How to use GitLab CI for Node.js apps
Łukasz Holeczek
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Using GitLab CI for Node.js applications automates testing, building, and deployment with integrated CI/CD pipelines. As the creator of CoreUI with over 12 years of Node.js experience since 2014, I’ve configured GitLab CI for numerous backend services. GitLab CI provides YAML-based pipeline configuration with stages, jobs, and deployment environments built into GitLab. This approach streamlines development workflow with automated quality checks and deployments.
Use .gitlab-ci.yml to configure automated Node.js testing, building, and deployment pipelines in GitLab.
Basic Node.js pipeline:
# .gitlab-ci.yml
image: node:20
stages:
- test
- build
- deploy
cache:
paths:
- node_modules/
before_script:
- npm ci
lint:
stage: test
script:
- npm run lint
test:
stage: test
script:
- npm test
coverage: '/All files[^|]*\|[^|]*\s+([\d\.]+)/'
artifacts:
reports:
junit: junit.xml
coverage_report:
coverage_format: cobertura
path: coverage/cobertura-coverage.xml
build:
stage: build
script:
- npm run build
artifacts:
paths:
- dist/
expire_in: 1 week
only:
- main
- develop
deploy_staging:
stage: deploy
script:
- npm run deploy:staging
environment:
name: staging
url: https://staging-api.example.com
only:
- develop
deploy_production:
stage: deploy
script:
- npm run deploy:prod
environment:
name: production
url: https://api.example.com
when: manual
only:
- main
Docker build and deploy:
# .gitlab-ci.yml
stages:
- test
- build
- deploy
test:
image: node:20
stage: test
script:
- npm ci
- npm test
docker_build:
stage: build
image: docker:latest
services:
- docker:dind
before_script:
- docker login -u $CI_REGISTRY_USER -p $CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD $CI_REGISTRY
script:
- docker build -t $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME .
- docker push $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME
only:
- main
deploy_kubernetes:
stage: deploy
image: bitnami/kubectl:latest
script:
- kubectl set image deployment/nodejs-app nodejs-app=$CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE:$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME
only:
- main
Multi-environment:
# .gitlab-ci.yml
.deploy_template: &deploy
image: node:20
before_script:
- npm ci
deploy:dev:
<<: *deploy
stage: deploy
script:
- npm run deploy:dev
environment:
name: development
variables:
API_URL: $DEV_API_URL
only:
- develop
deploy:prod:
<<: *deploy
stage: deploy
script:
- npm run deploy:prod
environment:
name: production
variables:
API_URL: $PROD_API_URL
when: manual
only:
- main
Best Practice Note
Use cache for node_modules to speed up pipeline runs. Store secrets in GitLab CI/CD variables. Use manual deployment to production with when: manual. Artifacts persist build output between stages. Environment URLs provide quick access to deployments. This is how we configure GitLab CI for CoreUI Node.js backends—automated testing, Docker builds, and controlled deployments with GitLab’s integrated CI/CD platform.
