Optimizing CI/CD with AWS CodePipeline: A DevOps Engineer's Basic Guide By: Abayomi - George David

Greetings!

Today, we're delving deeper into our ongoing discussion from our previous publication, where we delved into Code Pipeline on AWS. In our last release, we covered Code Pipeline's core aspects, its advantages, and how to effectively utilize it on AWS.

In this segment, our focus shifts towards integrating AWS Code Build with Code Pipeline for Build Actions, aiming to automate the creation of code artifacts. This article adopts a hands-on approach to explore the process.

Here’s an overview of the process: Understanding AWS Code Build:

? AWS Code Build is a fully managed continuous integration service that

compiles source code, runs tests, and produces software packages that are

ready to deploy. It eliminates the need to provision, manage, and scale your

own build servers.

Getting Started:

? Before you can use AWS Code Build, ensure you have an AWS account and

the necessary permissions to create and manage Code Build projects.

Creating a Code Build Project:

? In the AWS Management Console, navigate to the Code Build service and

click on "Create build project."

? Define the project settings such as project name, source provider (e.g., AWS

Code Commit, GitHub, Bitbucket), and source repository details. Configuring Build Specifications: Build specifications are a crucial part of AWS Code Build projects. They are defined in a file named buildspec.yml, which is typically placed in the root directory of your source code repository.

The buildspec.yml file provides a structured way to specify the build commands, phases, environment variables, artifacts to be produced, and other configurations required for your build process.

The buildspec.yml file is written in YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) format, which is human-readable and easy to understand.

Here's an example of a basic buildspec.yml file structure:

version: 0.2

phases:

install:commands: -echo "Install phase"

build:

commands:

-

echo "Build phase"

post_build:

commands:

-

echo "Post

-

build phase"

artifacts:

files:

-

'**/*'

The version’key specifies the version of the build specification format. Version 0.2 is the latest as of now and provides more features compared to earlier versions.

? The‘ phases’ section defines the different phases of the build process, such as

‘

install’

,

‘

build’

, and

‘post_build’.

Each phase can have one or more commands to be executed.

? The ‘artifacts’ section specifies the files or directories to be packaged as build

artifacts after a successful build.

? In AWS Code Build's buildspec.yaml file, /*pattern is used within the artifacts section to specify the files or directories to be included as build artifacts.

'**'is a wildcard that matches any number of directories and subdirectories recursively.

'*'is a wildcard that matches any file or directory name.

So, when '**/*' is used in the artifacts section of the buildspec.yml file the way it was used in the example above, it instructs AWS CodeBuild to include all files and directories, recursively, located in the build environment's working directory as part of the build artifacts. This is a common pattern when you want to package all build output, including nested directories and their contents, into the final artifact that CodeBuild

produces.

For example, if your build process generates compiled binaries, documentation

files, configuration files, and other artifacts in various subdirectories within the working directory, using '**/*'ensures that all these files and directories are included in the build artifacts produced by CodeBuild. This is especially useful for capturing a comprehensive snapshot of the build output for deployment or further processing.

Build Phases : AWS CodeBuild supports several build phases, and you can define commands to

be executed in each phase based on your requirements:

? Install: This phase typically includes commands to install dependencies or set up

the build environment.

? Pre_build: Commands in this phase are executed before the actual build process

starts.

? Build: This is where the main build commands, such as compilation, testing, and code generation, are executed.

? Post_build: Commands in this phase are executed after the build process completes, such as packaging artifacts or running additional checks. Commands and Environment Variables

Within each build phase, you can specify commands that CodeBuild should run.

These commands can be shell commands, scripts, or any executable actions required for your build.

‘Environment variables’ can be defined at the build project level in the AWS Code Build console or in the buildspec.yml file itself. They are accessible to your build commandsand can be used to pass parameters or sensitive information securely.

Advanced Configurations

Besides basic build phases, commands, and environment variables, ‘buildspec.yml supports advanced configurations such as caching dependencies, specifying build timeouts, customizing artifacts, defining privileged modes for Docker builds, and more.

You can also include conditional logic, variables, and reusable commands/functions within your buildspec.yml’ file to make your build process more dynamic and efficient.

Validation and Execution:

? Before running a build in AWS Code Build, the buildspec.yml’ file is validated to ensure correct syntax and configuration.

? Once validated, Code Build executes the build according to the instructions specified in the buildspec.yml’ file, generating build logs and artifacts.

In conclusion, optimizing CI/CD with AWS Code Pipeline involves integrating AWS Code Build for Build Actions to automate the building of code artifacts. This process entails understanding AWS Code Build, creating a Code Build project, and configuring build specifications using a buildspec.yml file. By leveraging AWS Code Build's build phases, commands, environment variables, and advanced configurations, DevOps engineers can streamline the build process, enhance efficiency, and ensure consistent, reliable software deployment. Validating and executing the buildspec.yml file in AWS Code Build ensures correct syntax and configuration, leading to successful CI/CD workflows on AWS.