CircleCI CLI: Pure Bash Powerhouse for Automation

CircleCI is a popular cloud-based continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) platform that helps developers ship code faster and more reliably. While CircleCI provides a robust web interface and APIs for managing build pipelines, sometimes a direct command-line interface (CLI) can offer a more streamlined experience. That’s where the CircleCI CLI comes in.

In this article, we’ll explore how you can leverage the CircleCI CLI, implemented entirely in bash scripting, to automate various build and deployment tasks seamlessly. We’ll cover the basics of installing and configuring the CLI, using it to trigger builds, and some advanced scripting techniques to maximize its efficiency.

Installing the CircleCI CLI

First, make sure you have bash installed on your system. Most modern Unix-like systems (e.g., macOS, Linux) come with bash preinstalled. You can verify its availability by running the following command:

bash --version

If bash is installed, you’re ready to proceed with installing the CircleCI CLI. The CLI is available as a bash script that you can either download directly or install using a package manager like Homebrew (for macOS) or apt (for Debian/Ubuntu).

Downloading the CLI Script

You can download the latest version of the CircleCI CLI script from the official GitHub repository. Once downloaded, make the script executable and move it to a convenient location (e.g., /usr/local/bin):

chmod +x circleci
sudo mv circleci /usr/local/bin

Now, you can use the circleci command anywhere in your terminal.

Configuring the CLI

Before using the CLI, you need to authenticate with your CircleCI account. This is done by running the circleci setup command, which will prompt you for your CircleCI API token.

circleci setup

Follow the prompts to enter your API token, which you can find in your CircleCI account settings.

Using the CLI

Once configured, you can use the CLI to trigger builds, view build status, and more. Here are some common use cases:

Triggering a Build

To trigger a new build for a specific project, use the circleci build kickoff command, followed by the project’s repository URL and branch name:

circleci build kickoff <repo-url> <branch-name>

For example, if your repository URL is https://github.com/your-username/your-project and you want to trigger a build for the main branch, you would run:

circleci build kickoff https://github.com/your-username/your-project main

Viewing Build Status

To check the status of a build, use the circleci build list command, followed by the project’s repository URL:

circleci build list <repo-url>

This will display a list of recent builds for the specified project, including their status (e.g., success, failed, running).

Advanced Scripting

The real power of the CircleCI CLI lies in its ability to be integrated into bash scripts for automation. You can write scripts that trigger builds based on certain conditions, monitor build status, and take actions accordingly.

For example, you could create a script that automatically triggers a build whenever changes are pushed to a specific branch. Or, you could set up a script to monitor the status of a build and send notifications when it completes.

Conclusion

The CircleCI CLI, implemented in pure bash, offers a powerful and flexible way to automate build and deployment tasks directly from the command line. By leveraging its capabilities and integrating it into your bash scripting workflow, you can streamline your CI/CD processes and ship code more efficiently.