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Native CI/CD Support for Docker Build and Deployment to ECS/EKS

Feature Requests

We’re using AWS CodeBuild and CodePipeline to handle application Docker builds and deployment workflows for EKS and ECS. We would prefer to run these workflows natively in Spacelift

Why It Matters:

  • Bringing CI and CD into Spacelift would create tighter integration across their IaC and application lifecycle

  • Enables cleaner handoff between infrastructure and app teams

  • Reduces reliance on fragmented toolchains (e.g., CodeBuild, GitHub Actions, Jenkins)

  • Great fit for teams with Kubernetes or ECS-based deployments

Suggested Implementation Ideas:

  • Blueprint template for containerized application delivery

  • Stack pattern with Docker build and deploy lifecycle baked in

  • Native support for Docker build commands + ECR push

  • Event triggers (e.g., git push to specific path) to drive app deployments

Workaround
Status: 🗑️ Archived3 comments

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Comments3

  • Natalia Gazda

    Team•

    Aug 5, 2025

    Hey Leandro! Thanks for sharing this detailed feature request. I can definitely understand the appeal of having everything in one place! The good news is that you can actually achieve this today using Spacelift's existing capabilities.

    Here's how other teams have solved this:

    **Option 1: Build within Spacelift (Quick approach)**

    dockerfile
# Custom runner image
FROM public.ecr.aws/spacelift/runner-terraform:latest
RUN apk add --no-cache docker
USER spacelift

    Then add before_init hooks:

    bash
docker build -t myapp:$COMMIT_SHA .
docker tag myapp:$COMMIT_SHA $ECR_REPO:latest
docker push $ECR_REPO:latest

    Option 2: Keep CI/CD separate (Recommended)
    Many teams find it cleaner to:
    1. Build & push images in your existing CI pipeline (CodeBuild, GitHub Actions, etc.)
    2. Use Spacelift's external dependencies to wait for builds
    3. Deploy the infrastructure + new image version via Spacelift

    This gives you the best of both worlds - specialized CI/CD tooling for builds, and Spacelift's governance for infrastructure changes.Spacelift is intentionally focused on infrastructure orchestration rather than general CI/CD. This isn't just a product decision - it's core to our philosophy of being world-class at infrastructure rather than mediocre at everything. We've found that teams get better results using purpose-built tools for each job.

    Would either of these approaches work for your use case? Happy to direct you to our Support Team to help you out further.

    • Silver Strawberry

      •

      Aug 5, 2025

      Hi @Natalia Gazda! Thank you for your recommendations.
      I agree with them, we’ve tested your first approach and we are currently using the second one.
      I understand if my request went beyond the product planned capabilities, we have had no issues on integrating Spacelift with infrastructure related components.

      • Natalia Gazda

        Team•

        Aug 6, 2025

        Alright, happy to hear :) Then I’m gonna close it on our side!