Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) is modern-day practices to continuously improve the software by adding new feature and for that we have to change the existing files and deploy them. Doing it manually every time may consume a lot of developer’s time, so to make the process more simple and reliable developers use CI/CD tools that are much more efficient and make the whole process automated. As a software Engineer or beginner in development, you should know the best CI/CD tools.
As you go deep into software development, you will ultimately need these tools to save time and release a more reliable and stable version of your software application with proper automated testing and deploying processes. But before knowing the tools let’s first under what exactly is CI and CD.
What is CI/CD?
CI and CD stand for continuous Integration and are continuous Deployment/Delivery which is used in the process of building efficient software. These are the approaches that are used to integrate the code changes into a shared repository (Continuous Integration) while automating the testing and deployment process to the staging and production environment (Continuous Delivery). These approaches are used to provide a more reliable and stable version of a software application by testing it before release to end-users with the help of CI/CD Tools.
To learn more about CI/CD, refer to this article- Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery
Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery are not only necessary to build a great application but also help the business in meeting its various requirements, from automating tasks to receiving quick feedback, so that developers can improve the application accordingly. They are both combined known as continuous software development. In this process of developing efficient applications, developers have created some CI/CS Tools that help the software engineers test the software application effectively. Here are some of the best CI/CD tools that you should know
1. Jenkins
Jenkins is one of the most popular and effective CI/CD tools which is an open-source automation server. It provides several functionalities like automation testing, deploying code changes for smooth collaboration among the teams of product development, and faster identification of issues. It has a feature “Pipeline as Code” which allows developers to manage their deployment pipelines programmatically. It has a master-slave architecture which is very useful in their efficient resource usage. It also has a large community support to help new developers. To enhance the quality of software and increase the speed of delivery of applications, Jenkins has played a very important role.
To learn more, refer to – Jenkins
Features:
- Extensibility with Plugins
- Pipeline as Code
- Distributed Builds
2. Travis CI
For the automation process of building, testing, and deploying software applications there are various CI/CD tools in the market but among those Travis CI is one of the most popular and useful tools that software developers prefer over other tools due to its crucial role in the software development lifecycle by checking the reliability and quality of code changes before integrating into the production codebase. Automatic building and testing of code during push commands and support for various languages and frameworks are some of the important factors that differentiate these CI/CD tools from the others. All of its feature ensures smooth development workflows and faster feedback, so Travis CI enables collaboration decrease integration issues, and help the developers build more high-quality software applications.
To learn more, refer to – Travis CI
Features:
- GitHub Integration
- Build Matrix
- Caching Dependencies
3. GitLab
GitLab is a web-based platform that provides multiple tools and functionalities to developers to provide help in the process of the software development lifecycle. It is one of the most common CI/CD tools that is used by the developers which provide several useful functionalities like collaborative project management, continuous integration and continuous deployment pipelines, code review, and issue tracking with the help of version control through Git repositories. GitLab allows development teams to manage the collaborative project in real-time and track progress within an integrated environment. It is very flexible for various development workflows and is available in both private servers and as a cloud-hosted service.
To learn more, refer to – GitLab
Features
- Integrated DevOps Platform
- Container Registry and Kubernetes Integration
- Built-in Issue Tracking and Collaboration
4. Docker
Docker is a software platform that is used in the process of software development by providing special functionalities such as building, testing, and deploying software applications. Docker’s libraries, system tools, code, and runtime are stored in standard units called containers. The software that hosts the container is known as Docker Engine. It offers both free and premium services that completely depend on the use case. To use the resources efficiently, Docker uses OS-level virtualization. The application and its dependencies can be packaged into a portable format that can run on any system that supports Docker.
To learn more, refer to – Docker
Features
- Containerization Technology
- Image-Based Deployment
- Isolation and Resource Efficiency
5. TeamCity
One of the widely used CI/CD server tools is TeamCity which is developed by JetBrains. Since it is a CI/CD tool then definitely is used for the automation of building, testing, and deploying software applications. And one of the most helpful parts of it is that TeamCity has a very user-friendly web interface, It can easily integrate with popular version control systems like Git and Subversion, also integrate with cloud platforms, and has the ability to trigger builds based on code commits. Projects of different sizes and complexities can easily use these tools due to their flexibility and extensibility.
To learn more, refer to – TeamCity
Features
- Cross-Platform Compatibility
- Build Chains and Dependencies
- Advanced Build and Deployment Workflows
6. Semaphore
Semaphore is one of the fastest-growing CI/CD tools for DevOps in the software industry that allows you to deploy various software updates every day on platforms like Linux, Android, and macOS with no barriers. Semaphore allow teams to deploy applications through customizable pipelines triggered by code changes. It also automates the process of build, testing, and deploying the software application process with a continuous feedback loop to improve the application continuously to make it a stable and reliable application. This CI/CD tool is an example of an amazing tool that allows an end-to-end development process.
Features
- YAML-Based Configuration
- Parallel and Distributed Testing
- Continuous Delivery Pipelines
7. Circle CI
When it comes to using cloud-based CI/CD tools that automate and optimize the software development lifecycle, Circle CI is the very first tool that developers prioritize. CircleCI supports container-based builds for a consistent environment with parallel and distributed testing and an advanced caching mechanism to speed up build times. It also supports multiple programming languages and frameworks, allowing development teams to customize their workflows on the cloud platform itself. CircleCI helps in debugging early in the development process and ensures that the code quality is good to make reliable software products.
