Auto Deploy a GitLab.com project to Google Cloud

What this post added

This post details the initial implementation and setup of GitLab's Auto Deploy feature, which automates the deployment of applications to Kubernetes. It explains the core functionality of Auto Deploy, its integration with CI/CD pipelines, and the process of packaging applications into Docker images. The post also outlines the steps required to tie GitLab Auto Deploy with Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), including project setup, cluster creation, credential configuration, and applying the auto deploy template to `.gitlab-ci.yml`. It highlights the benefits of automated deployment for new commits and manual deployment to production.