From Travis CI to Tekton: A Real-World Migration Guide for 54+ Repositories

Posted on November 10, 2024 • 4 minutes • 795 words

Introduction

Migrating CI/CD pipelines across 54+ repositories is no small feat. When IBM decided to modernize its CI/CD infrastructure by moving from Travis CI to Tekton-based IBM OnePipeline, we faced significant challenges. In this article, I’ll share the strategies, lessons learned, and best practices that made our migration successful.

Why We Migrated from Travis CI to Tekton

The Pain Points

Limited scalability: Travis CI struggled with enterprise-scale workloads
Vendor lock-in: Difficult to integrate with enterprise tools
Cost overhead: Expensive to maintain third-party integrations
Compliance gaps: Inadequate support for FedRAMP and security requirements

Why Tekton?

Cloud-native: Built on Kubernetes, aligning with modern infrastructure
Standardization: Unified pipeline definitions across all repositories
Enterprise support: Better compliance and security integration
Cost efficiency: Eliminated third-party tool costs

Phase 1: Planning & Assessment

Repository Audit

We started by cataloging all 54 repositories:

Identified build, test, and deployment stages
Documented dependencies and integrations
Classified into complexity tiers (simple, medium, complex)

Building the Migration Strategy

# Phased approach:
Phase 1: Infrastructure Setup (Weeks 1-2)
Phase 2: Pilot Migration (3 repositories) (Weeks 3-4)
Phase 3: Full-Scale Migration (Weeks 5-12)
Phase 4: Optimization & Cutover (Weeks 13+)

Phase 2: Building Reusable Tekton Templates

Core Pipeline Template

apiVersion: tekton.dev/v1
kind: Pipeline
metadata:
  name: standard-build-test-deploy
spec:
  params:
    - name: git-repo
      type: string
    - name: git-revision
      type: string
      default: main
  tasks:
    - name: clone-repo
      taskRef:
        name: git-clone
      params:
        - name: url
          value: $(params.git-repo)
        - name: revision
          value: $(params.git-revision)
    
    - name: build
      taskRef:
        name: docker-build
      runAfter: [clone-repo]
      
    - name: test
      taskRef:
        name: run-tests
      runAfter: [build]
      
    - name: deploy
      taskRef:
        name: deploy-to-cloud
      runAfter: [test]

Why Templates Matter

Consistency across all repositories
Reduced maintenance overhead
Easier updates and compliance changes
Faster onboarding of new projects

Phase 3: Key Challenges & Solutions

Challenge 1: Build Environment Consistency

Problem: Different build environments between Travis CI and OnePipeline

Solution: Standardized Docker images for all build stages

FROM ubuntu:22.04
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y \
    python3 \
    nodejs \
    git \
    docker.io
# Custom build tools and dependencies

Challenge 2: Secret Management

Problem: Secure credential handling across 54 pipelines

Solution: Kubernetes Secrets with encrypted storage

apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: github-credentials
type: Opaque
stringData:
  username: $(GITHUB_USERNAME)
  token: $(GITHUB_TOKEN)

Challenge 3: Third-Party Integrations

Problem: Travis CI had limited integration options

Solution: Native Tekton integrations with Slack, GitHub, and IBM Cloud services

- name: notify-slack
  taskRef:
    name: slack-notification
  params:
    - name: webhook-url
      valueFrom:
        secretKeyRef:
          name: slack-webhook
          key: url
    - name: message
      value: "Build completed successfully"

Phase 4: Automation & Tooling

Automated Pipeline Generation

We built Python scripts to auto-generate Tekton pipeline definitions from existing Travis CI configs:

import yaml
import json

def convert_travis_to_tekton(travis_config):
    """Convert Travis CI config to Tekton pipeline"""
    tekton_pipeline = {
        'apiVersion': 'tekton.dev/v1',
        'kind': 'Pipeline',
        'metadata': {'name': travis_config['name']},
        'spec': {'tasks': []}
    }
    
    # Map Travis stages to Tekton tasks
    for stage in travis_config.get('stages', []):
        task = {
            'name': stage['name'],
            'taskRef': {'name': stage['type']},
            'params': stage.get('params', [])
        }
        tekton_pipeline['spec']['tasks'].append(task)
    
    return tekton_pipeline

Monitoring & Validation

Automated health checks for all pipelines
Daily validation reports
Rollback procedures for failed migrations

Real Numbers: Impact

Metric	Before	After	Improvement
Pipeline Setup Time	2-3 hours	15 minutes	90% faster
Maintenance Overhead	40 hours/month	10 hours/month	75% reduction
Third-Party Costs	$5,000/month	$0	100% savings
Pipeline Success Rate	92%	98%	+6%
Average Deploy Time	25 minutes	12 minutes	52% faster

Best Practices Learned

1. Phased Approach is Critical

Start with pilot projects before full-scale rollout. This allows for iterative improvements and team training.

2. Documentation is Your Friend

Maintain comprehensive documentation of:

Migration checklist
Troubleshooting guides
Team runbooks
Common issues and resolutions

3. Automate Everything Possible

From pipeline generation to validation and testing, automation reduces human error and accelerates migration.

4. Communication & Training

Regular team sync-ups
Hands-on training sessions
Knowledge transfer sessions
Celebrate milestones

5. Rollback Plans are Essential

Always have a plan to revert to Travis CI for critical projects if issues arise.

6. Monitor & Optimize

Post-migration, continuously monitor:

Pipeline performance
Error rates
Build times
Resource utilization

Lessons Learned

What Went Well

✅ Template-driven approach reduced boilerplate significantly
✅ Automated conversion scripts saved weeks of manual work
✅ Phased rollout allowed for course corrections
✅ Team embraced the new platform quickly

What We’d Do Differently

❌ Started compliance automation too late (do it during migration)
❌ Underestimated network configuration complexity
❌ Needed more testing environment parity early on

Conclusion

Migrating 54+ repositories from Travis CI to Tekton was a complex undertaking, but the results speak for themselves. By following a phased approach, leveraging automation, and maintaining strong communication, we successfully modernized our CI/CD infrastructure while improving speed, reliability, and cost efficiency.

The key to success wasn’t just the technology—it was the people, process, and perseverance.

Have you migrated large-scale CI/CD pipelines? Share your experiences in the comments below!