home / skills / pluginagentmarketplace / custom-plugin-game-developer / ci-cd-automation
This skill helps you design and optimize CI/CD pipelines for game development, automating tests, builds, and team workflows across engines.
npx playbooks add skill pluginagentmarketplace/custom-plugin-game-developer --skill ci-cd-automationReview the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.
---
name: ci-cd-automation
version: "2.0.0"
description: |
Continuous integration and deployment pipelines, automated testing, build automation,
and team workflows for game development.
sasmp_version: "1.3.0"
bonded_agent: 06-tools-pipeline
bond_type: PRIMARY_BOND
parameters:
- name: platform
type: string
required: false
validation:
enum: [github_actions, gitlab_ci, jenkins, azure_devops]
- name: engine
type: string
required: false
validation:
enum: [unity, unreal, godot, custom]
retry_policy:
enabled: true
max_attempts: 3
backoff: exponential
observability:
log_events: [start, complete, error, deploy]
metrics: [build_time_seconds, success_rate, cache_hit_rate]
---
# CI/CD Automation
## Pipeline Architecture
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ CI/CD PIPELINE STAGES │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ TRIGGER: [Push] [PR] [Tag] [Schedule] [Manual] │
│ ↓ │
│ VALIDATE (< 5 min): │
│ Lint → Compile Check → Asset Validation │
│ ↓ │
│ TEST (10-30 min): │
│ Unit Tests → Integration → PlayMode Tests │
│ ↓ │
│ BUILD (Parallel): │
│ [Windows] [Linux] [macOS] [WebGL] [Android] [iOS] │
│ ↓ │
│ DEPLOY: │
│ [Dev auto] → [Staging gate] → [Prod approval] │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
## GitHub Actions for Unity
```yaml
# ✅ Production-Ready: Unity CI/CD Pipeline
name: Unity Build Pipeline
on:
push:
branches: [main, develop]
pull_request:
branches: [main]
workflow_dispatch:
inputs:
buildType:
description: 'Build type'
required: true
default: 'development'
type: choice
options:
- development
- release
env:
UNITY_LICENSE: ${{ secrets.UNITY_LICENSE }}
jobs:
test:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
lfs: true
- uses: actions/cache@v3
with:
path: Library
key: Library-${{ hashFiles('Assets/**', 'Packages/**', 'ProjectSettings/**') }}
restore-keys: Library-
- uses: game-ci/unity-test-runner@v4
with:
testMode: all
artifactsPath: test-results
checkName: Test Results
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
if: always()
with:
name: Test Results
path: test-results
build:
needs: test
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
strategy:
fail-fast: false
matrix:
targetPlatform:
- StandaloneWindows64
- StandaloneLinux64
- WebGL
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
lfs: true
- uses: actions/cache@v3
with:
path: Library
key: Library-${{ matrix.targetPlatform }}-${{ hashFiles('Assets/**', 'Packages/**') }}
- uses: game-ci/unity-builder@v4
with:
targetPlatform: ${{ matrix.targetPlatform }}
versioning: Semantic
buildMethod: BuildScript.PerformBuild
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
with:
name: Build-${{ matrix.targetPlatform }}
path: build/${{ matrix.targetPlatform }}
retention-days: 14
deploy-staging:
needs: build
if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/develop'
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
environment: staging
steps:
- uses: actions/download-artifact@v3
with:
name: Build-WebGL
path: build/
- name: Deploy to Staging
run: |
# Deploy to staging server
aws s3 sync build/ s3://game-staging-bucket/
```
## Unreal Engine Pipeline
```yaml
# ✅ Production-Ready: Unreal CI/CD
name: Unreal Build Pipeline
on:
push:
branches: [main]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: [self-hosted, unreal]
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
with:
lfs: true
- name: Build Development
run: |
& "$env:UE_ROOT/Engine/Build/BatchFiles/RunUAT.bat" `
BuildCookRun `
-project="${{ github.workspace }}/MyGame.uproject" `
-platform=Win64 `
-clientconfig=Development `
-build -cook -stage -pak -archive `
-archivedirectory="${{ github.workspace }}/Build"
- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v3
with:
name: UnrealBuild-Win64
path: Build/
```
## Build Optimization
```
BUILD TIME OPTIMIZATION:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ STRATEGY │ TIME SAVINGS │ EFFORT │
├────────────────────────┼──────────────┼───────────────────┤
│ Library caching │ 30-50% │ Low │
│ Parallel builds │ 40-60% │ Low │
│ Self-hosted runners │ 20-40% │ Medium │
│ Incremental builds │ 50-80% │ Medium │
│ Asset bundles split │ 30-50% │ High │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
## Automated Testing
```csharp
// ✅ Production-Ready: PlayMode Test
[TestFixture]
public class PlayerMovementTests
{
private GameObject _player;
private PlayerController _controller;
[UnitySetUp]
public IEnumerator SetUp()
{
var prefab = Resources.Load<GameObject>("Prefabs/Player");
_player = Object.Instantiate(prefab);
_controller = _player.GetComponent<PlayerController>();
yield return null;
}
[UnityTest]
public IEnumerator Player_MovesForward_WhenInputApplied()
{
var startPos = _player.transform.position;
_controller.SetInput(Vector2.up);
yield return new WaitForSeconds(0.5f);
Assert.Greater(_player.transform.position.z, startPos.z);
}
[UnityTearDown]
public IEnumerator TearDown()
{
Object.Destroy(_player);
yield return null;
}
}
```
## 🔧 Troubleshooting
```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PROBLEM: Build times too long (>30 min) │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ SOLUTIONS: │
│ → Enable Library folder caching │
│ → Use self-hosted runners with SSDs │
│ → Parallelize platform builds │
│ → Split large asset bundles │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PROBLEM: Flaky tests causing failures │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ SOLUTIONS: │
│ → Use test timeouts │
│ → Isolate tests properly │
│ → Add retry logic for network tests │
│ → Quarantine unstable tests │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ PROBLEM: Cache not restoring correctly │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ SOLUTIONS: │
│ → Check cache key hash inputs │
│ → Verify cache path is correct │
│ → Use restore-keys for partial matches │
│ → Check cache size limits │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
## Deployment Strategies
| Strategy | Rollback Time | Risk | Best For |
|----------|---------------|------|----------|
| Blue-Green | Instant | Low | Web builds |
| Canary | Minutes | Low | Mobile apps |
| Rolling | Minutes | Medium | Game servers |
| Big Bang | Hours | High | Console releases |
---
**Use this skill**: When setting up build pipelines, automating testing, or improving team workflows.
This skill automates CI/CD pipelines, build orchestration, and automated testing tailored for game development workflows. It provides engine-specific patterns for Unity and Unreal, plus optimization and deployment strategies to reduce build time and increase release reliability. The focus is practical: faster feedback, repeatable builds, and controlled deployments across platforms.
It defines staged pipelines that validate, test, build in parallel, and deploy to gated environments. The skill supplies GitHub Actions examples for Unity and Unreal, caching and matrix build patterns, playmode/unit test integration, artifact handling, and staging/prod deployment steps. It also recommends build optimization techniques and troubleshooting tactics to stabilize pipelines.
How do I fix slow or inconsistent cache restores?
Ensure cache keys include stable hashes of Assets/Packages/ProjectSettings, verify correct cache paths, and use restore-keys for partial matches. Check cache size limits on the runner provider.
What to do about flaky PlayMode or integration tests?
Isolate stateful tests, add explicit setup/teardown, enforce timeouts, quarantine unstable tests, and add retries for network-dependent cases.