GitLab CI/CD for Platform Engineers
Build secure, reusable GitLab delivery workflows from merge request through CI, artifact and image publishing, controlled deployment, security scanning, and runner operations.
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Why This Course is Different
Get everything you need to master platform engineering and advance your career
Certificate of Completion
Earn a certificate while gaining real-world skills that go beyond traditional certification prep
Hands-on Labs
9 practical labs with real-world scenarios in pre-configured cloud environments
Expert-Led
Learn from Sam Gabrail, Former HashiCorp Sr. Solutions Engineer with 18+ years experience
Community Support
Join our community where members help each other and collaborate on learning
What You'll Master
Build and troubleshoot GitLab pipelines with stages, jobs, artifacts, caches, and DAG dependencies
Design merge request workflows that give reviewers useful delivery evidence
Create reusable CI/CD components with typed inputs
Operate project runners with appropriate executor and security choices
Publish immutable container images and promote the same image through environments
Add practical application security scanning and triage findings without hiding risk
Apply least-privilege credential, variable, and token practices
Explain GitLab.com, GitLab Self-Managed, and GitLab Dedicated deployment choices
Diagnose a constrained GitLab Self-Managed instance using health, logs, backup, and recovery evidence
Course Curriculum
SECTION 1 – COURSE INTRODUCTION AND READINESS
Meet the course, its support channels, the delivery system you will build, and the current GitLab platform landscape.
- •Welcome to GitLab CI/CD for Platform Engineers
- •TeKanAid Community
- •What You Will Build
- •GitLab's DevSecOps Platform and Current Landscape
- •Readiness CheckQuiz
SECTION 2 – PROJECTS, COLLABORATION, CREDENTIALS, AND MERGE REQUESTS
Organize GitLab work, authenticate safely, connect planning to delivery, and govern merge request collaboration across Free and paid tiers.
- •GitLab Namespaces, Groups, Projects, and Roles
- •Safe Authentication with SSH, Fine-Grained Tokens, and Ephemeral Credentials
- •Issues, Labels, Milestones, and Boards in Delivery Work
- •Branches, Protected Branches, and Merge Request Flow
- •Reviews, Optional Approvals, and Threads on GitLab Free
- •Required Approvals, CODEOWNERS, and Merge Trains on Paid Tiers
- •Project to Merge RequestLab
- •Projects and Collaboration QuizQuiz
SECTION 3 – CI/CD FOUNDATIONS
Understand pipeline execution, author reliable .gitlab-ci.yml jobs, preserve outputs, control sources, and diagnose failures.
- •Pipeline, Job, Stage, and Runner Architecture
- •Anatomy of .gitlab-ci.yml
- •Images, Services, Scripts, and Exit Codes
- •Artifacts, Reports, and Cache
- •rules, workflow, and Pipeline Sources
- •Pipeline Editor, CI Lint, Job Logs, and Failure Diagnosis
- •First Tested PipelineLab
- •CI/CD Foundations QuizQuiz
SECTION 4 – FAST AND REUSABLE PIPELINES
Design DAG execution, choose advanced pipeline boundaries, and reuse trusted versioned configuration through inputs and components.
- •DAG Pipelines with needs
- •Merge Request Pipelines, Merged Results, and Merge Trains
- •Parent-Child and Multi-Project Pipeline Boundaries
- •Includes, Typed Inputs, and CI/CD Components
- •Component Versioning, Trust, and the CI/CD Catalog
- •Fast DAG PipelineLab
- •Reusable CI ComponentLab
- •Pipeline Design QuizQuiz
SECTION 5 – RUNNERS AND SECURE EXECUTION
Choose runner architecture, scope, executors, tokens, isolation, and capacity controls for dependable job execution.
- •Runner Managers, Runners, Executors, and Tags
- •Choosing Docker, Kubernetes, Autoscaler, Instance, or Shell
- •Project, Group, and Instance Runner Scope
- •Runner Tokens, Protected Runners, and Workload Isolation
- •Capacity, Concurrency, Cache, and Troubleshooting
- •Hardened Disposable Project RunnerLab
- •Runner Operations QuizQuiz
SECTION 6 – ARTIFACTS, PACKAGES, AND CONTAINER DELIVERY
Preserve pipeline outputs, publish versioned assets, use immutable OCI identity, and build images without privileged Docker by default.
- •Job Artifacts versus Caches versus Packages
- •GitLab Package and Container Registries
- •OCI Image Tags, Digests, and Retention
- •Secure Builds without Privileged Docker-in-Docker by Default
- •Build and Publish an OCI ImageLab
- •Supply Chain QuizQuiz
SECTION 7 – ENVIRONMENTS, RELEASES, AND GITOPS
Track deployments, govern promotion, operate review apps, publish releases, and understand protected environments and Flux-based GitOps.
- •Environments and Deployment Records
- •Manual Gates and Deployment Safety on GitLab Free
- •Review Apps and Dynamic Environments
- •Releases, Tags, Evidence, and Rollback
- •Optional: Protected Environments and GitLab Agent with Flux
- •Governed Staging DeploymentLab
- •Deployment QuizQuiz
SECTION 8 – DEVSECOPS IN THE PIPELINE
Generate trustworthy security reports, scan code and delivered artifacts, triage findings, and choose tier-appropriate enforcement.
