.NET CI/CD Best Practices

Streamline your development workflow with Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment.

Introduction to CI/CD for .NET

Continuous Integration (CI) and Continuous Deployment (CD) are fundamental practices for modern software development. They automate the process of building, testing, and deploying your .NET applications, leading to faster release cycles, improved code quality, and reduced manual errors.

By adopting a robust CI/CD pipeline, your team can focus more on building features and less on the intricacies of deployment. This document outlines key best practices tailored for .NET development environments.

Key CI/CD Best Practices

1. Version Control Everything

  • Use Git for source code management.
  • Commit frequently with clear, descriptive messages.
  • Maintain a branching strategy (e.g., Gitflow, Trunk-Based Development).

2. Automate Builds

  • Use tools like .NET CLI, MSBuild, or Azure DevOps Pipelines.
  • Ensure build scripts are idempotent and reliable.
  • Produce reproducible build artifacts.

3. Comprehensive Automated Testing

  • Implement unit tests (e.g., xUnit, NUnit, MSTest).
  • Include integration tests for inter-component communication.
  • Consider end-to-end tests for critical user flows.
  • Run tests automatically on every commit or pull request.

4. Continuous Integration

  • Trigger builds and tests on every code merge to the main branch.
  • Keep the main branch in a deployable state at all times.
  • Fix broken builds immediately.

5. Continuous Deployment/Delivery

  • Automate deployments to various environments (dev, staging, production).
  • Implement blue-green deployments or canary releases for zero downtime.
  • Use Infrastructure as Code (IaC) for environment management (e.g., ARM templates, Terraform).

.NET Specific Considerations

1. .NET SDK and Tooling

Leverage the .NET CLI for cross-platform builds, tests, and packaging. Ensure your CI/CD agents have the correct .NET SDK versions installed.

dotnet build
dotnet test
dotnet publish -c Release -o ./publish

2. NuGet Package Management

Automate NuGet package restoration and publishing. Consider using a private NuGet feed for internal packages.

dotnet restore
dotnet pack

3. Deployment Strategies

For ASP.NET Core applications, consider deploying as self-contained executables or framework-dependent applications. Dockerization is highly recommended for consistent deployments.

docker build -t myapp .
docker run -d -p 80:80 myapp

4. Configuration Management

Manage application settings effectively per environment using mechanisms like User Secrets (for development), JSON configuration files, or Azure App Configuration.

Getting Started with CI/CD

Popular CI/CD platforms for .NET development include:

  • Azure DevOps Pipelines
  • GitHub Actions
  • GitLab CI/CD
  • Jenkins

Start with a simple CI pipeline for builds and tests, and gradually introduce automated deployment as your confidence grows.

Explore Azure DevOps Pipelines Learn GitHub Actions for .NET