Cloud Native CI/CD with GitLab

Role and Lifecycle of the Gitlab Helper Container

The helper container is essential for managing various pre- and post-build operations. It handles tasks such as:

• Git Repository Management: This container is responsible for cloning the repository from GitLab into the pod. This ensures that the codebase required for the build is available within the pod.

• Artifact and Cache Management: The helper container also manages caching and artifact handling. Before the main build starts, the helper pulls any necessary caches or artifacts from previous stages, so they are available for the current build. After the build, it uploads newly created artifacts back to GitLab.

• Utility Functions: The helper container image contains essential utilities like git for managing repositories and a specialized binary for managing artifacts and caches.