What Is CI/CD? Continuous Integration and Delivery Explained
CI/CD automates testing and deploying code. Learn how to wire OpenClaw deployments into your CI/CD pipeline.
CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (or Deployment). CI automates testing every code change. CD automates the process of getting that tested code into production.
The CI/CD Pipeline
- A developer pushes code to a branch
- CI server (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.) runs tests
- If tests pass, artifacts are built
- CD system deploys to staging
- After approval (or automatically), production deployment happens
OpenClaw in a CI/CD Pipeline
You can automate OpenClaw deployments by calling the Fly.io Machines API from GitHub Actions. Set FLY_API_TOKEN as a secret, then fly deploy or use the Machines API to create/update machines as part of your pipeline.
Practical Example
In GitHub Actions, after running tests, add a step that SSH into your OpenClaw instance and pulls the latest code, or call the Fly API to create a new machine from your updated image. OpenClaw's config reloads on restart, making the pipeline clean.
When You Don't Need Full CI/CD
For personal projects or rapid iteration, manual fly deploy from your terminal is faster. Add CI/CD when the cost of a bad deploy (downtime, data loss, broken features) exceeds the cost of setting it up.