TBC Kicker - GitLab CI/CD Generator

TBC Kicker - GitLab CI/CD Configuration Wizard

This skill guides users through generating .gitlab-ci.yml files using the To-Be-Continuous (TBC) framework, replicating the exact workflow of the Kicker web wizard.

Overview

TBC Kicker is an interactive 8-step wizard that generates GitLab CI/CD configurations by combining 50 modular templates across 8 categories:

Category	Count	Selection	Description
Build	15	Single	Programming language/framework
Code Analysis	7	Multiple	Security, linting, SAST
Packaging	3	Single	Container/package builds
Infrastructure	1	Single	Terraform IaC
Deployment	11	Single	Cloud/K8s deployment
Acceptance	10	Multiple	E2E/API testing
Other	3	Multiple	Misc utilities

Wizard Workflow

Step 0: Configure Global Options

Before template selection, configure these options:

Configuration Mode

Basic: Show only essential variables
Advanced: Show all configuration variables including advanced ones

Include Mode

Mode	Syntax	Use Case
`component`	`$CI_SERVER_FQDN/path/template@version`	GitLab 16.0+ (recommended)
`project`	`project: "path"` + `ref` + `file`	Self-hosted GitLab
`remote`	`https://host/path/-/raw/version/file`	External GitLab

Version Mode

Mode	Example	Updates	Stability
`major`	`@7`	Auto major	Least stable
`minor`	`@7.5`	Auto patch	Recommended
`full`	`@7.5.2`	None	Most stable

Additional Options

With stages: Include custom stages section
GitLab Host: Custom host for remote mode

Step 1: Build (Language)

Select ONE build template or "none":

Template	Prefix	Description
Angular	`NG_`	Angular CLI projects
Bash	`BASH_`	Shell scripts with ShellCheck/Bats
DBT	`DBT_`	Data Build Tool
GitLab Package	`GLPKG_`	Generic package publishing
Go	`GO_`	Golang applications
Gradle	`GRADLE_`	Java/Kotlin with Gradle
GNU Make	`MAKE_`	Makefile-based builds
Maven	`MAVEN_`	Java with Maven
MkDocs	`MKD_`	Documentation sites
Node.js	`NODE_`	npm/yarn/pnpm projects
PHP	`PHP_`	PHP with Composer
pre-commit	`PRE_COMMIT_`	Pre-commit hooks
Python	`PYTHON_`	Python with pip/poetry
Scala/SBT	`SBT_`	Scala applications
Sphinx	`SPHINX_`	Sphinx documentation

Step 2: Code Analysis

Select MULTIPLE analysis templates:

Template	Prefix	Description
DefectDojo	`DEFECTDOJO_`	Security report aggregation
Dependency Track	`DEPTRACK_`	SBOM & vulnerability tracking
Gitleaks	`GITLEAKS_`	Secret detection
MobSF	`MOBSF_`	Mobile security
SonarQube	`SONAR_`	Code quality & security
Spectral	`SPECTRAL_`	OpenAPI/AsyncAPI linting
SQLFluff	`SQLFLUFF_`	SQL linting

Step 3: Packaging

Select ONE packaging template or "none":

Template	Prefix	Description
Cloud Native Buildpacks	`CNB_`	Paketo buildpacks
Docker	`DOCKER_`	Dockerfile builds (kaniko/buildah/dind)
Source-to-Image	`S2I_`	OpenShift S2I

Step 4: Infrastructure

Select ONE infrastructure template or "none":

Template	Prefix	Description
Terraform	`TF_`	Infrastructure as Code

Step 5: Deployment

Select ONE deployment template or "none":

Template	Prefix	Description
Ansible	`ANSIBLE_`	Configuration management
AWS	`AWS_`	Amazon Web Services
Azure	`AZURE_`	Microsoft Azure
Cloud Foundry	`CF_`	Cloud Foundry PaaS
Docker Compose	`DCMP_`	Docker Compose/Stack
Google Cloud	`GCLOUD_`	Google Cloud Platform
Helm	`HELM_`	Kubernetes Helm charts
Helmfile	`HELMFILE_`	Helmfile deployments
Kubernetes	`K8S_`	kubectl deployments
OpenShift	`OS_`	OpenShift deployments
S3	`S3_`	S3-compatible storage

Step 6: Acceptance Tests

Select MULTIPLE acceptance test templates:

Template	Prefix	Description
Bruno	`BRUNO_`	API testing
Cypress	`CYPRESS_`	E2E web testing
Hurl	`HURL_`	HTTP testing
k6	`K6_`	Load testing
Lighthouse	`LHCI_`	Performance testing
Playwright	`PLAYWRIGHT_`	E2E testing
Postman	`POSTMAN_`	API testing
Puppeteer	`PUPPETEER_`	Browser automation
Robot Framework	`ROBOT_`	Test automation
TestSSL	`TESTSSL_`	TLS/SSL testing

Step 7: Other Templates

Select MULTIPLE utility templates:

Template	Prefix	Description
GitLab Butler	`BUTLER_`	Project cleanup
Renovate	`RENOVATE_`	Dependency updates
Semantic Release	`SEMREL_`	Version management

Step 8: Generate Configuration

Generate the .gitlab-ci.yml with selected templates.

