Claude Code in CI/CD: Automation with GitHub Actions and GitLab

Why Claude Code in CI/CD?

Automate repetitive tasks:

Review Pull Requests
Fix Issues automatically
Translate strings
Update documentation
Fix lint errors

The concept: @claude mention in a PR or Issue triggers Claude Code.

GitHub Actions

Basic Setup

1. Create Workflow

# .github/workflows/claude.yml
name: Claude Code
on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize]
 
jobs:
  claude:
    if: contains(github.event.comment.body, '@claude')
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: anthropic/claude-code-action@v1
        with:
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}

2. Add API Key

Settings → Secrets → Actions
New repository secret
Name: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
Value: Your key from Anthropic Console

Use Cases

1. Automatic PR Review

name: PR Review
on:
  pull_request:
    types: [opened, synchronize]
 
jobs:
  review:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: anthropic/claude-code-action@v1
        with:
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
          task: |
            Review this PR for:
            - Security issues
            - Performance problems
            - Code style violations
            Comment your findings on the PR.

2. Fix Issues with @claude

name: Fix Issue
on:
  issue_comment:
    types: [created]
 
jobs:
  fix:
    if: |
      github.event.issue.pull_request == null &&
      contains(github.event.comment.body, '@claude fix')
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: anthropic/claude-code-action@v1
        with:
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
          task: |
            Fix the issue described in #${{ github.event.issue.number }}
            Create a PR with the fix.

3. Automatic Translation

name: Translate
on:
  push:
    paths:
      - 'locales/en/**'
 
jobs:
  translate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: anthropic/claude-code-action@v1
        with:
          anthropic-api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
          task: |
            Translate new strings in locales/en/ to Arabic and French.
            Create a PR for @lang-team to review.

@claude Commands in GitHub

Command	Action
`@claude review`	Review code
`@claude fix`	Fix the issue
`@claude explain`	Explain the code
`@claude test`	Write tests
`@claude docs`	Update documentation

GitLab CI/CD

Basic Setup

# .gitlab-ci.yml
stages:
  - claude
 
claude-review:
  stage: claude
  image: node:20
  rules:
    - if: $CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "merge_request_event"
  script:
    - npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
    - claude -p "Review this MR and comment findings" --no-input
  variables:
    ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: $ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

Event-Driven Automation

claude-on-mention:
  stage: claude
  rules:
    - if: $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_DESCRIPTION =~ /@claude/
  script:
    - npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
    - |
      claude -p "
        Task from MR description:
        $CI_MERGE_REQUEST_DESCRIPTION
        
        Implement the requested changes.
      " --no-input

Slack Integration

Mention Claude in Slack

@claude fix the bug in auth module and create a PR

What happens:

Slack sends request to Claude Code on Web
Claude clones the repo
Fixes the issue
Creates PR
Replies in Slack with the link

Advanced Examples

1. Automatic Security Review

security-review:
  on:
    pull_request:
      paths:
        - 'src/auth/**'
        - 'src/api/**'
  jobs:
    review:
      steps:
        - uses: anthropic/claude-code-action@v1
          with:
            task: |
              SECURITY REVIEW:
              - Check for SQL injection
              - Check for XSS vulnerabilities
              - Verify authentication logic
              - Check secrets handling
              
              Flag any issues as 🚨 SECURITY

2. Auto-fix Lint Errors

auto-fix-lint:
  on:
    pull_request:
      types: [opened]
  jobs:
    fix:
      steps:
        - run: npm run lint 2>&1 | tee lint-output.txt || true
        - uses: anthropic/claude-code-action@v1
          with:
            task: |
              Fix all lint errors in lint-output.txt
              Commit with message "fix: auto-fix lint errors"

3. Update Changelog

update-changelog:
  on:
    release:
      types: [created]
  jobs:
    changelog:
      steps:
        - uses: anthropic/claude-code-action@v1
          with:
            task: |
              Update CHANGELOG.md with:
              - Release version: ${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}
              - Changes from commits since last release
              - Categorize: Features, Fixes, Breaking Changes

Best Practices

1. Define Permissions

permissions:
  contents: write      # For editing
  pull-requests: write # For commenting
  issues: read         # For reading issues

2. Use Rate Limiting

claude-review:
  concurrency:
    group: claude-${{ github.ref }}
    cancel-in-progress: true

3. Add Timeout

steps:
  - uses: anthropic/claude-code-action@v1
    timeout-minutes: 10

4. Monitor Costs

- uses: anthropic/claude-code-action@v1
  with:
    max-tokens: 50000  # Maximum limit
    model: claude-sonnet-4  # Cheaper than Opus

Security

✅ Do:

Use Secrets for API keys
Define allowed repos
Review auto-created PRs
Add main branch protection

❌ Don't:

Put API key in code
Give excessive permissions
Trust changes without review
Use on sensitive repos without caution

Summary

Claude Code in CI/CD provides:

Automatic PR review
Fix Issues with one command
Automate repetitive tasks
Save team time

Start small: PR review, then expand gradually.

Series Complete! 🎉

Review all articles:

Why Claude Code in CI/CD?

GitHub Actions

Basic Setup

1. Create Workflow

2. Add API Key

Use Cases

1. Automatic PR Review

2. Fix Issues with @claude

3. Automatic Translation

@claude Commands in GitHub

GitLab CI/CD

Basic Setup

Event-Driven Automation

Slack Integration

Mention Claude in Slack

Advanced Examples

1. Automatic Security Review

2. Auto-fix Lint Errors

3. Update Changelog

Best Practices

1. Define Permissions

2. Use Rate Limiting

3. Add Timeout

4. Monitor Costs

Security

✅ Do:

❌ Don't:

Summary

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