What are Continuous Integration Tools?

Continuous integration, at its core, refers to the development practice of writing and integrating code from multiple developers into one shared repository that forms the current software build. In a collaborative DevOps environment, this means that different developers can work on and test different parts of the repository simultaneously. Each completed code branch is then automatically verified against the current repository build via tests before integrating to avoid conflicting code. Continuous integration software allows developers to build, package, and test their software continuously. Companies can make immediate codebase changes automatically and ensure applications are working properly before deployment or release. Continuous integration also lets developers detect software errors early on in the production process and enables quality assurance teams to identify weaknesses in a piece of software’s code. This reduces the risk of bugs and vulnerabilities in new programs. Software developers evaluating the best continuous integration software with GitHub and GitLab integration typically prioritize native pipeline triggers, build speed, and runner concurrency. Based on G2 reviews, DevOps engineers evaluate continuous integration tools by comparing GitHub and GitLab integration, build speed, and pipeline reliability. Continuous integration is either the step before continuous delivery or part of the continuous delivery umbrella. Continuous delivery is a practice closely related to general DevOps approaches, but it is significantly more specific and outlined. Developers aim to create software that is redeployable during its lifecycle. It involves having team members continuously viewing, testing, trading feedback on, and releasing software changes. Continuous integration and DevOps helps companies automate updates and improve the time it takes to deliver their product. They can also identify and remedy issues more quickly and frequently. In all, the implementation of CI/CD (continuous integration and continuous delivery) increases development speed, improves product feedback, and allows developers to spend more time perfecting tools and adding functionality, rather than building new apps or features from scratch. Continuous integration tools provide developers with real-time insights on software deployment. These tools automate many aspects of the continuous integration process and produce valuable metrics on issues within the source code of a program that indicates a deeper problem, code complexity, and code dependency.

What are the Common Features of Continuous Integration Tools?

The following are some core features within Continuous Integration Tools: Orchestration: Orchestration capabilities allow users to create workflows and schedule jobs to automate aspects of the continuous integration process. This feature grants development teams complete control over their continuous integration processes while automating many of the tasks themselves. For example, teams can set automatic testing to occur at regular intervals or in response to certain event triggers. This orchestration allows teams the flexibility to carry out an efficient continuous integration workflow that works best for them. Test automation: Continuous integration tools allow users to automate tests as part of the integration process. Developers define tests, then determine when those tests should automatically occur based on cadence or certain conditions being met. This helps users quickly identify issues and revert or update applications. Many automated tests alert developers to potential problems before they integrate code, meaning they can focus on the resolution before causing issues for the rest of the team. Development teams using continuous integration tools can set the parameters for their automated tests to ensure that such tests are an effective means of quality control. When unforeseen issues slip by, administrators can adjust test parameters accordingly to cover future instances. While test automation might not fully eliminate the need for the occasional manual test, it serves as a robust feature that relieves developers of time-consuming work. Bug tracking and debugging: Bug tracking and debugging features help users identify the source of issues as they arise. While test automation automatically conducts tests to alert users when issues arise, bug tracking and debugging tools help developers to document progress on known issues and take steps to remediate them. Many continuous integration tools feature issue tagging, allowing team leads to assign out tasks related to each issue. Teams can also prioritize bugs based on urgency and leave documentation and comments for easy collaboration. Beyond bug and issue tracking, continuous integration tools often offer automated debugging features. In some cases, these features include automated remediation suggestions that can be carried out with the click of a button. At their most basic, debugging features give developers a way to hone in on issues by offering likely causes, granting granular insight into each issue, and giving users an environment in which they can test isolated changes in pursuit of solving the error. Analytics: Continuous integration tools’ analytics capabilities help measure various performance and uptime metrics. By comparing these outcomes against desired benchmarks, users can visualize the effects of updates and adjust their processes accordingly. Continuous integration tools automatically report key metrics via auto-generated documentation and visual dashboards. In many cases, these metrics can be adjusted based on the specific use cases of the development team using the software. These constant, real-time insights into software development changes and their impact on projects at large give developers access to vital information almost instantaneously. This allows teams to act on relevant data to best serve the development process without the need to halt production. Access control: Access control features allow administrators to set user access privileges to permit approved parties to access sensitive data. Because of the fast-paced nature of software development using continuous integration tools, it is important to keep permissions organized to protect data. Access control helps prevent unauthorized changes or updates and inadvertent development catastrophes that can be caused by human error. Automation: Perhaps continuous integration tools’ most important feature, automation, can be found throughout most of its other features. The natural aim of continuous integration and continuous delivery processes is to enact a constant and rapid software development style, and automation is key in reaching that goal. Rather than interrupt development time with frequent manual tests, users can set up custom test parameters that are then executed automatically, allowing developers to maximize productivity. Myriad tasks such as performance analytics, issue tracking, task prioritization, and more are handled via automated systems within the continuous integration tool. Each of these automated tasks represents work that development teams no longer need to spend time and energy on, which allows them to focus on a streamlined software development process instead. Continuous integration tools’ ability to automate repetitive, mundane tasks makes rapid software development and deployment possible, enabling companies to maintain competitive release schedules. Feedback management: Testing and delivering feedback is essential to CI/CD development. Feedback management allows team leads and developers to make suggestions on others’ work while also providing a means to collaboratively make each software change the best it can be. Feedback tools help developers ask questions, gauge the impact of changes, and receive first-hand user testimony. While test automation and issue tracking handle software development issues that must be addressed for software to work properly, feedback management is a valuable tool when approaching more qualitative improvements. Other Features of Continuous Integration Tools: Containers, Databases, Desktop, Mobile, Salesforce, Test customization, Web

What are the Benefits of Continuous Integration Tools?

