Looking back on the 11.x releases for GitLab CI/CD

This post details the evolution of GitLab CI/CD through its 11.x releases, highlighting key features and their impact on cloud-native CI/CD. It introduces Auto DevOps as generally available, enabling automated delivery to Kubernetes. Job logs are now accessible in the Web IDE for easier debugging of CI failures. Security reports (Container Scanning, DAST) are integrated into the pipeline view. Custom templates at the instance level allow organizations to standardize CI/CD configurations. Kaniko is supported for secure Docker builds within unprivileged containers. JUnit test results are displayed in merge requests. Built-in Maven repositories are available for Java developers. Interactive web terminals allow for live debugging of CI jobs. The `extends` keyword improves CI/CD code reuse. Feature flags are introduced for incremental rollouts and separating feature delivery from launch. `only/except` rules are enhanced to trigger jobs based on file modifications, optimizing pipelines for monorepos. Timed incremental rollouts are added to Auto DevOps for automated, safe deployments.