- •Security Scanning Architecture and Report Flow
- •SAST, Secret Detection, and IaC Scanning
- •SBOM-First Dependency and Container Scanning
- •Vulnerability Triage, Baselines, and False Positives
- •Policies, Approval Controls, Tiers, and AI-Assisted Features
- •DevSecOps Pipeline TriageLab
- •DevSecOps QuizQuiz
SECTION 9 – GITLAB SELF-MANAGED OPERATIONS
Choose a GitLab offering, size and install a constrained instance, diagnose health, prove recovery, and understand production architecture boundaries.
- •Choosing GitLab.com, Dedicated, or Self-Managed
- •Single-Node Architecture and Constrained Sizing
- •Installing and Tuning GitLab CE on Ubuntu
- •Health, Logs, Backups, and Recovery Evidence
- •TLS, Upgrades, Registry, HA, and Geo Boundaries
- •Operate Constrained GitLab CELab
- •Self-Managed Operations QuizQuiz
SECTION 10 – PLATFORM GOVERNANCE AND COURSE COMPLETION
Standardize reusable delivery, measure pipeline operations, run GitLab as an internal platform capability, and consolidate the course workflow.
- •Group Templates, Components, and Golden Pipeline Patterns
- •Pipeline Observability, Cost, and Queue-Time Troubleshooting
- •Operating GitLab Delivery as an Internal Platform Capability
- •Course Completion and Next Steps
- •Final AssessmentQuiz
Course Features
Hands-on Labs
Lots of hands-on labs to learn by doing
Join our Community
Community support to ask questions and collaborate
Test Your Knowledge
Quizzes to help you grasp the material well
See what others are saying about our Courses
“I like the Crossplane 101 course a lot. I think it is one of the best online courses I have taken (and I've taken a lot in the last 2 years, transitioning into DevOps). The labs are phenomenal – every task has a long tutorial with lots of explanations, gotchas, and recaps, and you always provide the reasoning for implementing a certain solution.”
“I just completed the Crossplane 101 course! Managing infrastructure as Kubernetes resources is a total game-changer. A huge thanks to TeKanAid and Sam Gabrail for the incredible training and insights.”
“Although I've worked with Crossplane in real production environments, I always felt there were gaps in my understanding. Completing this course filled those gaps perfectly. I had to unlearn and relearn quite a few things, especially around Crossplane v2.0 concepts. Well structured and thoughtfully put together. Highly recommended for building a strong, foundational understanding of Crossplane.”
“Dear Sam, I hope this email finds you well. If you remember before the end of last year I register for one your courses Terraform 101 – Certified Terraform Associate, I must admit that I learned a lot even though I was not patient enough for all videos to be available. All in all I enjoy the way you structured the course and how you went through it. The main reason of this email, to send you my gratitude for the content you created and to let you know that I passed my exam/test last week.”
“This course was a perfect introduction to Terraform and Infrastructure as Code. Loved the gitpod, saving me a lot of time for developer environment setup. We have a project at work where we want to go from a click-ops version of server-deploy to a more automated flow using ci/cd and terraform for deploying virtual servers.”
“I want to thank you for such wonderful courses. They are more comprehensive than other courses I have taken in the past. You take the time to explain every detail of the code and what it does exactly, further enforcing your student's understanding and confidence in what they are learning. Your methods are very effective and set you apart from other instructors.”
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Hi there, I'm Sam
I'm a husband and father of two wonderful boys. I'm also very passionate 🔥 about all things technology. From when I was 10, I had a dream to become a computer 💻 engineer one day. Here I am today living the dream!
Thanks for visiting TeKanAid Academy. My goal is to teach you all things DevOps. Below are some of the things I've done over the years. I'm confident that I can help you achieve your dreams too.
- 18+ years of experience in various Information Technology fields from Telecommunications, Computer Networks, Digital Transformation, DevOps, Cybersecurity, and IoT
- President of TeKanAid Solutions Inc. building online content in the DevOps space
- Previous – Sr. Solutions Engineer at HashiCorp
View my Certifications
Terraform: Authorized HashiCorp Instructor
Verify my certificate
HashiCorp Authorized Instructors are experienced DevOps professionals who deliver official HashiCorp training courses in person and virtually.
Issued by HashiCorp Partner Network (HPN)
Vault: Authorized HashiCorp Instructor
Verify my certificate
HashiCorp Authorized Instructors are experienced DevOps professionals who deliver official HashiCorp training courses in person and virtually.
Issued by HashiCorp Partner Network (HPN)
HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate (002)
Verify my certificate
Earners of the HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate certification know the basic concepts, skills, and use cases associated with open source HashiCorp Terraform.
Issued by HashiCorp
HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate (002)
Verify my certificate
Earners of the HashiCorp Certified: Vault Associate certification know the basic concepts, skills, and use cases associated with open source HashiCorp Vault.
Issued by HashiCorp
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