My First Time Setting Up a Pipeline

Setting up my first CI/CD pipeline was a mix of excitement and confusion. I’d written automation tests locally, but getting them to run automatically on every commit felt like a huge leap.

I started with GitHub Actions because it’s free, well-documented, and integrates nicely with GitHub repos. But at first, my pipeline was a mess. Tests failed mysteriously, dependencies were missing, and the logs were hard to decipher.

It took a lot of trial and error. I learned how to write workflow files in YAML, how to install dependencies, and how to configure the environment for headless browser testing. I also discovered the importance of caching dependencies to speed up pipeline runs.

Gradually, my tests began passing consistently, and the pipeline started sending me email notifications when something broke. That was a major milestone.

Having this automated feedback loop made me feel like my automation work had leveled up. I no longer had to manually run tests or worry about changes breaking the build without me noticing.

Since then, CI/CD pipelines have become a standard part of my workflow. They give me peace of mind and help deliver quality code faster.

If you’re new to pipelines, my advice is to start simple, be patient, and learn as you go. The payoff is absolutely worth it.