CI/CD with GitHub Actions and AWS: Automating Your Deployment

What is CI/CD?
CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery/Deployment.
The basic idea is simple:
Write Code
↓
Push to GitHub
↓
Build
↓
Test
↓
Create Docker Image
↓
Deploy to AWS
Once this pipeline is configured, many of these steps can happen automatically whenever new code is pushed.
Why Do We Need CI/CD?
Imagine that you have a web application.
Every time you make a change, you have to:
Download or pull the latest code
Install dependencies
Build the application
Run tests
Build a Docker image
Upload the image
Deploy the new version
Doing this manually every time can be slow and error-prone.
CI/CD automates these repetitive tasks.
This allows developers to focus more on writing and improving the application.
Continuous Integration
Continuous Integration (CI) means regularly integrating code changes into a shared repository and automatically checking those changes.
For example:
Developer A ──┐
Developer B ──┼──→ GitHub → Build → Test
Developer C ──┘
When a developer pushes code, automated checks can run.
If a test fails, the team can identify the problem before deploying the application.
Continuous Delivery vs Continuous Deployment
These terms are similar but have an important difference.
Continuous Delivery
The application is automatically built and tested and is ready to be deployed.
A human may still approve the final deployment.
Continuous Deployment
The deployment itself is automated after the required checks pass.
Continuous Delivery:

Code → Build → Test → Ready → Manual Approval → Deploy

Continuous Deployment:

Code → Build → Test → Automatically Deploy
What is GitHub Actions?
GitHub Actions is an automation platform built into GitHub.
It allows developers to create workflows that automatically execute when certain events happen.
For example:
git push
↓
GitHub Actions
↓
Build
↓
Test
↓
Docker Build
↓
Deploy
This makes GitHub more than just a place to store source code.
It can also become part of the application's automation pipeline.
What is a GitHub Actions Workflow?
A workflow is usually defined using a YAML file inside the repository.
For example:
.github/
└── workflows/
└── deploy.yml
A workflow can specify:
When it should run
Which operating system to use
Which commands to execute
Which secrets are required
Which deployment steps should happen
A simplified workflow might look like:
name: Build and Deploy

on:
push:
branches:
- main

jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest

steps:
- name: Checkout code
uses: actions/checkout@v4

- name: Install dependencies
run: npm install

- name: Run tests
run: npm test

- name: Build Docker image
run: docker build -t my-app .
This is only a basic example, but it demonstrates the concept.
Connecting Docker to CI/CD
Now let's connect what we learned in the previous article.
Instead of manually building a Docker image:
docker build -t my-app .
GitHub Actions can perform the build automatically.
The pipeline becomes:
Developer
↓
Git Push
↓
GitHub
↓
GitHub Actions
↓
Run Tests
↓
Build Docker Image
↓
Push Image to Amazon ECR
↓
Deploy to AWS
This connects GitHub + Docker + AWS into one automated workflow.
What is Amazon ECR?
Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR) is an AWS service for storing container images.
The workflow can look like:
Docker Image
↓
Amazon ECR
↓
AWS Container Service
↓
Running Application
GitHub Actions can build the Docker image and push it to ECR.
The AWS environment can then use that image to run the application.
The Complete DevOps Roadmap So Far
At this point, our learning roadmap has expanded:
Programming
↓
Git & GitHub
↓
AWS Fundamentals
↓
DevOps Fundamentals
↓
Docker
↓
AWS ECR / Containers
↓
CI/CD
↓
GitHub Actions
↓
AWS Deployment
Each step builds on the previous one.
A Real-World Example
Imagine we have a Node.js application.
A developer makes a change to the application and runs:
git add .
git commit -m "Update API"
git push origin main
After the push:
GitHub
↓
GitHub Actions starts
↓
Install dependencies
↓
Run tests
↓
Build Docker image
↓
Push image to Amazon ECR
↓
Deploy updated application
↓
Monitor application
The developer doesn't need to manually perform every deployment step.
Why CI/CD Is Important
CI/CD provides several benefits:
Faster deployments
Fewer manual errors
Automated testing
Consistent deployment processes
Faster feedback on code changes
Easier collaboration
More reliable releases
However, automation should not replace good engineering practices.
Tests, security checks, access controls, monitoring, and proper review are still important.