Exporting Pipelines

Once you've designed a pipeline, export it as a YAML configuration file ready to commit to your repository.

How to export

Open your pipeline in the editor and click Export in the top toolbar. A dialog appears:

1. Select the target platform (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Azure DevOps)
2. Click Download

The YAML file downloads to your machine. Commit it to your repository in the correct location for your platform.

Supported platforms

GitHub Actions

File location: .github/workflows/<pipeline-name>.yml

The export generates a standard GitHub Actions workflow file:

name: ci
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  install-and-test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci
      - name: Run tests
        run: npm test

---

GitLab CI

File location: .gitlab-ci.yml (root of the repository)

stages:
  - build
  - test
  - deploy

install-and-test:
  stage: build
  image: node:20
  script:
    - npm ci
    - npm test

---

Azure DevOps

File location: azure-pipelines.yml (root, or wherever configured in your pipeline settings)

trigger:
  branches:
    include:
      - main

stages:
  - stage: Build
    jobs:
      - job: install_and_test
        pool:
          vmImage: ubuntu-latest
        steps:
          - script: npm ci
            displayName: Install dependencies
          - script: npm test
            displayName: Run tests

---

Export vs. run

pipel8ne generates the YAML but does not run the pipeline. After exporting:

1. Review the generated file
2. Add any platform-specific secrets to your CI provider (GitHub Secrets, GitLab Variables, Azure Variable Groups)
3. Commit the YAML file to your repository
4. Your CI platform picks it up and runs it automatically on the next trigger

Handling secrets in the export

Credentials referenced in your steps are not embedded in the exported YAML. They appear as environment variable references:

env:
  DOCKER_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.DOCKER_PASSWORD }}  # GitHub Actions

You must add the corresponding secret to your CI platform with the matching name before running the pipeline.

Re-exporting

You can re-export a pipeline as many times as you want after making changes in the editor. Simply overwrite the old file in your repository. The pipeline's history in pipel8ne is preserved regardless.