CI/CD is one of those terms that gets used constantly and explained rarely. If you've been nodding along in meetings without being totally sure what it means, this is for you. I'll explain it in plain terms, then show you a real pipeline you can read line by line.
What CI/CD actually means
CI/CD stands for Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (or Deployment). In short, it's automation that takes your code from "I just pushed a change" to "it's tested and released" without you doing it all by hand.
It splits into two halves.
Continuous Integration (CI) means every time someone pushes code, it's automatically built and tested. The goal is to catch problems early, while the change is small and fresh in your mind, instead of days later when it's tangled up with everyone else's work.
