aws_codepipeline inside cdk-pipelines, how? - amazon-web-services

Question

I'm exploring how to do CI/CD using cdk-pipelines, but while the setup part works, I don't understand the control part. All the examples are really simple inline code Lambda Functions.
How do I "release a change" of a codepipeline.Pipeline inside a cdk_pipelines?
const cdk_pipeline = new pipelines.CodePipeline(...)
cdk_pipeline.addStage(new BuildImageTestStage(...))
// build-image-test-stage.ts
new BuildImageTestStack(...)
// build-image-test-stack.ts
const pipeline = new codepipeline.Pipeline(...)
pipeline.addStage(...CodeStarConnectionsSourceAction...)
pipeline.addStage(...CodeBuildAction...)
It sets up the pipeline just fine, but it doesn't fire off the actual codepipeline itself.
Options that I see:
codepipeline.Pipelines(triggerOnPush: true) - doesn't work because I want the cloud formation to run first THEN build+test. Trigger on push effectively runs parallel.
Completely separate setup from code deployment by using codepipeline_actions.CloudFormationCreateUpdateStackAction
Unsure option:
cdk_pipeline.addStage(..., { post: [] }) - CDK Pipeline post to trigger a code deploy, but I'm unsure on how to "wait" for it to finish.
Separately, I wish cdk-pipelines were named differently than codepipeline. It's just so hard to search.

Answer 1

[Edit after exchanges in the comments]: pipeline.CodePipeline is a wrapper for a codepipeline.Pipeline. It creates a new codepipeline.Pipeline under the hood in its construtor. The const pipeline = new codepipeline.Pipeline(...) line is adding a *second* codepipeline.Pipeline. You almost certainly don't want two. You have a few options:
Option 1: Pass codePipeline: pipeline in the cdk_pipeline constructor. cdk_pipeline will use your codepipeline.Pipeline instead of creating its own.
Option 2: Get rid of your pipeline instance. Refactor your build/test actions as pre or post Steps in the options for cdk_pipline.addStage or addWave. A CodeBuildStep will add a build step, for example. You can add arbitrary CodePipeline actions as steps, too.
AWS pipeline executions always run from beginning to end, each step "waiting" for the next to finish (except if stopped by an error). A CDK pipeline.CodePipeline always starts with the source action defined in its synth property.
The addStage method adds a serial stage to the pipeline. To add parallel stages, use addWave.
A CDK pipeline.CodePipeline makes it easy to create a pipeline that deploys CDK apps. It abstracts away the details of the more general-purpose codepipeline.Pipeline. If your use case is something other than building/testing/deploying CDK apps, though, you may be better off working directly with the latter, as the docs say.