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DevOps / GitLab CI Basics Interview Questions

What is GitLab CI/CD and what problem does it solve?

GitLab CI/CD is a built-in automation system within GitLab that automatically builds, tests, and deploys code every time a developer pushes changes to a repository. It eliminates the need for separate CI tools like Jenkins by providing pipelines as a native GitLab feature.

The problems it solves:

  • Manual errors - human steps in build/deploy processes are replaced with scripted automation
  • Slow feedback - developers learn about broken code minutes after pushing, not hours later
  • Integration debt - frequent small merges catch conflicts early instead of painful big-bang integrations
  • Inconsistency - every pipeline run uses the same defined environment and steps
CI vs CD
TermFull nameWhat it does
CIContinuous IntegrationAuto-build and test every code change
CDContinuous DeliveryAuto-prepare release-ready artifacts after CI passes
CDContinuous DeploymentAuto-deploy all the way to production after CI passes

Everything is configured in a single YAML file (.gitlab-ci.yml) committed alongside the code, making pipeline configuration version-controlled and auditable.

What file do you create to define a GitLab CI/CD pipeline?
What does Continuous Integration (CI) automate?

More Related questions...

What is GitLab CI/CD and what problem does it solve? What is the.gitlab-ci.yml file and where must it be placed? What is a GitLab CI/CD pipeline? What are stages in GitLab CI/CD and how do you define them? What is a CI/CD job in GitLab and what are the required keywords? What is a GitLab Runner and what types are available? What is the 'script', 'before_script', and 'after_script' keywords and how do they differ? How do you use the 'image' keyword to specify a Docker environment for a job? What are GitLab CI/CD artifacts and how do you use them? What is the difference between cache and artifacts in GitLab CI? What are GitLab CI/CD variables and what types are available? What are the most important predefined CI/CD variables in GitLab? What are 'rules' in GitLab CI/CD and how do they control when jobs run? What is the difference between 'only/except' and 'rules' in GitLab CI? What is the 'needs' keyword in GitLab CI/CD and what problem does it solve? What is the 'workflow' keyword in GitLab CI and how does it control pipeline creation? What is the 'extends' keyword and how does it enable job templates? What is the 'include' keyword and how do you share CI configuration across projects? What are GitLab environments and how do you define them in CI/CD? What are manual jobs in GitLab CI/CD and how do you configure them? What is the 'allow_failure' keyword and how does it affect pipeline status? How does parallel job execution work in GitLab CI/CD? What are GitLab CI/CD scheduled pipelines and how do you set them up? What are pipeline triggers and how can a pipeline be started without a git push? What is the 'retry' keyword and how do you handle flaky tests in GitLab CI? What is the 'timeout' keyword in GitLab CI and what are the defaults? What is the GitLab Container Registry and how do you use it in CI/CD pipelines? What are 'services' in GitLab CI/CD and how do you use them? What is the 'default' keyword in GitLab CI and how does it reduce duplication? What are YAML anchors and aliases in GitLab CI and how do they reduce duplication? What is a merge request pipeline in GitLab CI and how does it differ from a branch pipeline? What is pipeline caching and how do you configure cache keys? What is the GitLab CI Lint tool and how do you validate a.gitlab-ci.yml file? What are GitLab CI/CD components and how do they differ from includes? What are parent-child pipelines in GitLab CI/CD? What is the 'resource_group' keyword and how does it prevent concurrent deployments? What are GitLab's built-in security scanning templates and how do you enable them? What is the 'GIT_STRATEGY' variable in GitLab CI and what are the options? What are protected branches and protected variables in GitLab CI? What are common reasons a GitLab CI pipeline fails and how do you troubleshoot them?
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