Continuous delivery: Continuous delivery is only achievable when companies can also achieve continuous integration. This process delivers stable software to a nonproduction environment so developers can ascertain whether the software is releasable. Continuous delivery enables developers to distribute applications more easily, as software builds can be released within seconds of final approval and reach the end user at any time during the production lifecycle. These programs also allow developers to test software in a quicker time frame, enabling more updates to be made to applications. Continuous delivery goes one step further than continuous integration systems, which are primarily used to build and test software. This software facilitates processes throughout the deployment pipeline, from initial code analysis to the application’s release. Developers use this software to examine and monitor updates in real time and test the functionality of their applications. Agility: Continuous integration is a component of the pipeline that is often included within the build stage of the continuous delivery process. As code is committed and builds occur, bit by bit, code is integrated into the software’s codebase. Developers check out code from the repository like they would a book from the library. A continuous integration server monitors the repository as the developer makes changes and tests for successful integrations. Once builds are fully integrated into the source code repository, new features are deployable with the push of a button. The result is an agile, streamlined process by which software development can occur as efficiently as possible.

Continuous Integration Tools with Test Customization Capabilities

GitLab

GitLab is the most comprehensive AI-Powered DevSecOps platform that enables software innovation by empowering development, security, and operations teams to build better software, faster. With GitLab, teams can create, deliver, and manage code quickly and continuously instead of managing disparate tools and scripts. GitLab helps your teams across the complete DevSecOps lifecycle, from developing, securing, and deploying software. What makes us truly different? - Flexibility: Consume as a service or manage your own deployment - Cloud-Agnostic: Deploy anywhere with no vendor lock-in - No rip and replace: Scale to a platform approach at your own pace

Average Rating: 4.5/5.0

Total Reviews: 885

How Do G2 Users Rate GitLab?

Third-Party Integrations: 9.0/10 (Category avg: 8.8/10)
Ease of Use: 8.7/10 (Category avg: 8.7/10)
Test Customization: 8.4/10 (Category avg: 8.6/10)
Automation: 8.9/10 (Category avg: 8.9/10)

Who Is the Company Behind GitLab?

Seller: GitLab Inc.
Company Website:
Year Founded: 2014
HQ Location: San Francisco, California
Twitter: @gitlab
171,534 Twitter followers
LinkedIn® Page: www.linkedin.com
3,431 employees on LinkedIn®

Who Uses This Product?

Who Uses This: Software Engineer, Senior Software Engineer
Top Industries: Computer Software, Information Technology and Services
Company Size: 37% Medium, 37% Small

What Do G2 Reviewers Say About GitLab?

AI-generated summary from verified user reviews

Pros

Users value the ease of use in GitLab, enjoying its all-in-one DevOps capabilities and intuitive interface.
Users value the all-encompassing features of GitLab, which enhance collaboration and streamline the DevOps workflow.
Users love the seamless CI/CD integration of GitLab, simplifying automation and collaboration in DevOps workflows.
Users value the seamless integrations in GitLab, resulting in efficient workflows and streamlined management across multiple functions.
Users praise the seamless CI/CD integration in GitLab, enhancing automation and collaboration within their DevOps workflow.

Cons

Users find the complexity of GitLab's setup and management to be a significant barrier to efficient use.
Users find the difficult learning curve of GitLab challenging due to its complex interface and YAML syntax.
Users find the interface confusing due to clutter and slow performance with large repositories, complicating their navigation.
Users find the complex user interface challenging, especially with slow performance and difficulties in navigation and management.
Users find the learning curve steep, particularly for those new to DevOps and managing extensive features.

What Are Recent G2 Reviews of GitLab?

"All-in-One DevOps Platform That Streamlines CI/CD and Collaboration"

Rating: 4.5/5.0 stars

— Kishor G.

Product	Best for	User Review
GitHub 4.7/5(2,402)	Repo-native CI/CD with automated deployment pipelines	"GitHub Makes Code Collaboration and Version Control Easier"
GitLab 4.5/5(901)	Unified SCM and CI/CD pipeline automation	"All-in-One DevOps Platform That Streamlines CI/CD and Collaboration"
Gearset DevOps 4.7/5(307)	Salesforce-native CI/CD with metadata-aware delta deployments	"Powerful Salesforce DevOps That Makes Every Release Easier"
Pantheon 4.4/5(725)	WordPress/Drupal CI/CD with multidev environments	"Tight Git integration and multidev simplify branching development"
Bitrise Mobile DevOps Platform 4.8/5(242)	Mobile-first CI/CD with automated store deployment	"Effortless Automation and Robust Pipeline Management"
ACCELQ 4.8/5(115)	Codeless regression automation inside CI/CD pipelines	"ACCELQ Makes Automation Practical, Faster, and Easier for the Whole Team"
Copado DevOps 4.4/5(330)	Salesforce-native CI/CD pipeline automation	"Goodbye Clunky Change Sets, Hello Stress-Free Deployments"
Azure DevOps Server 4.2/5(201)	End-to-end SDLC CI/CD with on-premises control	"ADO Puts Our Entire SDLC Under One Roof—Clean Boards, Solid Pipelines"
AWS CodePipeline 4.3/5(69)	AWS-native CI/CD pipeline orchestration	"AWS CodePipeline: Reliable, Scalable CI/CD with Seamless AWS Integrations"

Best Continuous Integration Tools with Test Customization Capabilities

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