Deployment Pipelines for Magento

Pipeline Flow

Build -> Test -> Package -> Deploy Staging -> QA -> Approve -> Deploy Production
  |                                    |              |
  +-- Artifacts                        +-- Manual     +-- Manual
                                           Gate        Gate

GitHub Actions Deployment Pipeline

# .github/workflows/deploy.yml
defaults:
  run:
    shell: bash

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v3
      - uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
        with:
          php-version: '8.1'
      - run: composer install --prefer-dist
      - run: bin/magento setup:di:compile
      - run: bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy -f
      - name: Package Build
        run: tar -czf magento-build.tar.gz app/code/Vendor/ pub/static/ generated/
      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
        with:
          name: magento-build
          path: magento-build.tar.gz

  deploy-staging:
    needs: build
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment: staging
    steps:
      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
        with:
          name: magento-build
      - name: Deploy to Staging
        run: |
          scp magento-build.tar.gz deployer@staging:/var/www/
          ssh deployer@staging "cd /var/www && tar -xzf magento-build.tar.gz"
          ssh deployer@staging "cd /var/www && bin/magento maintenance:enable"
          ssh deployer@staging "cd /var/www && bin/magento setup:upgrade"
          ssh deployer@staging "cd /var/www && bin/magento cache:flush"
          ssh deployer@staging "cd /var/www && bin/magento maintenance:disable"

  approve-production:
    needs: deploy-staging
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment:
      name: production
      url: https://www.example.com
    steps:
      - name: Wait for Approval
        run: echo "Waiting for production approval"

  deploy-production:
    needs: approve-production
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
        with:
          name: magento-build
      - name: Deploy to Production
        run: |
          scp magento-build.tar.gz deployer@production:/var/www/
          ssh deployer@production "cd /var/www && tar -xzf magento-build.tar.gz"
          ssh deployer@production "cd /var/www && bin/magento maintenance:enable"
          ssh deployer@production "cd /var/www && bin/magento setup:upgrade"
          ssh deployer@production "cd /var/www && bin/magento cache:flush"
          ssh deployer@production "cd /var/www && bin/magento maintenance:disable"

Key Takeaway

Deployment pipelines have build, staging, approval, and production stages. Each stage has environment-specific configuration and manual gates for production.

Blue-Green Deployment

# Two identical environments
blue: current production (v1)
green: new version (v2)

# 1. Deploy to green
scp build.tar.gz green:/var/www/
ssh green "cd /var/www && tar -xzf build.tar.gz"
ssh green "bin/magento setup:upgrade && bin/magento cache:flush"

# 2. Test green
ssh green "curl -f http://localhost/health"

# 3. Switch traffic
# Update load balancer to point to green
# Blue becomes standby for rollback

Rolling Deployment

# Deploy to servers one at aiven
for server in web1 web2 web3 web4; do
    echo "Deploying to $server..."
    
    # Take out of load balancer
    ssh lb "disable_server $server"
    
    # Deploy
    scp build.tar.gz $server:/var/www/
    ssh $server "cd /var/www && tar -xzf build.tar.gz"
    ssh $server "bin/magento setup:upgrade && bin/magento cache:flush"
    
    # Health check
    ssh $server "curl -f http://localhost/health"
    
    # Put back in load balancer
    ssh lb "enable_server $server"
    
    echo "$server deployed successfully"
done

Maintenance Mode Deployment

#!/bin/bash
# deploy-production.sh

SERVER="production.example.com"
BUILD="magento-build.tar.gz"

# Enable maintenance mode
echo "Enabling maintenance mode..."
ssh $SERVER "cd /var/www && bin/magento maintenance:enable"

# Deploy build
echo "Deploying build..."
scp $BUILD $SERVER:/var/www/
ssh $SERVER "cd /var/www && tar -xzf $BUILD"

# Run setup
echo "Running setup:upgrade..."
ssh $SERVER "cd /var/www && bin/magento setup:upgrade"

# Deploy static content
echo "Deploying static content..."
ssh $SERVER "cd /var/www && bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy -f"

# Clear cache
echo "Clearing cache..."
ssh $SERVER "cd /var/www && bin/magento cache:flush"

# Disable maintenance mode
echo "Disabling maintenance mode..."
ssh $SERVER "cd /var/www && bin/magento maintenance:disable"

echo "Deployment complete!"

Key Takeaway

Blue-green maintains two environments for instant rollback. Rolling deploys servers one at a time. Maintenance mode prevents user impact during deployment.

