Artifact Types

Understand the different types of Generic artifacts and their use cases.

Supported Artifact Types

Generic artifacts support any Docker container-based execution. Here are common patterns:

Database Migrations

{
  "native": {
    "type": "generic",
    "image": "python:3.11-slim",
    "command": ["python"],
    "args": ["/workspace/scripts/migrate.py"]
  }
}

Use cases:

• PostgreSQL schema migrations

• MySQL database updates

• MongoDB collection changes

• Redis configuration updates

API Integrations

{
  "native": {
    "type": "generic",
    "image": "curlimages/curl:latest",
    "command": ["/bin/sh"],
    "args": ["/workspace/scripts/api_call.sh"]
  }
}

Use cases:

• External API deployments

• Webhook configurations

• Third-party service integrations

• Custom API orchestration

Custom CLI Tools

{
  "native": {
    "type": "generic",
    "image": "hashicorp/terraform:1.5.7",
    "command": ["terraform"],
    "args": ["apply", "-auto-approve"]
  }
}

Use cases:

• Custom Terraform providers

• Legacy tool integrations

• Proprietary deployment tools

• Specialized infrastructure tools

Data Processing

{
  "native": {
    "type": "generic",
    "image": "apache/spark:3.4.0",
    "command": ["spark-submit"],
    "args": ["/workspace/scripts/process_data.py"]
  }
}

Use cases:

• ETL pipelines

• Data transformations

• Batch processing jobs

• Analytics computations

Configuration Management

{
  "native": {
    "type": "generic",
    "image": "ansible/ansible-runner:latest",
    "command": ["ansible-playbook"],
    "args": ["/workspace/playbooks/deploy.yml"]
  }
}

Use cases:

• Ansible playbooks

• Chef cookbooks

• Puppet manifests

• Custom configuration scripts

Approved Container Registries

Only images from these approved registries are allowed for security:

docker.io                          (Docker Hub)
ghcr.io                            (GitHub Container Registry)
quay.io                            (Red Hat Quay)
registry.gitlab.com                (GitLab Container Registry)
mcr.microsoft.com                  (Microsoft Container Registry)
gcr.io                             (Google Container Registry)
artifactregistry.googleapis.com    (Google Artifact Registry)
ecr.aws                            (AWS ECR)
*.us-east-1.amazonaws.com          (AWS ECR us-east-1)
*.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com          (AWS ECR eu-west-1)

Important: Images from other registries will be rejected during deployment.

Common Patterns

Multi-step Workflows

{
  "native": {
    "type": "generic",
    "image": "python:3.11-slim",
    "command": ["/bin/bash"],
    "args": ["-c", "python /workspace/step1.py && python /workspace/step2.py"]
  }
}

Environment-specific Execution

{
  "native": {
    "type": "generic",
    "image": "node:18-alpine",
    "command": ["node"],
    "args": ["/workspace/scripts/deploy.js"],
    "env_vars": {
      "NODE_ENV": "production",
      "LOG_LEVEL": "info"
    }
  }
}

Resource-intensive Tasks

{
  "native": {
    "type": "generic",
    "image": "tensorflow/tensorflow:latest",
    "command": ["python"],
    "args": ["/workspace/scripts/train_model.py"]
  }
}

Best Practices

Image Selection

• Use Alpine-based images when possible (smaller size)

• Pin to specific versions (never use latest)

• Choose images with minimal attack surface

• Consider multi-stage builds for complex dependencies

Script Organization

• Keep scripts focused on single responsibility

• Use proper error handling and exit codes

• Implement idempotent operations

• Include comprehensive logging

Security Considerations

• Never hardcode secrets in images

• Use Bluebricks secrets for sensitive data

• Validate all inputs before processing

• Follow principle of least privilege

See also

• Container Configuration -- image, command, and environment setup

• Input/Output Handling -- vars.json and outputs.json contract

• Generic Artifact Lifecycle -- plan, apply, and destroy stage configuration