Integrate CI/CD :: openCenter Community Documentation

Purpose: For DevOps engineers, shows how to integrate openCenter into CI/CD pipelines for automated cluster deployment and testing.

This guide covers integrating openCenter with popular CI/CD platforms (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins) for automated cluster lifecycle management.

Prerequisites

CI/CD platform access (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Jenkins)
openCenter CLI installed on CI/CD runners
Infrastructure provider credentials
Git repository for cluster configuration

Task Summary

Automate cluster deployment, validation, and testing using openCenter CLI in CI/CD pipelines, enabling infrastructure-as-code workflows with automated testing and deployment.

Integration Patterns

Pattern 1: Cluster Validation on PR

Use case: Validate cluster configuration changes before merge

Workflow:

Developer opens PR with configuration changes
CI runs opencenter cluster validate
CI reports validation results
PR can only merge if validation passes

Pattern 2: Automated Cluster Deployment

Use case: Deploy cluster automatically on configuration changes

Workflow:

Configuration merged to main branch
CI runs opencenter cluster generate
CI commits generated files
CI runs opencenter cluster deploy
Cluster deployed automatically

Pattern 3: Ephemeral Test Clusters

Use case: Create temporary clusters for testing

Workflow:

Test suite triggered
CI creates ephemeral cluster
CI runs tests against cluster
CI destroys cluster
Test results reported

Pattern 4: Multi-Environment Promotion

Use case: Promote changes from dev → staging → production

Workflow:

Changes deployed to dev automatically
Tests run on dev cluster
If tests pass, promote to staging
Tests run on staging cluster
If tests pass, manual approval for production
Deploy to production

GitHub Actions Integration

Setup

Create .github/workflows/opencenter.yaml:

name: openCenter CI/CD

on:
  pull_request:
    paths:
      - 'clusters/**'
  push:
    branches:
      - main
    paths:
      - 'clusters/**'

env:
  OPENCENTER_VERSION: "v1.0.0"

jobs:
  validate:
    name: Validate Configuration
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install openCenter CLI
        run: |
          curl -L https://github.com/opencenter-cloud/openCenter-cli/releases/download/${OPENCENTER_VERSION}/opencenter-linux-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/opencenter
          chmod +x /usr/local/bin/opencenter
          opencenter version

      - name: Validate cluster configuration
        run: |
          opencenter cluster validate dev-cluster
        env:
          OPENCENTER_CONFIG_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/clusters

      - name: Comment validation results
        if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
        uses: actions/github-script@v7
        with:
          script: |
            github.rest.issues.createComment({
              issue_number: context.issue.number,
              owner: context.repo.owner,
              repo: context.repo.repo,
              body: '✅ Cluster configuration validation passed!'
            })

  deploy-dev:
    name: Deploy to Dev
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    needs: validate
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install openCenter CLI
        run: |
          curl -L https://github.com/opencenter-cloud/openCenter-cli/releases/download/${OPENCENTER_VERSION}/opencenter-linux-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/opencenter
          chmod +x /usr/local/bin/opencenter

      - name: Setup infrastructure credentials
        run: |
          echo "${{ secrets.OPENSTACK_CLOUDS_YAML }}" > ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml

      - name: Deploy cluster
        run: |
          opencenter cluster generate dev-cluster
          opencenter cluster deploy dev-cluster
        env:
          OPENCENTER_CONFIG_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/clusters
          OS_CLOUD: openstack

      - name: Run smoke tests
        run: |
          export KUBECONFIG=~/dev-cluster-gitops/infrastructure/clusters/dev-cluster/kubeconfig.yaml
          kubectl get nodes
          kubectl get pods -A
          ./tests/smoke-tests.sh

  deploy-staging:
    name: Deploy to Staging
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    needs: deploy-dev
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install openCenter CLI
        run: |
          curl -L https://github.com/opencenter-cloud/openCenter-cli/releases/download/${OPENCENTER_VERSION}/opencenter-linux-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/opencenter
          chmod +x /usr/local/bin/opencenter

      - name: Deploy to staging
        run: |
          opencenter cluster generate staging-cluster
          opencenter cluster deploy staging-cluster
        env:
          OPENCENTER_CONFIG_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/clusters

      - name: Run integration tests
        run: |
          export KUBECONFIG=~/staging-cluster-gitops/infrastructure/clusters/staging-cluster/kubeconfig.yaml
          ./tests/integration-tests.sh

  deploy-production:
    name: Deploy to Production
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    needs: deploy-staging
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
    environment:
      name: production
      url: https://my-app.example.com
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install openCenter CLI
        run: |
          curl -L https://github.com/opencenter-cloud/openCenter-cli/releases/download/${OPENCENTER_VERSION}/opencenter-linux-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/opencenter
          chmod +x /usr/local/bin/opencenter

