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Configure a Continuous Integration or Continuous Deployment system (CI/CD) to automatically deploy a new version of an app to production/development when a branch is pushed or workflow triggered. This guide sets up a CI/CD pipeline using GitHub Actions and Cerebrium’s Service Accounts.
Maintaining separate development and production apps in separate projects is recommended, so that changes can be safely tested before going live.

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1. Authenticating to Cerebrium

The GitHub Action workflow uses a Service Account key to authenticate to Cerebrium. Service Account keys are credentials tied to a specific service, not an individual.
  1. Go to the Cerebrium Dashboard and open the API Keys page.
  2. Click Create Service Account, name it "GitHub Actions CI/CD", choose an expiry date, and click Create.
  3. Copy the key generated for the new service account.
Cerebrium API Keys dashboard

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2. Define secrets in a GitHub environment

Store this key in a secret for use in GitHub Actions workflows.
  1. Navigate to the GitHub repository → Settings → Environments
  2. Create environments named "dev" and/or "prod" (Adjust to specific needs)
  3. Inside each environment, add 2 secrets:
    • Name: CEREBRIUM_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN
    • Value: the key copied in the previous step
    • Name: CEREBRIUM_PROJECT_ID
    • Value: your project ID
🔒 Use secrets, not plain environment variables, to prevent leaking sensitive data in logs.
GitHub

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3. GitHub Actions Workflow

GitHub Actions use workflow files in the .github/workflows/ directory. Create one to define the deployment process.
  1. Create a .github/workflows directory in the root of a new or existing GitHub repository
  2. Within that directory, create a new file named cerebrium-deploy.yml
  3. Paste the following YAML into the file:
name: Cerebrium Deployment
on:
  push:
    branches:
      - master
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      environment:
        description: "Environment"
        type: choice
        options:
          - "dev"
          - "prod"
        required: true
        default: "dev"
  pull_request:
    branches:
      - master
      - development

jobs:
  deployment:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    environment: ${{ github.event.inputs.environment || (github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' && 'prod') || 'dev' }}
    env:
      ENV: ${{ github.event.inputs.environment || (github.ref == 'refs/heads/master' && 'prod') || 'dev' }}
      CEREBRIUM_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.CEREBRIUM_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_TOKEN }}
      CEREBRIUM_PROJECT_ID: ${{ secrets.CEREBRIUM_PROJECT_ID }}
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4.0
      - uses: actions/setup-python@v5.0
        with:
          python-version: "3.10"

      - name: Install Cerebrium
        run: pip install cerebrium

      - name: Set Cerebrium Project ID
        run: cerebrium project set ${{ secrets.CEREBRIUM_PROJECT_ID }}

      - name: Deploy App
        run: cerebrium deploy
Once committed, this workflow will automatically:
  • Deploy a production application on every push to master.
  • Deploy a development app on pull requests to master or development branches.
Monitor workflow runs in the “Actions” tab of the repository on GitHub.