Drone CI has revolutionized the world of continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) with its open-source cloud-native platform. This innovative tool provides developers with a self-service CI platform, allowing for streamlined software build and testing processes. Unlike traditional CI/CD solutions, Drone CI is designed to be easily configurable, supporting a wide range of source code management systems and operating systems, including Windows and various architectures like Linux x64, ARM, and ARM64
Key Features and Customization
One of the defining features of Drone CI is its support for configuration as code, allowing developers to define their pipelines using a simple, easy-to-read file committed to their git repository. Each pipeline step is executed inside an isolated Docker container, providing a high level of control and scalability. Furthermore, Drone CI offers customization through the creation and sharing of plugins, enabling developers to drop pre-configured steps into their pipelines, along with advanced customization options such as custom access controls, approval workflows, and secret management
Seamless Integration and Support for Secrets Management
Drone CI seamlessly integrates with various source code management systems, including GitHub, Bitbucket, and GitLab, while also providing official support for modern tools like AWS Secret Manager, Kubernetes Secret Manager, and HashiCorp’s Vault secret manager. This integration allows developers to securely share secrets stored in these platforms with their deployment pipelines, ensuring a high level of security and control over sensitive information
Recent Developments and Updates
In a recent announcement, Drone CI revealed its official support for multiple runtime environments, starting with the ability to run pipelines directly on the host machine without containers. This update opens up new possibilities for executing pipelines and addresses the specific needs of workloads that are poorly suited for container runtimes. Additionally, Drone CI has extended its support to the Windows community of developers, enabling Windows developers to run CI/CD pipelines on Windows inside Windows containers, providing a cloud-native approach to building and testing code
Predictable Pricing and Community Support
For those considering the adoption of Drone CI, the platform offers a free plan with a limit of 5000 builds per year, making it accessible for individual developers and small teams. Additionally, Drone CI provides predictable pricing based on the number of users and repositories, along with a calculator to help determine costs. While the platform’s support commitment is not explicitly defined, it boasts a fairly active community on Discourse, providing community support for users
Conclusion
Drone CI stands as a testament to the evolution of CI/CD platforms, offering a versatile, customizable, and secure solution for modern software development teams. With its continuous updates and integrations with leading technology providers, Drone CI continues to empower developers with the tools and flexibility they need to streamline their software build and testing processes, ultimately contributing to the delivery of high-quality software products.