CI/CD Pipeline Builder
Fast feedback, safe deploys — fail-fast stage order, lockfile-keyed caching, no leaked secrets, gated progressive delivery.
v1.0.0 · ~576 tokens · ⬇ 0 · Updated July 6, 2026
What it does
Builds/fixes a CI/CD pipeline: fail-fast stage order (lint/typecheck → unit → build → integration → deploy) with parallelism, dependency caching keyed on the lockfile, secrets from the store/OIDC never in logs, SHA-pinned actions, no-secrets on fork PRs, and gated deploys with a rollback path. Makes CI fast enough that people don't route around it.
Example uses
Set up CI from scratch
A new repo needs CI that fails fast and stays fast.
Set up a GitHub Actions workflow for this pnpm monorepo: lint and typecheck first, then unit tests, then build, with integration tests only after the cheap stages pass. Cache dependencies keyed on the lockfile hash and pin every third-party action by SHA.Speed up a slow pipeline
The pipeline is so slow that developers have started routing around it.
Our CI takes 24 minutes per push and people have started merging with red checks. Reorder the stages to fail fast, add dependency caching keyed on the lockfile, and parallelize whatever is independent — target under 8 minutes and tell me what you parallelized and why.Add a gated production deploy
Deploys are manual and risky, and you want them gated with a rollback path.
Add a deploy job to our GitLab pipeline: it deploys only from main after all checks pass, goes to staging first with a health check, then production with an automated rollback path. Secrets must come from the CI store and never appear in logs.Install
# 1. Create the skill folder in your Claude setup mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/ci-pipeline-builder # 2. Download SKILL.md into it (or move the file you just downloaded) # → ~/.claude/skills/ci-pipeline-builder/SKILL.md # 3. Claude Code auto-discovers it on next launch.
Inside the skill
--- name: ci-pipeline-builder description: Build or fix a CI/CD pipeline — stages, caching, secrets, fail-fast, deploy gates. Use when setting up CI, when the pipeline is slow/flaky, or asked "set up CI", "add a GitHub Actions workflow", "why is my pipeline slow", "add a deploy step". Fast feedback, safe deploys. --- # CI/CD Pipeline Builder CI exists to give fast, trustworthy feedback and to make deploys boring. Order it to fail fast, cache what's expensive, and never leak a secret. ## Stage order (fail fast — cheapest checks first) 1. **Lint + typecheck** (seconds) — fail here before spending on tests. 2. **Unit tests** (fast) — the bulk of coverage. 3. **Build** — produce the artifact once, reuse it downstream. 4. **Integration / e2e** (slow) — only after the cheap stuff passes. 5. **Deploy** — gated (see below). Run independent stages in parallel; make expensive stages depend on cheap ones passing. A 25-minute pipeline that could be 6 is a tax everyone pays on every push. ## Caching (the biggest speed win) - Cache dependencies keyed on the lockfile hash (restore on match, rebuild on change). - Cache build outputs where the toolchain supports it. - Don't cache things that must be fresh (the artifact you're testing). ## Secrets & security - Secrets from the CI secret store / OIDC, **never** hardcoded in the workflow or echoed to logs. - Least-privilege tokens; scope deploy credentials to what they need. - Pin third-party actions/images by SHA, not a floating tag (supply-chain). - Don't run untrusted PR code with access to secrets (fork PRs = no secrets by default). ## Deploy gates - Deploy only from the main branch / tags, only after all checks pass. - Prefer progressive delivery (staging → prod, or canary) with a health check and an automated rollback path. A deploy you can't roll back is a bet, not a release. ## Rules - Cheapest checks first, expensive last — fail fast to save time and money. - A secret in a workflow file or a log line is compromised; treat it as such. - Make the pipeline fast enough that people don't route around it. Slow CI gets bypassed. ## Output The pipeline config (in the project's CI system — GitHub Actions/GitLab/etc.), stage order, caching keys, secret handling, and the deploy gate. Note what you parallelized and why.
Changelog
- v1.0.02026-07-03Initial clean-room write.
Frequently asked questions
Is CI/CD Pipeline Builder free?
Yes. CI/CD Pipeline Builder is free to download and MIT-licensed.
Where do I install CI/CD Pipeline Builder?
Place the SKILL.md file in ~/.claude/skills/ci-pipeline-builder/ and Claude Code auto-discovers it on next launch.
How many tokens does CI/CD Pipeline Builder use?
About 576 tokens — it is designed to be token-lean.
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