      - name: Deploy to production
        run: |
          opencenter cluster generate prod-cluster
          opencenter cluster deploy prod-cluster
        env:
          OPENCENTER_CONFIG_DIR: ${{ github.workspace }}/clusters

      - name: Verify production deployment
        run: |
          export KUBECONFIG=~/prod-cluster-gitops/infrastructure/clusters/prod-cluster/kubeconfig.yaml
          kubectl get nodes
          kubectl get pods -A
          ./tests/production-checks.sh

Secrets Configuration

Configure GitHub secrets:

# Navigate to repository settings
# Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions → New repository secret

# Add secrets:
OPENSTACK_CLOUDS_YAML: |
  clouds:
    openstack:
      auth:
        auth_url: https://identity.api.rackspacecloud.com/v3
        username: your-username
        password: your-password
        project_name: your-project
        user_domain_name: rackspace_cloud_domain
        project_domain_name: rackspace_cloud_domain
      region_name: sjc3

SOPS_AGE_KEY: age1... (SOPS Age private key)

GitLab CI Integration

Setup

Create .gitlab-ci.yml:

stages:
  - validate
  - deploy-dev
  - test-dev
  - deploy-staging
  - test-staging
  - deploy-production

variables:
  OPENCENTER_VERSION: "v1.0.0"

.install_opencenter: &install_opencenter
  - curl -L https://github.com/opencenter-cloud/openCenter-cli/releases/download/${OPENCENTER_VERSION}/opencenter-linux-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/opencenter
  - chmod +x /usr/local/bin/opencenter
  - opencenter version

validate:
  stage: validate
  image: ubuntu:24.04
  before_script:
    - *install_opencenter
  script:
    - opencenter cluster validate dev-cluster
    - opencenter cluster validate staging-cluster
    - opencenter cluster validate prod-cluster
  only:
    changes:
      - clusters/**

deploy-dev:
  stage: deploy-dev
  image: ubuntu:24.04
  before_script:
    - *install_opencenter
    - echo "$OPENSTACK_CLOUDS_YAML" > ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml
  script:
    - opencenter cluster generate dev-cluster
    - opencenter cluster deploy dev-cluster
  environment:
    name: development
  only:
    - main
  except:
    - tags

test-dev:
  stage: test-dev
  image: ubuntu:24.04
  script:
    - export KUBECONFIG=~/dev-cluster-gitops/infrastructure/clusters/dev-cluster/kubeconfig.yaml
    - kubectl get nodes
    - kubectl get pods -A
    - ./tests/smoke-tests.sh
  dependencies:
    - deploy-dev
  only:
    - main

deploy-staging:
  stage: deploy-staging
  image: ubuntu:24.04
  before_script:
    - *install_opencenter
    - echo "$OPENSTACK_CLOUDS_YAML" > ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml
  script:
    - opencenter cluster generate staging-cluster
    - opencenter cluster deploy staging-cluster
  environment:
    name: staging
  only:
    - main
  when: on_success

test-staging:
  stage: test-staging
  image: ubuntu:24.04
  script:
    - export KUBECONFIG=~/staging-cluster-gitops/infrastructure/clusters/staging-cluster/kubeconfig.yaml
    - ./tests/integration-tests.sh
  dependencies:
    - deploy-staging
  only:
    - main

deploy-production:
  stage: deploy-production
  image: ubuntu:24.04
  before_script:
    - *install_opencenter
    - echo "$OPENSTACK_CLOUDS_YAML" > ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml
  script:
    - opencenter cluster generate prod-cluster
    - opencenter cluster deploy prod-cluster
  environment:
    name: production
    url: https://my-app.example.com
  only:
    - main
  when: manual  # Require manual approval for production

Variables Configuration

Configure GitLab CI/CD variables:

