April 2019 Summaries

Codefresh has introduced a new pipeline creator and editor centered around the concept of "Projects" to improve the organization and management of pipelines, offering a flexible and centralized approach for configuration and access control. Projects serve as a top-level construct, allowing pipelines to be grouped similarly to how developers use projects for source organization, with the ability to tag projects for easier management. The new UI in Codefresh mirrors the layout of integrated development environments, enhancing usability for IT professionals. Existing pipelines from Git repositories have been migrated to the project structure, allowing seamless integration and management of detached pipelines, while maintaining compatibility with the previous repository-focused view. The update also requires an explicit Git clone step for new pipelines, enhancing flexibility by allowing dynamic cloning based on pipeline triggers. Codefresh users can now easily enable or disable triggers without deletion, thanks to a toggle feature. The transition from the repository to the project view is designed to be gradual with no rush, providing users ample time to explore and adopt the new features while maintaining existing workflows. Additionally, improvements to the built-in pipeline editor facilitate the resolution of YAML formatting errors, enhancing the ease of pipeline editing and debugging.

AWS CodeCommit, a managed source control service by Amazon, can be integrated into a Codefresh pipeline through a series of steps involving AWS Lambda functions. The process begins with setting up a Codefresh pipeline that is not directly tied to a repository, followed by creating AWS Lambda functions to handle HTTP requests using the Codefresh API. This setup includes configuring necessary environment variables such as repository details and authentication keys. The Lambda function is then triggered by changes in the CodeCommit repository, which subsequently initiates the Codefresh pipeline. Upon committing changes to the CodeCommit repository, the configured Lambda function activates, sending an API request to Codefresh to start the build process. The pipeline clones the repository and can be extended to perform various tasks such as building applications, running tests, and deploying updates.

The text explores three tools—Draft, Skaffold, and Garden—designed to aid developers in deploying, testing, and managing applications on local Kubernetes clusters. Draft, developed by Microsoft, simplifies the deployment process by auto-generating necessary configuration files and automatically synchronizing code changes with the cluster, making it ideal for beginners. Skaffold, from Google, offers a more flexible approach by functioning as a mini CI/CD tool, supporting various integrations and working with plain Kubernetes manifests. Garden introduces a unique concept of an application graph to manage dependencies, offering features beyond local deployments, such as hot deployments and dependency tracking, making it a more advanced option. These tools aim to enhance developer productivity by streamlining the local development workflow and providing rapid feedback loops.

Codefresh is a cloud-agnostic platform that supports all major cloud providers for Git operations and Kubernetes clusters, distinguishing it from solutions tied to a single provider. It has introduced native integration with Azure DevOps Git repositories, allowing users to connect their Azure Git Repositories and create CI/CD pipelines seamlessly. This addition complements Codefresh's existing support for major Git providers like GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket, addressing the demand from customers using Azure for Git storage. The integration process involves creating a personal access token on Azure and using it to connect the Azure Git repository to Codefresh, enabling users to create customized pipelines.

Codefresh has introduced a highly requested feature allowing parallel steps in its CI/CD pipelines, offering both a basic and an advanced parallel mode. The basic mode simplifies the process by enabling existing steps in a serial pipeline to be split into parallel steps, applicable to any type of step, such as parallel quality scanning or deployments. The advanced mode is designed for organizations needing more complex parallel configurations, allowing for parallel sub-flows within a single pipeline with dependency-based execution. This advanced setup permits the creation of intricate pipeline graphs with multiple starting and ending steps, accommodating a wide variety of parallel scenarios. The feature enhances the flexibility and efficiency of Codefresh pipelines, making it possible to create fan-in-fan-out configurations, and the platform encourages users to explore these functionalities by creating a free account.

In a recent webinar, Erik Osterman from Cloud Posse demonstrated the integration of Terraform and GitOps using Codefresh to efficiently build and deploy applications, highlighting Cloud Posse's expertise with over 120 developed Terraform modules. The session emphasized the importance of automation and security in streamlining processes for engineers, while also promoting the opportunity for individuals to enhance their GitOps skills and credibility through a GitOps Certification.