You may have noticed that big companies like Google and Apple launch continuous updates to make their platform better. But how does this happen without any glitches or errors? That’s where delivery pipelines are used. Delivery pipelines are like a bridge in the journey of your newly written code and the code becoming live and reaching the people. The speed and reliability that come with the delivery pipeline is top-notch.Â
Let’s understand in detail what a delivery pipeline is, what its various types are, and why it should be used. Check out this detailed guide for all the information you need on Delivery Pipelines.Â
Delivery Pipelines: OverviewÂ
The delivery pipeline is used to build, test, and run software developments. Today, every company, whether big or small, is using top technology to make updates and launch new software for its users.Â
Therefore, it becomes important to understand the use of delivery pipelines for a faster, smoother, and reliable launch of new developments and updates for your users.Â
Stages of Delivery Pipelines
A delivery pipeline has four main stages, all of which are explained in the simplest form below. Check them out for a better understanding of how the process of the delivery pipeline runs.Â
- Create: In the first stage of the process of delivery pipelines, the developers write and upload the code to a platform like GitHub. GitHub is a shared platform where everyone, including developers, the operations team, and testers, can work together. This also reduces the chances of errors.Â
- Build: The next step is to build the product. For example, the given code was for an application development. So, the system will now take in the code, process it, and will bring it together into a working product.Â
- Test: No software or update can be rolled out for public until and unless it is thoroughly checked by the professionals. In the process of delivery pipelines, automated tests are run to check if everything is fine and smooth in the software or not.Â
- Deploy: If all the tests are passed, the software is delivered. It may be deployed only for testing purposes in the beginning or it may be directly released for the users. This depends on the company and the type of software or update that has been created.Â
The best part about it is that all of the above steps are mostly automated, that is, machine-based.
Read More:Â DevOps Challenges in 2025: Top 10 Important Issues Every Engineer Must Know
What are the types of Delivery Pipelines?
There are mainly three types of Delivery Pipelines. It includes Continuous Integration, Continuous Delivery, and Continuous Deployment.Â
Let’s discuss each type in detail to understand what and why they are used in the process of creating and deploying the software. Have a look at the explanation below.Â
1. Continuous Integration (CI)
Continuous Integration Tools is the first automated step. Whenever a developer makes a change in the code or writes a new code, the system automatically performs tests and checks to ensure nothing is wrong and everything is working fine.Â
It helps to detect errors or bugs in the early stages, which eventually helps in preventing them before they cause any damage to the software or the data.Â
Tools used
.Check out some of the common tools used for Continuous Integration.
- Jenkins
- GitHub ActionsÂ
- GitLab CI, etc.
2. Continuous Delivery (CD)Â
Now, let’s move one step ahead. If no bugs or errors are found and the testing turns out to be successful, then the system prepares the code to be released. Only the first release of a software requires manual approval, rest everything is automated, which saves time and effort.
Tools used
The following tools are used in the process of continuous delivery. Have a look.Â
- AWS CodePipeline
- Azure DevOps, etc.
Read More:Â CI vs CD: Difference Between Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery Explained
3. Continuous Deployment
Now, this is a completely automated step. Even when the developers make a slight change to the code, it is automatically sent for testing by the system. And once the tests are successful, the update is automatically deployed to the users.Â
No human approval is required for this process, which helps in the faster completion of the process with minimal chances of errors. This is used by most of the big tech companies for releasing quick and frequent updates.Â
Tools used
As this is an automated process, the tools used for the continuous deployment are:
- Argo CD
- GitHub ActionsÂ
- Tekton, etc.
Read More:Â CI/CD: 12 Important Benefits of Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery
What are the Benefits of a Delivery Pipeline in DevOps?