GitHub Environments with Protection Rules

# Repository Settings -> Environments -> production
# Required reviewers: 2
# Wait timer: 5 minutes
# Deployment branches: main only

jobs:
  deploy-production:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment:
      name: production
      url: https://www.example.com
    # Waits for manual approval in GitHub UI

Deployment Checklist

## Pre-Deployment Checklist
- [ ] All tests passing in CI
- [ ] Code reviewed and approved
- [ ] Staging deployment verified
- [ ] Database backup completed
- [ ] Rollback plan documented
- [ ] Maintenance window scheduled (if needed)
- [ ] Team notified

## Post-Deployment Verification
- [ ] Health check endpoints responding
- [ ] Critical user flows tested
- [ ] Performance metrics normal
- [ ] Error rates acceptable
- [ ] Cache warmed
- [ ] Monitoring alerts reviewed

Automated Safety Checks

- name: Pre-deployment Safety Check
  run: |
    # Verify staging health
    STATUS=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' https://staging.example.com/health)
    if [ $STATUS -ne 200 ]; then
      echo "Staging is unhealthy ($STATUS)"
      exit 1
    fi
    
    # Verify no critical issues
    # Check error tracking for recent spikes
    
    # Verify database backup exists
    ssh deployer@backup "ls -la /backups/magento/$(date +%Y%m%d)" || {
      echo "No backup found for today"
      exit 1
    }

Deployment Notifications

- name: Notify Deployment
  if: always()
  run: |
    if [ '${{ job.status }}' == 'success' ]; then
      curl -X POST ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK }} \
        -d '{"text":"Production deployment succeeded"}'
    else
      curl -X POST ${{ secrets.SLACK_WEBHOOK }} \
        -d '{"text":"Production deployment FAILED"}'
    fi

Key Takeaway

Approval gates require manual confirmation before production deployment. Safety checks verify staging health and backups. Notifications keep the team informed.

Complete Deployment Script

#!/bin/bash
# deploy.sh - Production deployment with rollback support

set -e  # Exit on error

DEPLOY_DIR="/var/www/magento"
BACKUP_DIR="/var/backups/magento"
BUILD_FILE="magento-build.tar.gz"
LOG_FILE="/var/log/magento-deploy.log"

deploy() {
    local timestamp=$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)
    local backup_path="$BACKUP_DIR/$timestamp"
    
    echo "[$timestamp] Starting deployment..." | tee -a $LOG_FILE
    
    # Create backup
    echo "Creating backup..."
    mkdir -p $backup_path
    cp -r $DEPLOY_DIR/app $backup_path/
    cp -r $DEPLOY_DIR/var $backup_path/
    cp -r $DEPLOY_DIR/generated $backup_path/
    cp $DEPLOY_DIR/app/etc/env.php $backup_path/
    
    # Enable maintenance mode
    echo "Enabling maintenance mode..."
    cd $DEPLOY_DIR && bin/magento maintenance:enable
    
    # Deploy build
    echo "Deploying build..."
    cp $BUILD_FILE $DEPLOY_DIR/
    cd $DEPLOY_DIR && tar -xzf $BUILD_FILE
    
    # Run setup
    echo "Running setup:upgrade..."
    cd $DEPLOY_DIR && bin/magento setup:upgrade --no-interaction
    
    # Deploy static content
    echo "Deploying static content..."
    cd $DEPLOY_DIR && bin/magento setup:static-content:deploy -f -j4
    
    # Clear cache
    echo "Clearing cache..."
    cd $DEPLOY_DIR && bin/magento cache:flush
    
    # Disable maintenance mode
    echo "Disabling maintenance mode..."
    cd $DEPLOY_DIR && bin/magento maintenance:disable
    
    # Health check
    echo "Running health check..."
    sleep 5
    HTTP_STATUS=$(curl -s -o /dev/null -w '%{http_code}' http://localhost/)
    if [ $HTTP_STATUS -ne 200 ]; then
        echo "Health check failed (HTTP $HTTP_STATUS)"
        rollback $backup_path
        exit 1
    fi
    
    echo "[$timestamp] Deployment successful!" | tee -a $LOG_FILE
}

rollback() {
    local backup_path=$1
    echo "Rolling back to $backup_path..."
    
    cd $DEPLOY_DIR && bin/magento maintenance:enable
    
    rm -rf $DEPLOY_DIR/app $DEPLOY_DIR/var $DEPLOY_DIR/generated
    cp -r $backup_path/app $DEPLOY_DIR/
    cp -r $backup_path/var $DEPLOY_DIR/
    cp -r $backup_path/generated $DEPLOY_DIR/
    cp $backup_path/env.php $DEPLOY_DIR/app/etc/
    
    cd $DEPLOY_DIR && bin/magento cache:flush
    cd $DEPLOY_DIR && bin/magento maintenance:disable
    
    echo "Rollback complete!"
}

case "${1:-deploy}" in
    deploy) deploy ;;
    rollback) rollback $2 ;;
    *) echo "Usage: $0 {deploy|rollback <backup-path>}" ;;
esac

Key Takeaway

Deployment scripts should include backup creation, maintenance mode, setup commands, health checks, and automatic rollback on failure.