diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..be07f41
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# use the tidyverse rocker image, as it contains devtools preinstalled
+image: rocker/tidyverse
+
+# define stages of runner. at the moment,
+# just test and build (no deploy).
+stages:
+  - build
+
+build-and-check:
+  stage: build
+  before_script:
+    - apt-get update && apt-get install -y build-essential libglpk40 libxt6
+  script:
+    # install & check
+    - R -e 'devtools::install()'
+    - R CMD build . && R CMD check --no-manual $(ls -t . | head -n1)