By UATeam in AWS —

AWS CodePipeline Deployment Example: Automating CI/CD

AWS CodePipeline is a fully managed continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) service that automates the build, test, and deployment process for your applications. By integrating with various AWS services and third-party tools, CodePipeline streamlines deployment pipelines, enabling faster delivery of high-quality applications. In this article, we’ll walk through a practical example of setting up a CI/CD pipeline using AWS CodePipeline to deploy an application hosted on an EC2 instance.

What Is AWS CodePipeline?

AWS CodePipeline automates the workflow from code commit to deployment, enabling teams to:

  • Build and test applications continuously.
  • Deploy updates quickly and reliably.
  • Integrate with tools like GitHub, CodeBuild, and Elastic Beanstalk.

AWS CodePipeline Deployment Example

Objective

We’ll create a pipeline that:

  1. Pulls source code from a GitHub repository.
  2. Builds the code using AWS CodeBuild.
  3. Deploys the application to an EC2 instance.

Step 1: Prerequisites

  1. AWS Account: Ensure you have access to AWS services like CodePipeline, CodeBuild, S3, and EC2.
  2. GitHub Repository: Prepare a repository containing your application code.
  3. EC2 Instance: Launch an EC2 instance with the necessary setup to host your application.
  4. IAM Roles:
    • A service role for CodePipeline.
    • An instance profile for your EC2 instance with permissions to pull from S3.

Step 2: Create an S3 Bucket

  1. Navigate to the S3 Console and click Create Bucket.
  2. Name your bucket (e.g., codepipeline-artifacts-example).
  3. Keep default settings and create the bucket. This bucket will store pipeline artifacts.

Step 3: Create an AWS CodeBuild Project

  1. Go to the CodeBuild Console → Create Build Project.
  2. Configure the project:
    • Project Name: example-build-project.
    • Source: Select GitHub and connect your repository.
    • Environment: Use a managed image (e.g., Ubuntu with Node.js if deploying a Node.js app).
    • Buildspec File: Ensure your repository includes a buildspec.yml file.
  3. Save the project.

Sample buildspec.yml:

version: 0.2
phases:
  install:
    commands:
      - echo Installing dependencies...
      - npm install
  build:
    commands:
      - echo Building the application...
      - npm run build
  post_build:
    commands:
      - echo Build completed.
artifacts:
  files:
    - '**/*'
  base-directory: build

Step 4: Set Up the CodePipeline

  1. Navigate to the CodePipeline Console → Create Pipeline.
  2. Pipeline Settings:
    • Pipeline Name: example-deployment-pipeline.
    • Role: Use an existing service role or create a new one.
  3. Source Stage:
    • Provider: Select GitHub.
    • Repository: Choose your repository.
    • Branch: Specify the branch to trigger the pipeline.
  4. Build Stage:
    • Provider: Select CodeBuild.
    • Project: Choose the build project created earlier.
  5. Deploy Stage:
    • Provider: Select AWS CodeDeploy.
    • Deployment Group: Set up a CodeDeploy application and group targeting your EC2 instance.

Step 5: Deploy the Application

  1. Launch the Pipeline:
    • Click Release Change in the CodePipeline console to trigger the pipeline.
  2. Monitor the Stages:
    • Track progress through Source, Build, and Deploy stages in the visual pipeline interface.
  3. Verify Deployment:
    • Access your EC2 instance via its public IP or domain to confirm the application is running.

Step 6: Automate with Webhooks

Enable webhooks in your GitHub repository to automatically trigger the pipeline when a new commit is pushed to the specified branch.

Best Practices for AWS CodePipeline

  1. Use Multiple Environments: Set up separate pipelines for development, staging, and production.
  2. Add Tests: Integrate automated tests in the build stage to ensure code quality.
  3. Monitor and Debug: Use CloudWatch Logs for detailed insights into pipeline execution and debugging.
  4. Secure Artifacts: Use S3 bucket policies and encryption for pipeline artifacts.

Conclusion

AWS CodePipeline simplifies CI/CD by automating the workflow from code commit to deployment. In this example, we demonstrated how to create a pipeline that pulls code from GitHub, builds it using CodeBuild, and deploys it to an EC2 instance using CodeDeploy. By following this approach, you can streamline your application delivery process and ensure fast, reliable deployments.