# ADR-017: CI/CD and Branching Strategy

**Date**: 2025-12-12

**Status**: Proposed

## Context

The project has Gitea workflows but lacks a documented standard for how code moves from a developer's machine to production. This can lead to inconsistent deployment processes and uncertainty about code quality.

## Decision

We will formalize the end-to-end CI/CD process. This ADR will define the project's **branching strategy** (e.g., GitFlow or Trunk-Based Development), establish mandatory checks in the pipeline (e.g., linting, unit tests, vulnerability scanning), and specify the process for building and publishing Docker images (`ADR-014`) to a registry.

## Consequences

* **Positive**: Automates quality control and creates a safe, repeatable path to production. Increases development velocity and reduces deployment-related errors.
* **Negative**: Initial setup effort for the CI/CD pipeline. May slightly increase the time to merge code due to mandatory checks.
