GitLab CI/CD: Pipelines, CI/CD & DevOps for Beginners | Course Overview & Key Highlights
Course introduction
GitLab CI/CD: Pipelines, CI/CD and DevOps for Beginners, created by Valentin Despa (GitLab Hero), is a practical, beginner-friendly course designed to teach CI/CD and DevOps concepts using GitLab.
Updated for 2026, this course focuses on building real CI/CD pipelines, automating builds, tests, and deployments, and applying industry best practices used by DevOps teams. It is ideal for developers, testers, and DevOps beginners who want to master GitLab CI/CD and deploy applications to AWS.
Course details
- Instructor: Valentin Despa
- Last updated: 2026
- Language: English
- Duration: ~14 hours (13h 50m total)
- Rating: ★4.7 / 5
- Learners: 136,099+
- Price (typical sale): ~US$9–15 (varies by Udemy promotions)
- Access: Lifetime (mobile + TV)
- Certificate: Udemy Certificate of Completion included
Key highlights
- Beginner-friendly GitLab CI/CD course
- Learn CI, CD, and DevOps fundamentals step by step
- Build multi-stage pipelines using YAML
- Automate builds, tests, and deployments
- Apply industry best practices for CI/CD pipelines
- Automatic deployments to AWS
- Hands-on assignments and real pipeline examples
- Taught by a GitLab Hero with real-world experience
What you will learn
CI/CD Fundamentals
- What is a pipeline
- Continuous Integration (CI)
- Continuous Delivery vs Continuous Deployment
- GitLab CI/CD architecture
GitLab CI/CD Pipelines
- Creating GitLab CI/CD pipelines with YAML
- Pipeline stages, jobs, rules, and dependencies
- Using artifacts, caching, and variables
- before_script and after_script usage
Automation & Testing
- Automating builds, tests, and deployments
- Code quality checks and linting
- Unit tests and API testing
- Understanding exit codes and pipeline failures
DevOps Practices
- Merge Requests and code reviews
- Branch protection and CI best practices
- Dynamic environments
- Real-world DevOps workflows
Cloud Deployment
- Automatic deployments using AWS
- CI/CD pipelines connected to cloud infrastructure
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Q — Is this course suitable for beginners?
A — Yes. It is designed for beginners with basic Git and Linux knowledge.
Q — Do I need GitLab paid plans?
A — No. The GitLab free plan works perfectly for this course.
Q — Will I build real pipelines?
A — Yes. You will build real, multi-stage GitLab CI/CD pipelines.
Q — Does the course include AWS deployments?
A — Yes. The course covers automatic deployments to AWS.
Q — Do I get a certificate?
A — Yes. A Udemy Certificate of Completion is included.
Why this course is worth it
GitLab CI/CD is widely used in modern DevOps teams. This course teaches how pipelines really work, not just theory. The hands-on labs, YAML pipeline design, and AWS deployment examples make it highly practical and job-relevant for DevOps and CI/CD roles.