Now you know what the delivery pipeline is and how it works. Let’s move on towards understanding why it is so popular among developers. Some of its key benefits include the following. Check them out.Â
1. Frequent updates and Fast releases
The use of delivery pipelines in DevOps helps to release new software fast and allows companies to frequently launch updates as the whole process is automated and does not take much time in testing and detecting errors.Â
2. Saves time
You know what the best part is? It even saves your time. The automatic testing and the detection of errors help you save hours that you would spend searching for one wrong line.Â
3. Improved QualityÂ
Every update or even the minor changes are tested automatically. Therefore, it makes it easier to detect bugs, which improves the quality of the final outcome.Â
4. Less Manual Work
Every developer has tons of tasks to be completed, the automated process reduces the requirement of manual work, which makes the whole process even better.Â
5. Instant feedbackÂ
One of the another best parts is that developers instantly get to know what’s wrong, so they do not have to wait, plus the issues are fixed quickly without destroying anything.
Read More: What Is Continuous Integration? A Powerful 6 Steps Developer’s Guide
6. Enhanced Team CollaborationÂ
Mostly, GitHub is used, which is a shared platform, so everyone, including the developers, testers, and operations team, works together.Â
7. Enhanced reliability
Since the whole process is automated and performed through a machine, the chances of human errors do not find their place.
Delivery Pipeline Diagram: A Clear ExplanationÂ
To understand the complete process of delivery pipelines, you need to understand the concept of CI/CD thoroughly. Have a look at the diagram below, including a step-by-step procedure of the complete process of the delivery pipeline in DevOps.Â
Now, let’s understand it step-by-step.
- To understand it better, let’s suppose you have a developer who writes code now, which leads to the creation of a pull request. After the request is approved, the code is merged with the deployment branch.
Now, the process of Continuous Integration begins.Â
- Build: The code written by developers is converted to a usable file. For example, if the code was for an app development, then the application is made from the code.
- Test: This step is performed to ensure that everything is working fine.Â
- Scan: In the next step, the file is scanned to detect any bugs or errors before it finally reaches the users.
- Upload: Now, if every test is passed and everything turns out to be fine, then the final version is uploaded to the place where it will be stored. It can be a server, cloud, or repository.Â
Now, the next steps are under the process of Continuous Delivery and Deployment. Here, various checks and tests are performed before the final version is made live.
- Development (Dev): After the process of continuous integration is completed, your code will be moved to the dev server for further checks and tests.Â
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT): After the code is passed from the dev server, it is moved further for the UAT. Here, in this step, real users test the product and approve it.
- Production (Prod): After the deployment product passes the UAT, the prod deployment begins. This is the final version that reaches the users. It must be stable and error-free.Â
This marks the completion of the one deployment cycle.Â
Read More:Â Why DevOps? Understanding the Shift from Traditional SDLC to Modern Software Delivery
Important: One of the key points that you may remember is that the process of Continuous Delivery requires a manual approval, whereas the process of Continuous Deployment is automatic and thus there is no need of any human approval.
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Delivery Pipelines In DevOps FAQs
Q1. What is a delivery pipeline?
Ans: A delivery pipeline is a tool used for creating, testing, and delivering code. It helps to ensure faster and reliable software delivery. It is an automated process that’s why it saves time, provides better quality, and is more reliable, as the automation reduces the chances of errors.
Q2. What is the difference between Delivery Pipeline and DevOps?
Ans: Delivery Pipelines are a part of DevOps. DevOps is an approach that combines Development and Operations for delivering software that is faster and better, whereas the delivery pipeline is an automation tool within DevOps for building, testing, and deploying or delivering code.
Q3. What are the tools used for delivery pipelines?
Ans: Some of the popular tools used for delivery pipelines are: GitHub Actions, GitLab CI/CD, CircleCI, AWS Code Pipeline, Jenkins, Azure DevOps, etc.
Q4. What is the difference between CI and CD?
Ans: CI refers to Continuous Integration, whereas CD refers to Continuous Delivery or Continuous Deployment. CI focuses on testing new code, whereas CD focuses on delivering the code securely without any bugs.
