Advanced CI/CD with Multi-Stage Pipelines

Single-stage pipelines are limited. Multi-stage pipelines separate build, test, and deploy stages, improving reliability, observability, and rollback capabilities.

Why Multi-Stage Pipelines Matter

  • Isolation: Errors in one stage don’t impact others
  • Better Testing: Run unit, integration, and E2E tests in dedicated stages
  • Conditional Deployments: Deploy only if all stages succeed
  • Parallelization: Run multiple tests concurrently

Example Workflow

  1. Build Stage: Compile code, lint, and run unit tests
  2. Test Stage: Integration and E2E tests
  3. Staging Deployment: Deploy to staging if tests pass
  4. Approval Gate: Manual or automated approval before production
  5. Production Deployment: Deploy with rollback options

Visual Diagram

flowchart TD A[Build Stage] --> B[Test Stage] B --> C[Staging Deployment] C --> D[Approval Gate] D --> E[Production Deployment] E --> F[Monitor & Rollback if Needed]

GitHub Actions Multi-Stage Example

name: Multi-Stage CI/CD

on:
  push:
    branches: [develop, main]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Build
        run: npm run build

  test:
    needs: build
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - name: Run Tests
        run: npm test

  deploy-staging:
    needs: test
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Deploy Staging
        run: ./deploy-staging.sh

  approval:
    needs: deploy-staging
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Wait for Approval
        uses: hmarr/auto-approve-action@v2

  deploy-production:
    needs: approval
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Deploy Production
        run: ./deploy-production.sh

Best Practices

  • Use clear dependencies between stages (needs)
  • Split heavy pipelines to parallelize tests
  • Include rollback steps in production stage
  • Notify teams at each stage for visibility

Common Pitfalls

  • Combining too many tasks in one stage
  • Ignoring test failures due to stage dependencies
  • Deploying without monitoring post-production

Conclusion

Multi-stage pipelines enhance pipeline reliability, visibility, and control, enabling DevOps teams to release faster while minimizing risk.