Template Configuration

Variables

Each template has variables with these properties:

Property	Description
`name`	Variable name (e.g., `PYTHON_IMAGE`)
`default`	Default value
`type`	`text`, `url`, `boolean`, `enum`, `number`
`mandatory`	Required to use template
`secret`	Store in CI/CD settings, not in file
`advanced`	Only show in advanced mode

Features

Templates have toggleable features:

# Feature enabled by default - disable with:
inputs:
  lint-disabled: true

# Feature disabled by default - enable with:
inputs:
  publish-enabled: true

Variants

Templates may have variants for additional functionality:

Variant	Available In	Purpose
Vault	Most templates	HashiCorp Vault secrets
OIDC	AWS, Azure, GCP	OpenID Connect auth
Google Cloud	Ansible, Python, Helm, K8s, Terraform	GCP authentication
AWS	Python, Terraform	AWS authentication
GitLab Pages	MkDocs, Sphinx, DBT	Publish to GitLab Pages
Jib	Maven	Build Docker images with Jib

YAML Output Format

Component Mode (Recommended)

include:
  # Python template
  - component: $CI_SERVER_FQDN/to-be-continuous/python/python@7
    inputs:
      image: "python:3.12-slim"
      build-system: "poetry"
      pytest-enabled: true
      bandit-enabled: true

  # Python template (Vault variant)
  - component: $CI_SERVER_FQDN/to-be-continuous/python/python-vault@7
    inputs:
      vault-base-url: "https://vault.example.com"

# secret variables
# (define the variables below in your GitLab group/project variables)
# VAULT_ROLE_ID: The AppRole RoleID
# VAULT_SECRET_ID: The AppRole SecretID

Project Mode

include:
  # Python template
  - project: "to-be-continuous/python"
    ref: "7.5"
    file: "templates/gitlab-ci-python.yml"

# secret variables
# SONAR_TOKEN: SonarQube authentication token

variables:
  PYTHON_IMAGE: "python:3.12-slim"
  PYTHON_BUILD_SYSTEM: "poetry"
  PYTEST_ENABLED: "true"

Remote Mode

include:
  # Python template
  - remote: "https://gitlab.com/to-be-continuous/python/-/raw/7.5/templates/gitlab-ci-python.yml"

variables:
  PYTHON_IMAGE: "python:3.12-slim"

Input Name Transformation

For component mode, transform variable names:

Strip prefix: PYTHON_IMAGE → IMAGE
Lowercase: IMAGE → image
Hyphens for underscores: BUILD_SYSTEM → build-system

Examples:

PYTHON_IMAGE → image
PYTHON_BUILD_SYSTEM → build-system
PYTEST_ENABLED → pytest-enabled
GO_CI_LINT_DISABLED → ci-lint-disabled

Stages (Optional)

stages:
  - build
  - test
  - package-build
  - package-test
  - infra
  - deploy
  - acceptance
  - publish
  - infra-prod
  - production

Environment Configuration

Deployment templates support 4 environments:

Environment	Variable Prefix	Branch	Purpose
review	`{PREFIX}_REVIEW_`	Feature	Dynamic review apps
integration	`{PREFIX}_INTEG_`	develop	CI environment
staging	`{PREFIX}_STAGING_`	main	Pre-production
production	`{PREFIX}_PROD_`	main	Production

Presets

Pre-configured variable sets for common services:

Preset	Variables Set
SonarCloud	`SONAR_HOST_URL: https://sonarcloud.io`
OpenShift Sandbox	`OS_URL`, `K8S_URL` for RedHat sandbox

Additional Resources

Reference Files

For detailed template configurations:

references/build-templates.md - All 15 build templates with full variables
references/deployment-templates.md - 12 templates (1 infrastructure + 11 hosting) with variants
references/analysis-templates.md - 23 templates (7 analysis + 3 packaging + 10 acceptance + 3 misc/publish)
references/presets.md - Pre-configured settings for SonarCloud, OpenShift Sandbox

Example Files

Working configurations in examples/:

python-docker-k8s.yml - Python + Docker + Helm
node-sonar-docker.yml - Node.js + SonarQube + Docker
terraform-aws.yml - Terraform + AWS with OIDC
java-maven-cf.yml - Maven + Cloud Foundry

Official Resources

Kicker Wizard: https://to-be-continuous.gitlab.io/kicker
Documentation: https://to-be-continuous.gitlab.io/doc
Templates: https://gitlab.com/to-be-continuous
Samples: https://gitlab.com/to-be-continuous/samples

Workflow Guidelines

For New Projects

Ask about project type, language, and deployment target
Configure global options (recommend component mode, minor version)
Select templates for each category
Read schemas/{template}.json to get valid inputs, components, and versions
Configure variables (focus on mandatory and image versions)
Enable relevant features and variants
Generate the configuration

For Existing Projects

Review current .gitlab-ci.yml
Identify opportunities to use TBC templates
Read schemas/{template}.json to get valid inputs, components, and versions
Suggest equivalent TBC templates
Provide migration guidance

Best Practices

Use component mode for GitLab 16.0+
Use minor version for balance of updates and stability
Enable only needed features
Store secrets in CI/CD variables
Document non-default configurations
Use variants for cloud authentication (Vault, OIDC)