diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 87a0c5a..c39fb0b 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -6,22 +6,17 @@ variables:
 
 cache:
   paths:
-    # utilize pip caching
-    - .cache/pip
-    # cache the virtual environment
-    - venv/
+    - .cache/pip # pip caching directory
 
 # setup environemnt
 before_script:
   - python --version
-  - pip install virtualenv
-  - virtualenv venv
-  - source venv/bin/activate
   - pip install -r requirements.txt
-  - pip install flake8
+  - pip install flake8 black
 
 stages:
   - syntax
+  - black
   - pep8
 
 syntax:
@@ -30,9 +25,15 @@ syntax:
     # breaking errors ie syntax errors
     - flake8 --select=E9,F63,F7,F82 --show-source
 
+black:
+  stage: black
+  script:
+    # code consistency
+    - black . --check --line-length 120
+
 pep8:
   stage: pep8
   script:
-      # pep8 warnings
+    # pep8 warnings and other non breaking warnings
     - flake8 --max-complexity=10 --max-line-length=120 --show-source
   allow_failure: true