When GitHub Actions Sync with OpenShift Pipelines: CI/CD

“Automation is not a luxury — it’s the lifeline of modern DevOps.”

Modern software delivery thrives on automation — not just for speed, but for consistency, scalability, and confidence.
From GitHub Actions (for code testing and validation) to OpenShift Pipelines (for containerized deployment), this post takes you through a full CI/CD journey — from commit to cluster.

---

🧩 Part 1 — Continuous Integration with GitHub Actions

Before deploying code, we must ensure it’s clean, tested, and reliable.
GitHub Actions provides an elegant way to automate these checks with minimal setup.
Actual Github Repository: https://github.com/barbaria888/ci-cd-final-project

---

⚙️ Step 1: Set Up Your Workflow

Create a file at .github/workflows/workflow.yml and define your CI pipeline:

name: CI workflow
on:
  push:
    branches: [ "main" ]
  pull_request:
    branches: [ "main" ]

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    container: python:3.9-slim

    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v3

✅ This ensures the latest version of your repository is fetched on every commit or pull request.

---

⚙️ Step 2: Install Dependencies

Install your Python dependencies to prepare for linting and testing:

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: |
          python -m pip install --upgrade pip
          pip install -r requirements.txt

💡 Use pip3 if you encounter permission issues.

---

⚙️ Step 3: Lint the Code with Flake8

Catch style violations, undefined variables, and syntax issues:

      - name: Lint with flake8
        run: |
          flake8 service --count --select=E9,F63,F7,F82 --show-source --statistics
          flake8 service --count --max-complexity=10 --max-line-length=127 --statistics

Clean, consistent code saves hours during review and debugging.

---

⚙️ Step 4: Test Code Coverage with Nose

Run automated unit tests to ensure nothing breaks:

      - name: Run unit tests with nose
        run: nosetests -v --with-spec --spec-color --with-coverage --cover-package=app

If tests pass — your CI pipeline gives the green light for deployment.

---

⚙️ Step 5: Commit and Push

git add .
git commit -m "Added CI workflow"
git push origin main

---

🧠 Why GitHub Actions Matters

This is your Continuous Integration (CI) foundation — ensuring that every code change is validated, linted, and tested before reaching production.
Now, let’s extend this into Continuous Deployment (CD) using OpenShift Pipelines.

---

🌍 Part 2 — Continuous Deployment with OpenShift Pipelines (Tekton)

Once your code passes all CI checks, it’s time to build, containerize, and deploy automatically.
That’s where OpenShift Pipelines, powered by Tekton, comes in.

---

🧩 Prerequisites

Ensure Tekton tasks installed and access to an OpenShift cluster.

Create a tasks.yaml file for defining your reusable tasks.

---

🧹 Task 1: Cleanup Task

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1beta1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: cleanup
spec:
  description: Cleans up workspace before a new run.
  workspaces:
    - name: source
  steps:
    - name: remove
      image: alpine:3
      script: |
        #!/usr/bin/env sh
        set -eu
        echo "Cleaning workspace..."
        rm -rf $(workspaces.source.path)/*

---

🧪 Task 2: Nose Unit Test Task

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1beta1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: nose
spec:
  workspaces:
    - name: source
  params:
    - name: args
      default: "-v"
  steps:
    - name: nosetests
      image: python:3.9-slim
      workingDir: $(workspaces.source.path)
      script: |
        #!/bin/bash
        set -e
        python -m pip install --upgrade pip wheel
        pip install -r requirements.txt
        nosetests $(params.args)

Apply the tasks:

kubectl apply -f tasks.yaml

---

🗄 Step 1: Create a Persistent Volume Claim (PVC)

Create a PVC in OpenShift → Storage → PersistentVolumeClaims
Use:

• Name: oc-lab-pvc

• Size: 1Gi

  

This workspace will persist data between Tekton tasks.

---

🔧 Step 2: Build Your Pipeline

In Adminstrator Perspective → Pipelines → Create Pipeline
Name it ci-cd-pipeline, add a workspace called output, and use the Pipeline Builder.

---

🧱 Step 3: Add Tasks Sequentially

1. Cleanup — wipes the workspace.

2. git-clone — fetches source code.

3. flake8 — lints your application.

4. nose — runs Python unit tests.

5. buildah — builds your container image.

6. openshift-client — deploys the app.

---

Install the task from Tekton Hub if missing:

tkn hub install task git-clone

---

🧹 Add Linting with Flake8

If Flake8 isn’t installed:

tkn hub install task flake8

Then attach it to the pipeline after git-clone.

---

🧪 Add Nose Unit Tests

Link the nose task created earlier, using the same workspace output.

---

🏗 Build with Buildah

After testing, add the buildah task:

This builds and pushes your container image to the registry.

---

🚀 Deploy with OpenShift Client

Add the final task using the openshift-client:

Finally the tasks should look like the image above

---

✅ Validate the Deployment

Open Topology → Click your Pods→ Logs tab.
You should see:

Your CI/CD flow is now live — end-to-end automation achieved.

---

🎯 Final Thoughts

You just built a complete CI/CD system combining:

This architecture powers everything from startups to global enterprises, providing speed, safety, and scalability across hybrid clouds.

⚙️ GitHub Actions validates your ideas. OpenShift Pipelines turns them into reality.

---

---