Secure Artifact Storage in GitHub Actions

In the context of CI/CD, storing artifacts securely is crucial to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of your builds. This lesson covers how to implement secure artifact storage using GitHub Actions.

What are Artifacts?

Artifacts are files generated during the build process, such as binaries, libraries, or documentation. They are crucial for deployment and testing.

Why Secure Artifact Storage?

Securing artifacts helps prevent unauthorized access, tampering, and data breaches, ensuring that only authenticated users can access them.

Step 1: Create a GitHub Repository

Start by creating a new GitHub repository if you don’t have one.

Step 2: Configure GitHub Actions

Create a `.github/workflows/main.yml` file in your repository with the following content:

name: CI

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

    steps:
      - name: Checkout code
        uses: actions/checkout@v2

      - name: Build project
        run: echo "Building Project"

      - name: Upload Artifact
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v2
        with:
          name: my-artifact
          path: ./build/output

Step 3: Configure Secrets

To secure your artifacts, store any sensitive data (like API keys) in GitHub Secrets.

Step 4: Download Artifacts Securely

To download artifacts securely, use the following step in your workflow:

- name: Download Artifact
        uses: actions/download-artifact@v2
        with:
          name: my-artifact

• Use short-lived tokens for accessing artifacts.
• Encrypt sensitive artifacts before storing them.
• Regularly audit access to artifacts.
• Limit the number of users with access to sensitive artifacts.
• Always keep your dependencies up to date.