AWS-Native CI/CD: CodePipeline, CodeBuild, CodeDeploy

After this lesson, you will be able to: Build an AWS-native CI/CD pipeline with CodePipeline, CodeBuild, and CodeDeploy, and know when to reach for it instead of GitHub Actions.

You already know GitHub Actions. AWS also ships its own CI/CD suite, and you will meet it in AWS-heavy shops and on the Developer Associate exam. This lesson covers the three core services, how they wire together, and the honest tradeoff against GitHub Actions.

Prerequisites:AWS CLI and Infrastructure as Code

The three services and how they fit together

CodePipeline is the orchestrator: it defines the stages (Source, Build, Deploy) and moves an artifact through them. CodeBuild is the build engine: it runs your build/test commands in a managed container and produces artifacts (think the AWS equivalent of a CI job runner). CodeDeploy handles the release: it pushes a new version to EC2, ECS, or Lambda with rolling, blue/green, or canary strategies and automatic rollback on alarm. Together: CodePipeline calls CodeBuild to build/test, then calls CodeDeploy to release.

A CodeBuild buildspec

buildspec.yml is to CodeBuild what a workflow file is to GitHub Actions: the phases it runs.

tsx

# buildspec.yml (read by CodeBuild)
version: 0.2
phases:
  install:
    runtime-versions: { nodejs: 20 }
    commands: [ npm ci ]
  pre_build:
    commands:
      - npm run lint
      - npm test
  build:
    commands:
      - npm run build
      - docker build -t $REPO_URI:$CODEBUILD_RESOLVED_SOURCE_VERSION .
  post_build:
    commands:
      - aws ecr get-login-password | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin $REPO_URI
      - docker push $REPO_URI:$CODEBUILD_RESOLVED_SOURCE_VERSION
artifacts:
  files: [ imagedefinitions.json ]   # handed to CodeDeploy / ECS

The pipeline stages

A typical CodePipeline for a containerized app.

1
Source: triggered by a commit to CodeCommit or a connected GitHub repo; outputs the source artifact.
2
Build: CodeBuild runs buildspec.yml (lint, test, build, push image), outputs imagedefinitions.json.
3
Deploy: CodeDeploy (or an ECS deploy action) rolls the new image out with your chosen strategy.
4
Approval (optional): a manual-approval stage gates production until someone clicks approve.
5
Rollback: CodeDeploy auto-rolls-back if a CloudWatch alarm fires during the deploy.

Quick Check

In the AWS CI/CD suite, which service handles the actual release to EC2/ECS/Lambda with rollback on alarm?

Pick the right service.

CodeBuildCodeDeployCodePipelineCloudFormation

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