Centralized CI/CD Pipeline System

A comprehensive centralized CI/CD pipeline management system built for Backstage that allows you to trigger deployments for any registered repository and environment from a single interface.

🚀 Features

• Centralized Dashboard: Manage all your deployments from one place
• Multi-Environment Support: Deploy to dev, staging, production, and custom environments
• Repository Registry: Automatically discover and register repositories
• Real-time Status: Track deployment progress and status
• Rollback Support: Quick rollback capabilities for failed deployments
• Audit Trail: Complete deployment history and logs
• Security: Environment-based access controls and approvals

📋 System Components

1. Pipeline Dashboard (/central-cicd)

• Repository selection and environment targeting
• Deployment triggering interface
• Real-time status monitoring
• Deployment history and logs

2. Repository Registry (config/repositories.yaml)

• Centralized repository configuration
• Environment mapping per repository
• Workflow file specifications
• Access control settings

3. Workflow Dispatcher (.github/workflows/central-dispatcher.yml)

• Triggers deployments in target repositories
• Handles cross-repository workflow execution
• Manages deployment queuing and concurrency
• Provides status updates back to dashboard

4. Environment Manager (config/environments.yaml)

• Environment-specific configurations
• Deployment approval requirements
• Resource limits and constraints
• Notification settings

🔧 Configuration

Repository Registration

Add repositories to config/repositories.yaml:

repositories:
  - name: "my-service"
    owner: "{{ values.githubOrg }}"
    description: "My awesome service"
    environments:
      - dev
      - staging
      - production
    workflow_file: ".github/workflows/ci-cd.yml"
    default_branch: "main"
    access_control:
      dev: ["developers"]
      staging: ["developers", "qa"]
      production: ["platform-team", "leads"]

Environment Configuration

Configure environments in config/environments.yaml:

environments:
  dev:
    name: "Development"
    auto_deploy: true
    approval_required: false
    cluster: "aux-services-dev"
    namespace_prefix: "dev-"
    
  staging:
    name: "Staging"
    auto_deploy: false
    approval_required: true
    approvers: ["platform-team"]
    cluster: "aux-services-staging-large"
    namespace_prefix: "staging-"
    
  production:
    name: "Production"
    auto_deploy: false
    approval_required: true
    approvers: ["platform-team", "leads"]
    cluster: "aux-services-prod-large"
    namespace_prefix: "prod-"
    rollback_enabled: true

🚀 Usage

1. Configure Authentication

Set up GitHub token authentication in your Backstage configuration:

# app-config.yaml
centralCicd:
  baseUrl: https://api.github.com/repos/{{ values.githubOrg }}/{{ values.pipelineName }}
  githubToken: ${GITHUB_TOKEN} # Your GitHub Personal Access Token

Make sure your GitHub token has the following scopes:

• repo (repository access)
• actions:write (trigger workflows)
• workflow (workflow dispatch)

2. Access the Dashboard

Navigate to: https://backstage.radai-systems.com/central-cicd

3. Select Repository and Environment

1. Choose the repository you want to deploy
2. Select the target environment
3. Optionally specify a branch or tag

4. Trigger Deployment

1. Click "Deploy" to start the deployment
2. Monitor progress in real-time
3. View logs and status updates

5. Manage Deployments

• View History: See all past deployments
• Rollback: Quickly revert to previous versions
• Cancel: Stop running deployments
• Retry: Re-run failed deployments

🔐 Security & Access Control

Environment-Based Permissions

• Development: Open access for developers
• Staging: Requires approval from QA or platform team
• Production: Requires approval from platform team and leads

Audit Trail

• All deployments are logged with user, timestamp, and changes
• Integration with Backstage audit system
• Slack/Teams notifications for production deployments

📊 Monitoring & Observability

Deployment Metrics

• Success/failure rates per repository and environment
• Deployment frequency and duration
• Rollback frequency and reasons

Integration with Existing Tools

• Grafana: Deployment dashboards and alerts
• Slack: Real-time notifications
• Linear: Automatic issue linking
• GitHub: Status checks and PR integration

🛠️ Development

Adding New Repositories

1. Update config/repositories.yaml
2. Ensure the repository has a compatible CI/CD workflow
3. Configure environment-specific secrets
4. Test deployment through the dashboard

Adding New Environments

1. Update config/environments.yaml
2. Configure Kubernetes cluster access
3. Set up approval workflows
4. Update repository configurations

Customizing Workflows

The system supports various workflow patterns:

• Standard: Build → Test → Deploy
• GitOps: Build → Update manifests → ArgoCD sync
• Blue/Green: Deploy to staging slot → Swap
• Canary: Gradual traffic shifting

🔧 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Deployment Stuck in "Pending"

• Check GitHub Actions quota and runner availability
• Verify repository permissions and secrets
• Check environment approval requirements

Failed to Trigger Workflow

• Ensure the target repository has the specified workflow file
• Verify GitHub token permissions
• Check repository access controls

Environment Not Available

• Verify environment configuration in config/environments.yaml
• Check repository-specific environment mappings
• Ensure proper access permissions

Support

• Documentation: Backstage TechDocs
• Issues: Create issues in this repository
• Slack: #platform-infra channel

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.