What should a pipeline do?

Definition:

A delivery pipeline turns source changes into a verified, versioned artifact and releases it through controlled environments. Each step should provide evidence that the next step is safe and reproducible. Promoting the same artifact avoids rebuilding slightly different software for each environment.

Key points:

• Install reproducible dependencies, then lint, type-check, test and build.

• Scan where appropriate and create a versioned artifact/image.

• Promote the same artifact through environments, with health checks and a rollback plan.

• Keep migrations, environment configuration and health verification explicit in the release sequence.

Interview point:

• Describe what blocks a release, where credentials are scoped and how the exact deployed version is identified.