Building a CD process using OpenShift Pipelines

(which generates Tekton resources behind the scenes)

Here, I'll show the process of building a CD pipeline using the GUI of the OpenShift Pipelines. This pipeline will have the same tasks as the one we built previously with Tekton, when we were writing the YAML files manually.

The sample application for deployment is written in Python. The only task that will not be taken from the OpenShift Pipelines' catalog and written manually instead is the task named "nose" for unit-testing the code.

1. Preparation

To install the 'nose' task, just copy the following code block for the task and save it into a file named tasks.yaml

---
apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1beta1
kind: Task
metadata:
  name: nose
spec:
  workspaces:
    - name: source
  params:
    - name: args
      description: Arguments to pass to nose
      type: string
      default: "-v"
  steps:
    - name: nosetests
      image: python:3.9-slim
      workingDir: $(workspaces.source.path)
      script: |
        #!/bin/bash
        set -e
        python -m pip install --upgrade pip wheel
        pip install -r requirements.txt
        nosetests $(params.args)

and apply the task:

kubectl apply -f tasks.yaml

If you'd like to verify that it was successfully installed, run this:

oc get tasks

2. Creating PersistentVolumeClaim

The PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC) will be used as a workspace. Use the OpenShift Administrator section to create the PVC.

Tip To open OpenShift Console in Skills Network Labs, go to:


Skills Network Toolbox -> CLOUD -> Open OpenShift Console

In the main menu:

switch from Developer to Administrator
go to Storage -> PersistentVolumeClaims

Now, on the PersistentVolumeClaims page:

press the Create PersistentVolumeClaim button
choose the appropriate StorageClass from the dropdown
(e.g.,skills-network-learner in my case)
in the PersistentVolumeClaim name type cd-openshift-pipeline-pvc
for Access mode, choose Single user (RWO) radio button
Size, set to 1 GiB
for Volume mode, choose the Filesystem radio button
press the Create button

3. Creating a new Pipeline

In the main menu:

switch from Administrator back to Developer
go to Pipelines

Now, on the Pipelines page:

press the Create button
(make sure that you have Pipeline selected and not Repository under the button)

Now you're on the Pipeline builder page:

In the Configure via: field, select Pipeline builder
In the Name field, enter cd-openshift-pipeline
Scroll towards the bottom of the page to the Parameters section and press the Add parameter button
Add the app-name parameter with its default value by entering the following:
```
         Name: app-name
Default value: cicd-app
```
Add the build-image parameter:
```
         Name: build-image
Default value: image-registry.openshift-image-registry.svc:5000/CONTAINER_REGISTRY_NAMESPACE/tekton-lab:latest
```
Note You'll need to replace CONTAINER_REGISTRY_NAMESPACE with the value appropriate for your setup here
(to get mine, I issued the echo $SN_ICR_NAMESPACE command in the shell)
Scroll further down the page to the Workspaces section and press the Add workspace button
In the Name field, enter output (this workspace will be used to upload the code to and work on it).
Press the Create button to save your work

4. Adding tasks to the Pipeline

Now when the groundwork for building the pipeline is done, let's add the tasks to it.

Open the pipeline in edit mode (select Pipeline from the main menu, select the pipeline name, and then go to Actions -> Edit Pipeline)

1 - Adding the cleanup task

click Add Task in the builder UI to open the Add task... dialog
type cleanup to see the cleanup task by Red Hat
press the Add button to start using the task

2 - Adding the git-clone task

hover over the first task to display the + buttons, then use the + button on the right of the task to add a new task
click Add task and type git-clone
click on the one labeled RedHat and press the Add button
(the red exclamation mark on the task indicates that it needs to be configured)
to configure the task, click on the exclaimation mark

then fill in the following fields in the open flyout:

Parameters
	url: https://github.com/ArthurPro123/wtecc-CICD_PracticeCode
Workspaces
	output: output

3 - Adding the Flake8 task (to lint the source code)

use the + button on the right of the git-clone task to add this one
type Flake8 (from the community) and add the task by pressing the Add button
click on the exclaimation mark

fill in the following fields to configure the Flake8 task:

Parameters
	image: python:3.9-slim
	arg: --count
	arg: --max-complexity=10
	arg: --max-line-length=127
Workspaces
	source: output

4 - Adding the nose task (for unit testing the source code)

use the + button at the bottom of the Flake8 task
type nose and add the task by pressing the Add button
click on the exclaimation mark
fill in the following field to configure this custom task:
```
workspaces
	source: output
```

5 - Adding the buildah task

use the + button on the right of the Flake8 task to add this one
type RedHat buildah (from RedHat) and add the task by pressing the Add button
click on the exclaimation mark

fill in the following fields to configure the buildah task:

Parameters
	IMAGE: $(params.build-image)
Workspaces
	source: output

6 - Adding a task to deploy the image to the OpenShift cluster

(with the help of the openshift-client task to execute an inline shell script)

use the + button on the right of the buildah task to add this one
type openshift-client (from RedHat) and add the task by pressing the Add button
click on the exclaimation mark

fill in the following fields to configure the openshift-client task:

Display name: deploy

Parameters
	SCRIPT: oc create deployment $(params.app-name) --image=$(params.build-image) --dry-run=client -o yaml | oc apply -f -

Press the Save button to save the tasks.

Running the pipeline

To run the pipeline manually, you should be on the pipelines page (if you're not, press the Pipelines button in the main menu. There, select cd-openshift-pipeline pipeline, then click the Actions dropdown, and the button within it.

This will display the Start Pipeline modal window.

Make sure that the following options are chosen:

output: PersistentVolumeClaim
PVC: cd-openshift-pipeline-pvc

And finally, press the Start button.

Check the logs to see if there are any issues with the pipeline.

You can click on the task name to view the logs for a particular task. Alternatively, you can click on the Logs tab.

Confirming the deployment of the application

Click on Topology in the main menu (available in the Developer section). There, you should see the applications that are currently running.

Click on the one called cicd-app and then click on View logs in the flyout.

If everything worked well, there should be a message SERVICERUNNING displayed. This message was generated by the Python code deployed (for demonstration purposes) and has nothing to do with OpenShift.

Building a CD process using OpenShift Pipelines.

This page was last updated on May 29, 2025