# Navigate to project settings
# Settings → CI/CD → Variables → Add variable

# Add variables:
OPENSTACK_CLOUDS_YAML: (OpenStack credentials YAML)
SOPS_AGE_KEY: (SOPS Age private key)

# Mark as protected and masked

Jenkins Integration

Setup

Create Jenkinsfile:

pipeline {
    agent any

    environment {
        OPENCENTER_VERSION = 'v1.0.0'
        OPENCENTER_BIN = '/usr/local/bin/opencenter'
    }

    stages {
        stage('Install openCenter') {
            steps {
                sh '''
                    curl -L https://github.com/opencenter-cloud/openCenter-cli/releases/download/${OPENCENTER_VERSION}/opencenter-linux-amd64 -o ${OPENCENTER_BIN}
                    chmod +x ${OPENCENTER_BIN}
                    ${OPENCENTER_BIN} version
                '''
            }
        }

        stage('Validate Configuration') {
            steps {
                sh '''
                    ${OPENCENTER_BIN} cluster validate dev-cluster
                    ${OPENCENTER_BIN} cluster validate staging-cluster
                    ${OPENCENTER_BIN} cluster validate prod-cluster
                '''
            }
        }

        stage('Deploy to Dev') {
            when {
                branch 'main'
            }
            steps {
                withCredentials([file(credentialsId: 'openstack-clouds-yaml', variable: 'CLOUDS_YAML')]) {
                    sh '''
                        mkdir -p ~/.config/openstack
                        cp $CLOUDS_YAML ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml
                        ${OPENCENTER_BIN} cluster generate dev-cluster
                        ${OPENCENTER_BIN} cluster deploy dev-cluster
                    '''
                }
            }
        }

        stage('Test Dev') {
            when {
                branch 'main'
            }
            steps {
                sh '''
                    export KUBECONFIG=~/dev-cluster-gitops/infrastructure/clusters/dev-cluster/kubeconfig.yaml
                    kubectl get nodes
                    kubectl get pods -A
                    ./tests/smoke-tests.sh
                '''
            }
        }

        stage('Deploy to Staging') {
            when {
                branch 'main'
            }
            steps {
                withCredentials([file(credentialsId: 'openstack-clouds-yaml', variable: 'CLOUDS_YAML')]) {
                    sh '''
                        cp $CLOUDS_YAML ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml
                        ${OPENCENTER_BIN} cluster generate staging-cluster
                        ${OPENCENTER_BIN} cluster deploy staging-cluster
                    '''
                }
            }
        }

        stage('Test Staging') {
            when {
                branch 'main'
            }
            steps {
                sh '''
                    export KUBECONFIG=~/staging-cluster-gitops/infrastructure/clusters/staging-cluster/kubeconfig.yaml
                    ./tests/integration-tests.sh
                '''
            }
        }

        stage('Deploy to Production') {
            when {
                branch 'main'
            }
            input {
                message "Deploy to production?"
                ok "Deploy"
            }
            steps {
                withCredentials([file(credentialsId: 'openstack-clouds-yaml', variable: 'CLOUDS_YAML')]) {
                    sh '''
                        cp $CLOUDS_YAML ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml
                        ${OPENCENTER_BIN} cluster generate prod-cluster
                        ${OPENCENTER_BIN} cluster deploy prod-cluster
                    '''
                }
            }
        }

        stage('Verify Production') {
            when {
                branch 'main'
            }
            steps {
                sh '''
                    export KUBECONFIG=~/prod-cluster-gitops/infrastructure/clusters/prod-cluster/kubeconfig.yaml
                    kubectl get nodes
                    kubectl get pods -A
                    ./tests/production-checks.sh
                '''
            }
        }
    }

    post {
        success {
            echo 'Pipeline succeeded!'
        }
        failure {
            echo 'Pipeline failed!'
        }
    }
}

Credentials Configuration

Configure Jenkins credentials:

# Navigate to Jenkins
# Manage Jenkins → Credentials → Add Credentials

# Add credentials:
# Type: Secret file
# ID: openstack-clouds-yaml
# File: clouds.yaml (OpenStack credentials)

# Type: Secret text
# ID: sops-age-key
# Secret: age1... (SOPS Age private key)

Ephemeral Test Clusters

GitHub Actions Example

name: Ephemeral Test Cluster

on:
  pull_request:
    paths:
      - 'src/**'
      - 'tests/**'

jobs:
  test:
    name: Run Tests on Ephemeral Cluster
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install openCenter CLI
        run: |
          curl -L https://github.com/opencenter-cloud/openCenter-cli/releases/download/v1.0.0/opencenter-linux-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/opencenter
          chmod +x /usr/local/bin/opencenter

      - name: Create ephemeral cluster
        run: |
          # Create unique cluster name
          CLUSTER_NAME="test-${{ github.run_id }}"

          # Initialize cluster
          opencenter cluster init $CLUSTER_NAME \
            --org ci-testing \
            --type kind

          # Deploy cluster
          opencenter cluster generate $CLUSTER_NAME
          opencenter cluster deploy $CLUSTER_NAME
        env:
          OPENCENTER_CONFIG_DIR: /tmp/opencenter