Features
- Orbs for Reusable Configuration
- Workspaces for Data Sharing
- Cloud-Based and Self-Hosted Option
8. Bamboo
Bamboo is a continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) tool which is developed by Atlassian. The purpose behind the Bamboo tools is to make the software development process very simple by automating the various stages such as building, testing, and deploying the code changes. Development teams can create pipelines that automatically trigger code commits when necessary and help in integration and collaboration. Bamboo helps product development teams with faster feedback loops and improves their code quality to make stable releases of software applications with the help of automated CI/CD pipelines.
Features
- Integration with Atlassian Ecosystem
- Docker and Container Support
- JIRA Integration and Release Management
9. Buddy
Buddy is a CI/CD tool and is one of the modern and user-friendly platforms to automate software development workflows. To set up a complex workflow, Buddy provides us with a visual pipeline builder that makes it easy to visualize the workflow and it also has built-in Docker support for containerized builds and deployments. It is also integrated with various cloud providers. It is very suitable for every development team size due to its flexible and intuitive interface and extensive features.
Features
- Pipeline as Code
- Deployment Automation
- Serverless Actions
10. Azure DevOps Server
Azure DevOps server is a CI/CD tool which is created by Microsoft that provides various functionalities such as version control, reporting, requirements management, project management, testing, and several other capabilities. It was formerly known as Team Foundation Server (TFS). It is a cloud-based service that is much more suitable for an organization that requires physical hosting due to security, compliance, or any other reasons. Since it is a product of Microsoft, it integrates well with other Microsoft products as well. It supports the entire software development lifecycle by providing tools for version control, agile planning, and CI/CD.
To learn more, refer to – Azure DevOps server
Features
- Customizable Work Items and Boards
- Build and Release Pipelines
- Reporting and Analytics
11. Bitrise
Bitrise is one of the top cloud-based CI/CD tool that is primarily used for the complete automation process of mobile-first software. Since it is a clud-based software tool, so there is no need to spend more on the physical infrastructure and hardware. Bitrise support all the major programming language used in mobile app development. Bitrise works very smoothly with the public, private, and ad-hoc Git services. With it’s parallel and distributed builds, developers can increase their speed of completing the process by splitting tasks across multiple agents or threads.
Features
- Mobile-centric Automation
- Visual Workflow Editor
- Parallel and Distributed Builds
12. CodeShip
CodeShip is a CI/CD tool by CloudBees that helps the developers to automate the complete process of application development, from building to deployment. CodeShip has multiple helpful features like integration with version control systems like GitHub and Bitbucket, container support and notification alert. It has very user-friendly interface, and with its focus on simplicity, CodeShip aims to simplify the development process and increase the efficiency in software development lifecycle. It also has basic and pro paid versions, that you can use according to your specific requirements.
Features
- Multi-Environment Deployment
- Notification and Alerts
- Project Lifecycle Management
13. Spinnaker
Spinnaker is a free and open-source, multi-cloud continuous delivery software platform. It was originally developed by the engineers of Netflix and further extended many features by Google. It is designed to work with other software that help in the process of software development such as Kubernetes. Since it is a tool that helps in the lifecycle of software development, it definitely provides functionalities such as automating system tests, managing rollouts, and triggering pipelines.
Features
- Multi-Cloud Deployment
- Built-in Rollback and Rollforward
- Automated Canary Analysis
14. Buildbot
Buildbot is an open-source CI/CD tool that focuses on the automation of complex testing and application deployment processes. It is based on Python. It started with a lightweight alternative to the Mozilla project’s Tinderbox, and now it is used by several others like Python, WebKit, and ReactOS. Buildbot follows a more decentralized and configurable architecture that allows users to define their build pipelines using scripts that are based on Python. Buildbots are generally suitable for those who need deep customizability and have specific requirements in their CI/CD workflows.
Features
- Highly Customizable
- Distributed Builds
- Real-time Monitoring and Logging
15. Wrecker
Wrecker is a CI/CD platform that is based on Docker that helps software developers build and deploy their software applications and microservices. It was acquired by Oracle. Wrecker is totally based on the concepts of Pipeline that automatically executes the code by taking it from the program. It Provides programmatic access to information about applications, builds, and deploys that speed up the development process. It triggers the pipelines in case any new code is committed and can be integrated with Git and other popular notification systems.
Features
- Git Integrations with various platforms
- Debug and test pipelines before deploying
Conclusion
Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment is an integral part of the software development process and helps the development teams in building reliable and continuously evolving software with continuous feedback loops. It is necessary to debug the code and receive the feedback after better testing and at the same time deploy the updates when ready, so to automate these processes, developers have built these CI/CD tools. Each tool has its unique features and functionalities which are capable of doing different actions according to the requirements of the team and project. Also, you can customize your specific requirements with different tools but for more premium features, you have to pay extra for it.
1. What are the top CI/CD tools?
These are some of the top CI/CD tools that are currently trending among developers:
1. JenKins
2. Docker
3. GitLab
4. Microsoft Azure
5. Wrecker
2. Who uses CI/CD Tools?
DevOps engineers use CI/CD tools such as Jenkins and GitLab to automate the process of Software Development.
3. What is CI/CD, and why is it important in software development?
CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (or Continuous Delivery). It automate and streamline the process of building, testing, and deploying code changes to production environments in software development
4. How to choose the right CI/CD tool for my project?
Choosing the right CI/CD tool for project is depend upon various factor such as project requirement, existing tool, and end goal of project etc.
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