GTL-203

Course Length

3 days

Course Overview

This training provides a comprehensive introduction to modern CI/CD practices and offers a deep, hands-on exploration of GitLab’s CI/CD architecture. Participants learn how to design, build, and operate GitLab pipelines – from foundational concepts to advanced, modular pipeline structures.

The course then extends into the cloud-native delivery ecosystem, presenting tools and workflows with a strong Kubernetes focus, including Helm, Kustomize, and GitOps operators such as Flux and ArgoCD. Release management is also covered through Kargo as an emerging, Kubernetes-native option. By the end of the training, participants understand how these components fit together in real-world delivery workflows and build complete, production-ready CI/CD and GitOps pipelines.

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

• • Explain the motivation behind CI/CD and typical pipeline structures.
• • Configure GitLab CI pipelines, artifacts, caching, triggers, and environments.
• • Design modular, advanced pipeline architectures for complex delivery needs.
• • Package and customize workloads with Helm and compare Helm with Kustomize.
• • Manage configurations using Kustomize generators, transformers, and patches.
• • Operate GitOps workflows with Flux, ArgoCD, and Kargo for release management.
• • Combine GitLab CI, Helm, Kustomize, and Flux into a complete GitOps delivery scenario.

Structure

The course combines concise theoretical explanations with extensive live demonstrations. All demo steps, commands, and configurations are provided so participants can reproduce every scenario on their own afterward.

Target Audience

Developers, system administrators, and DevOps professionals who want to understand and apply GitLab CI/CD and GitOps workflows in cloud-native environments, and who aim to build reliable, automated delivery pipelines.

Prerequisites

• • Linux system administration basics
• • Basic Git knowledge
• • Experience in software development
• • Basic understanding of Kubernetes

Course Modules