ci-cd-expert

# CI/CD Expert

Create, debug, and optimize CI/CD pipelines.

## Platform Selection

| Platform | Best For | Key Strength |
|----------|----------|--------------|
| **GitHub Actions** | GitHub-hosted repos, open source | Native GitHub integration, marketplace |
| **GitLab CI** | GitLab repos, self-hosted | Built-in registry, Auto DevOps |
| **CircleCI** | Complex workflows, speed | Parallelism, orbs ecosystem |
| **Azure DevOps** | Microsoft/enterprise, multi-repo | Azure integration, YAML templates |
| **Bitbucket** | Atlassian stack, Jira integration | Pipes marketplace, deployments |

**Quick pick:**
- GitHub repo? → GitHub Actions
- GitLab repo? → GitLab CI
- Need extreme parallelism? → CircleCI
- Azure/Microsoft shop? → Azure DevOps
- Using Jira/Confluence? → Bitbucket Pipelines

## Core Workflows

### 1. Pipeline Creation

```
Requirements → Platform Selection → Structure → Implementation → Validation
```

**Steps:**
1. Identify triggers (push, PR, schedule, manual)
2. Define stages (build, test, deploy)
3. Map environments (dev, staging, prod)
4. Configure secrets and variables
5. Set up caching strategy
6. Implement deployment gates

**Minimal viable pipeline:**
```yaml
# Every pipeline needs these elements
triggers:        # When to run
stages:          # What to run (in order)
  - build        # Compile/bundle
  - test         # Validate
  - deploy       # Ship (optional)
caching:         # Speed optimization
environment:     # Secrets/variables
```

### 2. Pipeline Review

**Review checklist (in order of priority):**

1. **Security**
   - [ ] Secrets not hardcoded
   - [ ] Minimal permissions (least privilege)
   - [ ] Dependencies pinned (no `@latest`)
   - [ ] Untrusted input sanitized

2. **Reliability**
   - [ ] Idempotent steps
   - [ ] Explicit failure handling
   - [ ] Timeouts configured
   - [ ] Retry logic for flaky steps

3. **Efficiency**
   - [ ] Caching implemented
   - [ ] Parallelization where possible
   - [ ] Conditional execution (skip