GitLab CI/CD

What is GitLab CI/CD?

GitLab CI/CD is the pipeline automation built into GitLab, defined through a .gitlab-ci.yml file in your repo, and running as part of the same platform that hosts your code, issues, and security scanning. Because it's one product rather than a code host plus a bolted-on CI integration, GitLab is often the pick for teams that want repository management, CI/CD, and application security scanning under a single tool and a single permissions model instead of stitching several products together.

Key features

• Pipelines defined in .gitlab-ci.yml, with stages, jobs, and dependency graphs for complex build/test/deploy flows
• Built-in container registry, so images can be built and stored without a separate registry provider
• Integrated security scanning (SAST, dependency scanning, container scanning) as part of the same pipeline
• Auto DevOps for automatically detecting and configuring a working pipeline for common project types
• Review apps for spinning up a live preview environment per merge request

Who it's for

Teams that want repo hosting, CI/CD, and security scanning consolidated in one platform rather than assembled from separate tools, or teams already using GitLab for source control. If your code already lives on GitHub, GitHub Actions is the more natural default rather than adding GitLab CI on top.

Pricing

Free tier with generous included CI minutes for individuals and small teams, paid tiers add more minutes, advanced security scanning, and compliance features.