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CI vs CD

Overview

The terms CI and CD are used together so often they blur into one. But they name different stages, and "CD" itself has two meanings worth separating.

Continuous Integration

Continuous Integration is about the code coming together. Developers merge their changes frequently, and each change is automatically built and tested. The goal is to catch integration problems early and keep the main branch always in a working, tested state.

CI ends with a trusted, tested artifact, such as a built image.

Continuous Delivery

Continuous Delivery extends CI so the artifact is always ready to release. The pipeline can deploy at any moment, but the final push to production is a deliberate choice, often a button press or an approval.

This is the model used in the intermediate track: a release deploys to staging automatically, then waits for a human to approve production.

Continuous Deployment

Continuous Deployment goes one step further: every change that passes the pipeline is released to production automatically, with no manual gate at all.

The distinction at a glance

Stage What it automates Reaches production
Continuous Integration Build and test No
Continuous Delivery Build, test, and ready to release With manual approval
Continuous Deployment Build, test, and release Automatically

Most teams practise continuous delivery, keeping a human approval before production. Continuous deployment suits teams with strong testing and a high tolerance for automated releases.

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