CI/CD Environment in Cat.ly

The CI/CD approach to developing Cat.ly involves these Catalyst services and external integrations:

1. Github
   We will use a GitHub repository to host the Cat.ly application, and to enable its continuous integration with the Travis CI system.

   We will push Cat.ly’s code to this repo directly in this setup. We will not deploy Cat.ly to the Catalyst remote console additionally. The Travis CI system will automatically host the application for us in the Catalyst console, after testing and building it.

2. Travis CI
   Travis CI is a continuous integration and deployment service that is used to test and build software based on the steps you define. The CI system automates and streamlines the entire process, allowing you to easily detect and rectify errors in the code, and identify the specific changes in it that caused the errors.

   We will sign up for Travis CI with the GitHub account in this setup. This will enable Travis CI to automatically build and test Cat.ly’s code every time it is updated in the Git repository. The travis.yml file will contain build and test specifications.

3. Catalyst CLI
   Travis CI remotely executes Catalyst CLI commands defined in travis.yml to test and build the application. These CLI sessions are validated using Catalyst CLI tokens. A Catalyst CLI token acts as an authenticating factor for a particular user account and allows you to map your remote command executions to the project active in your local CLI.

   We will generate a CLI token and configure it in Travis CI. Travis will use it to perform CLI activities remotely without requiring you to have an active login session in the CLI.

Steps Involved in Implementing CI/CD in Cat.ly

Before you implement CI/CD in Cat.ly, follow the steps specified in Cat.ly’s primary tutorial through to Step 11: Configure Catalyst Scripts to code the application.

After configuring its Advanced I/O function, client, and the catalyst.json file, return to this tutorial for the CI/CD method of building and deploying the application.

Let’s now quickly go through the steps involved in implementing CI/CD in Cat.ly:

1. Set up the travis.yml file containing the build and test specifications and include it in Cat.ly’s project directory
2. Create a Git repository to host Cat.ly’s source files
3. Sign up with Travis CI using your GitHub account and link the Git repo containing Cat.ly’s code with Travis
4. Generate a Catalyst CLI token and add it as an environment variable in Travis CI
5. Commit and push Cat.ly’s code from the local project directory to the Git repository using your system’s terminal
6. Verify the success or failure of the automatic Travis CI build that was triggered by the updates made in the Git repository and test the deployed application

We will now discuss these in detail and implement the CI/CD setup.