CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery)
Pronunciation: SEE-eye SEE-dee
Also written as: CI/CD — Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery
An automated software development practice that combines continuous integration of code changes with continuous delivery or deployment to production environments.
Full Definition
CI (Continuous Integration) automates the building and testing of code every time a change is committed, catching errors early. CD can refer to either Continuous Delivery, where code is automatically prepared for release, or Continuous Deployment, where it is automatically pushed to production without manual intervention. Editors must clarify which meaning of 'CD' is intended in any given document and note it on first use. The slash in 'CI/CD' is standard and should be retained; do not replace with 'CI-CD' or 'CI and CD' in headings. Expand on first use for non-developer audiences.
Usage
Usage note: Clarify whether 'CD' means Continuous Delivery or Continuous Deployment on first use. Retain the slash; do not hyphenate.
In Context
- "The CI/CD pipeline runs unit tests and deploys to staging automatically on every push to the main branch." — Architecture overview
- "The editor added a note clarifying that 'CD' referred to Continuous Delivery, not Continuous Deployment, as the product still required a manual release gate." — Copy-editing feedback