Introduction
In modern software development Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) are essential practices that streamline the process of integrating code changes, testing and deploying them to production. AWS CodePipeline is a fully managed service that automates the build, test and deploy phases of your release process. This blog provides an in-depth guide to setting up CI/CD pipelines with AWS CodePipeline integrating with AWS CodeBuild and AWS CodeDeploy.
By the end of this tutorial you will have a comprehensive understanding of how to set up and manage a CI/CD pipeline using AWS services.
Overview of AWS CodePipeline
AWS CodePipeline automates the steps required to release software changes continuously. It integrates with various AWS services and third-party tools to provide a seamless CI/CD experience. The main components of AWS CodePipeline include :-
Source : The location of your code (e.g. GitHub, AWS CodeCommit, Bitbucket).
Build : The process of compiling your code and running tests (e.g. AWS CodeBuild, Jenkins).
Deploy : The process of deploying your code to your environments (e.g. AWS CodeDeploy, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, AWS ECS).
Setting Up AWS CodePipeline
Step 1 :- Creating a CodeCommit Repository
Before setting up the pipeline you need a source repository. For this example we'll use AWS CodeCommit.
Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the AWS CodeCommit console.
Choose Create repository.
Name your repository (e.g. my-app-repo ).
Provide a description (optional).
Choose Create repository.
Step 2 :- Creating a Build Project in AWS CodeBuild
AWS CodeBuild is a fully managed build service that compiles your source code, runs tests and produces software packages.
Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the AWS CodeBuild console.
Choose Create build project.
Name your project (e.g. my-app-build ).
Source provider : Choose AWS CodeCommit.
Repository : Select the repository you created (my-app-repo) .
Environment : Choose Managed image then select Operating system, Runtime, and Image.
Buildspec : Choose to use a buildspec file. Create a buildspec.yml file in your repository with the following content :-
version: 0.2
phases:
install:
runtime-versions:
nodejs: 12
pre_build:
commands:
- echo Installing dependencies...
- npm install
build:
commands:
- echo Building the project...
- npm run build
artifacts:
files:
- '**/*'
Artifacts : Choose No artifacts.
Service role : Select New service role to allow CodeBuild to create a service role.
Choose Create build project.
Step 3 :- Creating a Deployment Configuration in AWS CodeDeploy
AWS CodeDeploy automates code deployments to various compute services such as Amazon EC2, AWS Lambda and on-premises servers.
Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the AWS CodeDeploy console.
Choose Create application.
Name your application (e.g. my-app ).
Compute platform : Choose EC2/On-premises.
Choose Create application.
Choose Create deployment group.
Name your deployment group (e.g. my-app-deployment-group ).
Service role : Choose Create new service role .
Deployment type : Choose In-place .
Environment configuration : Choose Amazon EC2 instances .
Key : Choose the key for your instance tags.
Deployment settings : Configure as needed (e.g. OneAtATime ).
Choose Create deployment group.
Step 4 :- Creating the Pipeline in AWS CodePipeline
Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the AWS CodePipeline console.
Choose Create pipeline.
Name your pipeline (e.g. my-app-pipeline ).
Service role : Choose New service role to let CodePipeline create a service role.
Choose Next.
Add Source Stage
Source provider : Choose AWS CodeCommit .
Repository name : Select your repository (my-app-repo) .
Branch name : Choose the branch to trigger the pipeline (e.g. main ).
Choose Next.
Add Build Stage
Build provider : Choose AWS CodeBuild .
Project name : Select your build project (my-app-build) .
Choose Next.
Add Deploy Stage
Deploy provider : Choose AWS CodeDeploy .
Application name : Select your application (my-app) .
Deployment group : Select your deployment group (my-app-deployment-group).
Choose Next.
Review the pipeline settings and choose Create pipeline .
Your pipeline is now created and will automatically trigger the build and deployment process whenever changes are pushed to the specified branch in your CodeCommit repository.
Integrating with Other AWS Services
AWS CodePipeline and Amazon S3
You can use Amazon S3 as a source or deployment location in your pipeline.
Using S3 as a Source
Create an S3 bucket and upload your source code.
Add a source stage in your pipeline configuration selecting Amazon S3 as the source provider.
Specify the S3 bucket and object key.
Using S3 as a Deployment Target
Add a deploy stage in your pipeline configuration selecting Amazon S3 as the deploy provider.
Specify the S3 bucket and object key.
AWS CodePipeline and AWS Lambda
You can deploy serverless applications using AWS CodePipeline and AWS Lambda.
Deploying a Lambda Function
Create a Lambda function in the AWS Management Console.
Add a deploy stage in your pipeline configuration selecting AWS Lambda as the deploy provider.
Specify the Lambda function name.
AWS CodePipeline and AWS Elastic Beanstalk
You can deploy applications to AWS Elastic Beanstalk.
Deploying to Elastic Beanstalk
Create an Elastic Beanstalk environment in the AWS Management Console.
Add a deploy stage in your pipeline configuration selecting AWS Elastic Beanstalk as the deploy provider.
Specify the application name and environment name.
Example CI/CD Pipeline with All Stages
Let's create a comprehensive example pipeline that includes source, build and deploy stages.
Example Source :- GitHub
Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the AWS CodePipeline console.
Choose Create pipeline.
Name your pipeline (e.g. comprehensive-app-pipeline) .
Service role : Choose New service role .
Choose Next.
Add Source Stage
Source provider : Choose Github .
Connect to GitHub and authorize AWS CodePipeline.
Repository name : Select your repository.
Branch name : Choose the branch to trigger the pipeline.
Choose Next.
Add Build Stage
Build provider : Choose AWS CodeBuild .
Project name : Select your build project (comprehensive-app-build) .
Choose Next.
Add Deploy Stage
Deploy provider : Choose AWS CodeDeploy .
Application name : Select your application (comprehensive-app) .
Deployment group : Select your deployment group (comprehensive-app-deployment-group) .
Choose Next.
Review the pipeline settings and choose Create pipeline .
Buildspec for Comprehensive Example
Create a buildspec.yml file in your repository with the following content :-
version: 0.2
phases:
install:
runtime-versions:
nodejs: 12
pre_build:
commands:
- echo Installing dependencies...
- npm install
build:
commands:
- echo Building the project...
- npm run build
artifacts:
files:
- '**/*'
Monitoring and Troubleshooting
Viewing Pipeline Execution
Sign in to the AWS Management Console and open the AWS CodePipeline console.
Select your pipeline to view its details.
Monitor the execution history and stages to ensure successful runs.
Troubleshooting Failures
Review the logs in AWS CodeBuild and AWS CodeDeploy.
Check the AWS CloudWatch logs for detailed error messages.
Update the pipeline configuration or scripts based on the error messages.
Conclusion
AWS CodePipeline provides a powerful, automated solution for managing the CI/CD process ensuring that your applications are built, tested and deployed consistently and reliably. By integrating AWS CodePipeline with other AWS services such as CodeBuild, CodeDeploy, Lambda and Elastic Beanstalk you can create sophisticated pipelines tailored to your specific needs.
Stay tuned for more insights in our upcoming blog posts.