain, and it's what most job postings expect familiarity with today. Reach for Jenkins specifically when a job or project requires it (common in larger, older enterprises), not as a default starting point — it has real operational overhead (you maintain the server, the plugins, the updates) that hosted CI/CD doesn't.

CI/CD Pipelines — Installation

CI/CD Pipelines — Getting Set Up

Option 1: GitHub Actions (fastest way to a working pipeline)

Option 2: GitLab CI (if your code is on GitLab)

Option 3: Jenkins (self-hosted, more setup, more control)

Which one should you actually start with?