Glossary · Automation software engineering and architecture
CI/CD pipeline
Also known as: Continuous integration and delivery pipeline
German: CI/CD-Pipeline
In software engineering, a CI/CD pipeline is an automated workflow that combines continuous integration (building and testing every change) with continuous delivery or deployment (moving tested artifacts through further environments toward production).
- Software engineering
In one sentence
A CI/CD pipeline automates building and testing every change and moving tested artifacts toward production.
Example
The CI/CD pipeline for a line's edge applications builds container images, runs tests, deploys them to a staging gateway and, after approval, to the production gateways.
How it applies
- Engineering: A CI/CD pipeline turns the release process into code: each stage, its checks and its approvals are defined and repeatable. In automation projects, it may combine PLC compilation, firmware builds, container images and HMI projects.
- Operation: For production systems, the final stage often requires a manual approval and a planned maintenance window, even if earlier stages are fully automated. Production constraints and customer approvals take priority over deployment speed.
- Documentation: The pipeline can produce release notes, change lists and generated documentation automatically. The documentation team should hook doc builds into the pipeline so every release candidate comes with matching manuals and a record of which Release decision approved it.
CI vs. CD
Continuous integration (CI) ends with a tested artifact. Continuous delivery (CD) keeps every tested artifact ready for release, with the final deployment triggered manually. Continuous deployment releases automatically when all checks pass. Safety-related software typically stops at continuous delivery, because release needs a documented decision.