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Commonly confused · DevOps & Automation

Continuous Integration vs Delivery vs Deployment: What's the Difference?

Continuous integration frequently merges code into a shared branch and automatically builds and tests it. Continuous delivery extends that so every passing build is release-ready, with a manual approval to deploy to production. Continuous deployment removes the manual gate and pushes every passing change straight to production.

Continuous Integration (CI)

Full definition
vs

Continuous Delivery

Full definition
vs

Continuous Deployment

Full definition
Continuous IntegrationContinuous DeliveryContinuous Deployment
GoalCatch integration bugs earlyAlways have a deployable releaseRelease every good change automatically
Automated build and testYesYesYes
Deploys to stagingNot necessarilyYes, automaticallyYes, automatically
Production releaseNot coveredManual approval (push-button)Fully automatic
Human gateCode review/mergeBefore productionNone after merge
RequiresVersion control, automated testsCI plus release automationDelivery plus very high test confidence and monitoring
Remember it

Delivery means ready to ship; deployment means already shipped.

Exam tip

The key differentiator tested is the manual approval step: if a human clicks to release to production, it is continuous delivery; if not, continuous deployment. Both abbreviate to CD, so read carefully.

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