27. What is GitOps and how does Git work in a GitOps Workflow?
Answer:
GitOps is a DevOps practice where Git repositories act as the single source of truth for infrastructure and application configuration.
Key Git Commands in GitOps:
- git push: Triggers CI/CD automation (e.g., ArgoCD, Flux) to deploy updated configurations to clusters.
- git clone <repo_url>: Developers clone GitOps repositories to inspect or modify configurations.
- Changes pushed to Git initiate deployment pipelines automatically, ensuring declarative infrastructure and rollback via Git history.
28. How do you use advanced Git commands to manage CI/CD pipelines?
Answer:
Git is tightly integrated into CI/CD systems to trigger builds and deployments.
Useful Git Commands:
- git push –tags: Triggers pipelines based on tags (e.g., deploy v2.0.0 tag to production).
- git fetch –tags: Updates all tags in local, helpful during version-based deployment.
- git log –oneline –graph: Visually represents commit history in CI logs.
- git diff <commit1> <commit2>: Used in CI to conditionally trigger builds or tests based on specific file changes.
29. How do you integrate Git with Docker workflows?
Answer:
Git works with Docker to version control app code and Dockerfiles for building images.
Commands Used:
- git clone <repo_url>: Clones code + Dockerfile for image builds.
- git checkout <branch>: Switch branches to test different Docker versions.
- git pull origin <branch>: Pull latest updates before rebuilding images.
- git tag <v1.0.0>: Tags Git commits to version Docker images accordingly (e.g., docker build -t app:v1.0.0 .).
30. How is Git used with secrets management in DevOps?
Answer:
Git should never store secrets. DevOps uses .gitignore and cleanup commands to prevent leakage.
Key Commands:
- git rm –cached <file>: Removes secrets from index without deleting locally.
- git commit –amend: Fixes the last commit (e.g., to remove secret files).
- git rebase -i <commit>: Allows removing or editing commits with secrets.
- Bonus: Use tools like git-secrets, SOPS, or Vault for secure secrets handling.
31. What is Git Interactive Rebase and how do you use it to manage commit history?
Answer:
Interactive rebase is used to clean up messy histories before merging.
Key Commands:
- git rebase -i <commit>: Squash, reorder, or delete commits.
- git rebase –onto <new_base>: Change base of a branch.
- git rebase –skip: Skip a problematic commit.
- git rebase –continue: Continue rebase after resolving conflicts.
This helps maintain a clean and linear history for production deployments.
32. How do you resolve Git merge conflicts efficiently?
Answer:
Merge conflicts occur when changes clash across branches.
Conflict Management:
- git mergetool: Opens GUI/CLI tool for resolving conflicts.
- git merge –abort: Cancel merge and return to original state.
- git diff <branch1> <branch2>: View differences before merging.
- git status: See which files are conflicting and pending resolution.
33. What is Git commit signing and why is it important in DevOps?
Answer:
Signed commits ensure authenticity and accountability.
Signing Workflow:
- git config –global user.signingkey <key_id>: Set your GPG key.
- git commit –gpg-sign: Sign your commit.
- git tag -s <tag>: Create a signed tag.
- git log –show-signature: View signature status of commits.
This helps enforce secure and auditable pipelines.
34. How is Git used for Continuous Delivery (CD)?
Answer:
Git facilitates automated releases via tags and branch management.
Key Commands:
- git push –tags: Triggers production releases via pipelines.
- git push origin feature:staging: Push code to staging environments.
- git branch -m <old> <new>: Rename branches for environment promotion.
- git merge –no-ff: Ensures a merge commit, keeping feature branch history.
35. How can Git be used for rolling back deployments?
Answer:
Rollbacks are crucial when a release fails.
Recovery Commands:
- git revert <commit>: Creates a new commit that undoes a previous one.
- git reset –hard <commit>: Roll back to an exact commit (destructive).
- git log –oneline: Find safe rollback points.
- git checkout <commit>: Check out old versions to inspect or redeploy.
36. What is the role of Git submodules and subtrees in DevOps?
Answer:
They help manage dependencies or libraries within a Git repo.
Submodules:
- git submodule add <repo_url>: Adds a dependency as a submodule.
- git submodule init && git submodule update: Sync submodules.
Subtrees:
- git subtree add –prefix=<dir> <repo> <branch>: Pulls another repo into a subdirectory.
Subtrees are simpler than submodules and work better with CI/CD.
37. How do teams collaborate using Git for code reviews and PRs?
Answer:
Git enables distributed team collaboration via feature branches and PRs.
Commands:
- git push origin feature-xyz: Push branch for review.
- git fetch origin feature-xyz: Fetch team member’s branch.
- git pull origin feature-xyz: Test changes before merging.
- git diff feature-xyz main: Compare branches before review.
38. How is Git used in containerized environments (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker)?
Answer:
Git repositories host all the code/configs for container builds.
Typical Usage:
- git clone: Pull base code + Dockerfile/Helm charts.
- git checkout dev: Work on development containers.
- git pull: Sync latest configs before build/deploy.
- git tag v1.2.0: Version containers via Git tags.
- git submodule add: Pull reusable Helm templates or Docker build scripts.
39. How does Git integrate with CI/CD for build and deployment pipelines?
Answer:
CI/CD tools (e.g., Jenkins, GitLab CI) listen to Git events.
Workflow Commands:
- git push: Triggers pipeline.
- git tag v3.0.0: Tags a version for deployment.
- git log –oneline: View commit IDs linked to builds.
- git push –force-with-lease: Safer forced push for collaborative pipelines.
40. How do you use Git for managing documentation and versioned configs?
Answer:
DevOps teams version infrastructure and docs just like code.
Key Commands:
- git add <doc_file>: Track documentation or YAMLs.
- git commit -m “Update infra doc”: Commit config changes.
- git diff: Track changes in docs, configs, or environment files.
- Allows consistent documentation-driven development and auditing of infra.
