Overview
Section 5 · Git & CI/CD — Git, the GitHub CLI, workflows, the checks that matter, hardening, releases and deploys.
13 lessons in two parts. Part 1: 1: git, gh, and your first pipeline. Part 2: 2: gates, secrets, releases, troubleshooting.
By the end of this section you can¶
- Branch, commit, push and open a reviewed pull request with the GitHub CLI.
- Write a workflow file that lints, tests and fails loudly on every pull request.
- Choose the checks worth their CI minutes, and know what each one catches.
- Protect the main branch, manage secrets, harden third-party actions, and release deliberately.
Git & CI/CD with gh (Part 1: git, gh, and your first pipeline)¶
Git Essentials For The AI Era¶
beginner · ~20 min — An AI coding agent can rewrite forty files in ninety seconds. That speed is only safe because of one boring tool: git.
GitHub CLI Quickstart¶
beginner · ~15 min — Every task that sends you to a browser tab breaks your flow. The GitHub CLI (gh) puts issues, pull requests, and CI runs in the same terminal where you already work.
Branching And Pull Requests¶
beginner · ~15 min — A branch plus a pull request costs you two minutes and buys four things: a diff someone else can review, a place for CI to run before the code reaches main, a record you can point to when something breaks, and a clean way to abandon work that turned out wrong.
Writing GitHub Actions¶
beginner · ~20 min — CI/CD means continuous integration and continuous delivery: a machine that runs your checks on every change so a broken commit never reaches main by accident.
Your First CI Pipeline¶
beginner · ~20 min — A pipeline that runs your checks but never fails is worse than no pipeline, because it teaches you to trust a green tick that means nothing.
Checks That Actually Matter¶
intermediate · ~20 min — A pipeline can hold ten checks and still miss the bug that costs you a weekend.
Fast And Reliable Checks¶
intermediate · ~18 min — A pipeline that takes twenty minutes will be bypassed. People stop waiting, merge on a hunch, and the checks become theatre. Speed is what keeps the gate in the loop.
Git & CI/CD with gh (Part 2: gates, secrets, releases, troubleshooting)¶
Branch Protection And Required Checks¶
intermediate · ~15 min — A workflow file that nothing enforces is a suggestion.
Secrets In CI¶
intermediate · ~15 min — Your pipeline needs credentials: a database URL to run migrations, a deploy token, an API key for an integration test.
Hardening GitHub Actions¶
advanced · ~20 min — A workflow file is code that runs with your repository's credentials, on a machine that can reach your secrets.
Releases, Tags And Versioning¶
intermediate · ~15 min — A commit hash is a perfect identifier and a terrible announcement. Nobody says "we shipped 4f9c2ab".
Deployment Pipelines¶
advanced · ~20 min — A release workflow that builds one artefact does not yet tell you how it reaches users.
CI Troubleshooting¶
beginner · ~15 min — A red pipeline is not a wall, it is a message: something you cannot yet see would have broken for a user.
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