Improving Drupal Module Testing with GitLab CI and Real-Site Validation

Jürgen Haas from LakeDrops GmbH & Co. KG shared a detailed overview of advanced automated testing strategies for Drupal modules, following discussions at Drupal Dev Days in Leuven. In his latest blog post, Jürgen Haas outlines a robust testing workflow that emphasises the use of GitLab CI templates for both public and private modules, weekly testing for detecting upstream dependency changes, and continuous end-to-end testing on reference Drupal sites. This approach not only identifies issues early but also ensures consistent module stability across environments.

The post breaks into two key articles. The first, "Detect Upstream Changes: Weekly Module Testing with GitLab CI," covers structured weekly module testing that proactively detects breaking changes caused by upstream updates. The second, "Real Drupal Site Dependency Testing – A Strategic Approach," explains how hourly automated tests on live reference sites uncover issues missed in isolated module testing environments. This strategy allows LakeDrops to detect and resolve issues shortly after new Drupal releases are published—often before they impact broader users.

With over 1.4 million CI pipelines executed on their internal GitLab instance, the LakeDrops team has built a highly disciplined testing culture. Haas emphasises the importance of error-free logs and hints at an upcoming post exploring rigorous monitoring practices. His work provides valuable insight for Drupal developers aiming to elevate their CI/CD practices and site reliability.