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Continuous Delivery (CD) is a software development practice that extends the benefits of Continuous Integration (CI) by automating the process of deploying software changes to production or staging environments. The primary goal of Continuous Delivery is to ensure that software can be delivered to users reliably, quickly, and in a sustainable manner.

Key aspects of Continuous Delivery include:

1. Automated Deployment: CD involves automating the entire deployment process, from integrating code changes (CI) to deploying the software to production or staging environments. Automation helps reduce the risk of errors and ensures consistency in the deployment process.
2. Reproducible Builds: CD ensures that builds are reproducible, meaning that the same codebase can generate identical results in different environments. This reduces the risk of discrepancies between development, testing, and production environments.
3. Deployment Pipelines: CD often uses deployment pipelines, which are a series of automated stages through which a software change passes before being deployed to production. These stages typically include building, testing, and deploying the application.
4. Feature Toggles: CD may use feature toggles (also known as feature flags) to enable or disable certain features in the software without deploying new code. This allows for faster and safer rollouts of new functionalities.
5. Decoupling Deployments from Releases: In CD, deployment and release are decoupled. Deployment is automated and can happen multiple times a day, while releasing the software to users can be a business decision made independently of deployments.
6. Continuous Testing: CD involves extensive automated testing at each stage of the deployment pipeline to ensure that the software is of high quality and that no critical issues are introduced during the process.
7. Versioning and Rollbacks: CD often includes versioning of deployments, allowing for easy rollbacks to previous stable versions in case of issues.

Continuous Delivery enables development teams to deliver software more frequently, reliably, and efficiently. By automating the deployment process and using deployment pipelines, CD reduces the manual effort required for releases and minimizes the risk of human error. It fosters a culture of continuous improvement and feedback, as changes can be quickly tested and validated in production-like environments. CD is a critical aspect of DevOps practices, as it enables development and operations teams to collaborate seamlessly and deliver value to users at a rapid pace while maintaining high-quality standards.