      - name: Run tests
        run: |
          export KUBECONFIG=/tmp/opencenter/clusters/ci-testing/$CLUSTER_NAME/kubeconfig.yaml

          # Deploy application
          kubectl apply -f k8s/

          # Wait for pods
          kubectl wait --for=condition=ready pod -l app=my-app --timeout=300s

          # Run tests
          ./tests/integration-tests.sh

      - name: Destroy ephemeral cluster
        if: always()
        run: |
          CLUSTER_NAME="test-${{ github.run_id }}"
          opencenter cluster destroy $CLUSTER_NAME
        env:
          OPENCENTER_CONFIG_DIR: /tmp/opencenter

Verification

Verify CI/CD integration:

# 1. Trigger pipeline
git commit -m "Test CI/CD integration"
git push

# 2. Check pipeline status
# GitHub Actions: Actions tab
# GitLab CI: CI/CD → Pipelines
# Jenkins: Build history

# 3. Verify cluster deployment
opencenter cluster list

# 4. Verify cluster health
export KUBECONFIG=~/dev-cluster-gitops/infrastructure/clusters/dev-cluster/kubeconfig.yaml
kubectl get nodes
kubectl get pods -A

# 5. Check test results
# Review test logs in CI/CD platform

Troubleshooting

Pipeline Fails: openCenter CLI Not Found

Symptom: opencenter: command not found

Solution:

# Ensure openCenter CLI is installed in pipeline
- name: Install openCenter CLI
  run: |
    curl -L https://github.com/opencenter-cloud/openCenter-cli/releases/download/v1.0.0/opencenter-linux-amd64 -o /usr/local/bin/opencenter
    chmod +x /usr/local/bin/opencenter
    opencenter version

Pipeline Fails: Authentication Error

Symptom: Error: OpenStack authentication failed

Solution:

# Verify credentials are configured
- name: Setup credentials
  run: |
    echo "${{ secrets.OPENSTACK_CLOUDS_YAML }}" > ~/.config/openstack/clouds.yaml
  env:
    OPENSTACK_CLOUDS_YAML: ${{ secrets.OPENSTACK_CLOUDS_YAML }}

Pipeline Timeout

Symptom: Pipeline times out during cluster deployment

Solution:

# Increase timeout
jobs:
  deploy:
    timeout-minutes: 60  # Default is 360 (6 hours)

Cluster Already Exists

Symptom: Error: Cluster already exists

Solution:

# Use unique cluster names for ephemeral clusters
CLUSTER_NAME="test-${CI_PIPELINE_ID}"  # GitLab
CLUSTER_NAME="test-${{ github.run_id }}"  # GitHub Actions
CLUSTER_NAME="test-${BUILD_NUMBER}"  # Jenkins

# Or destroy existing cluster first
opencenter cluster destroy $CLUSTER_NAME || true

Best Practices

Use ephemeral clusters for testing: Create and destroy clusters per test run
Validate before deploy: Always validate configuration in pipeline
Test in dev/staging first: Never deploy directly to production
Use manual approval for production: Require human approval for production deployments
Store credentials securely: Use CI/CD platform’s secret management
Monitor pipeline duration: Optimize for faster feedback
Cache dependencies: Cache openCenter CLI and other tools
Fail fast: Stop pipeline on first failure
Notify on failures: Send alerts for pipeline failures
Document pipeline: Add comments explaining pipeline steps

validate-configuration.md[Validate Configuration] - Configuration validation
../getting-started/multi-cluster-setup.md[Multi-Cluster Management] - Manage multiple clusters
../concepts/configuration-lifecycle.md[Configuration Lifecycle] - Configuration management
../reference/cli-commands.md[CLI Commands] - Complete CLI reference

Evidence

This guide is based on:

CLI automation: .kiro/steering/product.md:22 scriptable
CI/CD patterns: Industry best practices
openCenter CLI: cmd/ directory structure
Configuration management: internal/config/

Prerequisites

Task Summary

Integration Patterns

Pattern 1: Cluster Validation on PR

Pattern 2: Automated Cluster Deployment

Pattern 3: Ephemeral Test Clusters

Pattern 4: Multi-Environment Promotion

GitHub Actions Integration

Setup

Secrets Configuration

GitLab CI Integration

Setup

Variables Configuration

Jenkins Integration

Setup

Credentials Configuration

Ephemeral Test Clusters

GitHub Actions Example

Verification

Troubleshooting

Pipeline Fails: openCenter CLI Not Found

Pipeline Fails: Authentication Error

Pipeline Timeout

Cluster Already Exists

Best Practices

Related Topics

Evidence