A Simple Guide to Build CI/CD Pipeline with Docker and GitLab for Spring Boot Project

A Simple Guide to Build CI/CD Pipeline with Docker and GitLab for Spring Boot Project

Table of Contents

1. What is CI/CD and Why We Need It?
2. Prepare Tools: Install Docker and GitLab
3. Setup GitLab Runner for Automation
4. Create a Simple Spring Boot Project
5. Write Dockerfile for Containerization
6. Configure GitLab CI/CD Pipeline (.gitlab-ci.yml)
7. Example: Auto Build, Test, and Deploy
8. Common Errors and Solutions

1. What is CI/CD and Why We Need It?

CI/CD means “Continuous Integration” and “Continuous Delivery.” It help developers automatically build, test, and deploy code. For example, when you push code to GitLab, it can auto make a Docker image and deploy to server. No need manual work! This save time and reduce mistakes

2. Prepare Tools: Install Docker and GitLab

2.1 Install Docker

Steps for CentOS:

sudo yum install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io 

ps: here is only one way to install this tool, for more detail you can go to the official website, and pick up which version you want.

Common Errors:

• If see “Permission denied” error,
  like:

permission denied while trying to connect to the Docker daemon socket at unix:///var/run/docker.sock: Get "http://%2Fvar%2Frun%2Fdocker.sock/v1.24/version": dial unix /var/run/docker.sock: connect: permission denied

run:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER  
# Then logout and login again  

• If Docker service not start, check with:

  systemctl status docker  
  

2.2 Install GitLab

Use Docker to install GitLab (easy way):

sudo docker run -d \  
  --hostname gitlab.example.com \  
  -p 9080:80 -p 9443:443 \  
  --name gitlab \  
  --restart always \  
  gitlab/gitlab-ce:latest  

Wait 5-10 minutes. Then open http://your-server-ip:9080 in browser. Set password for “root” user when first time login.

Important Notes:

• GitLab need at least 4GB RAM. If your server has less, it may crash

• Always backup GitLab data. Use this command:

  sudo docker exec -t gitlab gitlab-backup create  
  

3. Setup GitLab Runner for Automation

GitLab Runner is tool to run CI/CD jobs. We install it with Docker:

sudo docker run -d --name gitlab-runner \  
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \  
  -v gitlab-runner-config:/etc/gitlab-runner \  
  gitlab/gitlab-runner:latest  

Register Runner to GitLab:

1. Go to GitLab > Your Project > Settings > CI/CD > Runners.

2. Copy “Registration Token”.

3. Run this command:

   sudo docker exec -it gitlab-runner \  
     gitlab-runner register \  
     --url "http://your-server-ip:9080/" \  
     --registration-token "YOUR_TOKEN" \  
     --executor "docker" \  
     --description "my-runner" \  
     --docker-image "docker:latest"  
   

Troubleshooting:

• If jobs stuck in “Pending” status, check if Runner tags match

  .gitlab-ci.yml
  

• If see “403 Forbidden” error,
  
  restart Runner:

  sudo docker restart gitlab-runner  
  

4. Create a Simple Spring Boot Project

We make a basic app for example.

4.1 Project Structure

Remember to push the project in correct structure like this:

4.2 HelloController.java

package com.example.demo;  

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;  
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;  

@RestController  
public class HelloController {  
    @GetMapping("/")  
    public String hello() {  
        return "Hello from CI/CD Pipeline!";  
    }  
}  

ps: all right, this is only a simple example program which have no specific feature, ah ah…

4.3 pom.xml

Add Spring Boot and testing dependencies:

<dependencies>  
    <dependency>  
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>  
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>  
    </dependency>  
    <dependency>  
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>  
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>  
        <scope>test</scope>  
    </dependency>  
</dependencies>  

5. Write Dockerfile for Containerization

Create Dockerfile in project root:

FROM maven:3.8.5-openjdk-17 AS build  
COPY . /app  
WORKDIR /app  
RUN mvn clean package  

FROM openjdk:17-slim  
COPY --from=build /app/target/*.jar /app.jar  
EXPOSE 8080  
ENTRYPOINT ["java", "-jar", "/app.jar"]  

Notes:

• Use Java 17 for best compatibility

• If build slow in China, change Maven mirror in settings.xml because of some reasons we all know, ah ah…
  
  you can do add this json into this file:
  /etc/docker/daemon.json

  {
    "registry-mirrors": [
      "https://t6480gpj.mirror.aliyuncs.com",  
      "https://registry.docker-cn.com"  
    ]
  }
  

and then

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart docker

6. Configure GitLab CI/CD Pipeline (.gitlab-ci.yml)

Create .gitlab-ci.yml file:

stages:  
  - build  
  - test  
  - deploy  

variables:  
  DOCKER_IMAGE: "my-spring-app:$CI_COMMIT_REF_NAME"  

build-job:  
  stage: build  
  script:  
    - docker build -t $DOCKER_IMAGE .  
  tags:  
    - my-runner  

test-job:  
  stage: test  
  script:  
    - docker run $DOCKER_MODULE sh -c "./mvnw test"  
  tags:  
    - my-runner  

deploy-job:  
  stage: deploy  
  script:  
    - docker login -u $DOCKER_USER -p $DOCKER_PASSWORD  
    - docker push $DOCKER_IMAGE  
    - ssh user@server "docker pull $DOCKER_IMAGE && docker run -d -p 8080:8080 $DOCKER_IMAGE"  
  tags:  
    - my-runner  

7. Example: Auto Build, Test, and Deploy

Follow these steps:

1. Push code to GitLab:

git init  
git add .  
git commit -m "First commit"  
git push http://your-gitlab-url/root/demo-project.git  

1. Check pipeline status in GitLab > CI/CD > Pipelines.
2. If all green, access your app at http://server-ip:8080.

8. Common Errors and Solutions

Error 1: “Docker connection refused”

Fix: Add these lines to .gitlab-ci.yml:

variables:  
  DOCKER_HOST: tcp://docker:2375  
  DOCKER_DRIVER: overlay2  

And make sure Runner has /var/run/docker.sock mounted

Error 2: Tests fail randomly

Fix: Add retry logic:

test-job:  
  retry:  
    max: 2  
    when:  
      - runner_system_failure  

Error 3: “No space left on device”

Fix: Clean old Docker images periodically:

docker system prune -f  

This guide give you all steps to build working CI/CD pipeline. If meet problems, check error messages and compare with our “Common Errors” section. Happy coding!