Build pipeline metadata reference

This topic provides reference information about the rich metadata that HCP Packer collects form build pipelines. Refer to Rich CI/CD pipeline metadata for additional information.

Overview

The following table provides an overview of the components that HCP Packer collects build pipeline metadata from:

Component	Details captured
CI/CD	pipeline ID job names runner details
Git	remote reference name commit hash commit author flag for uncommitted changes
Operating system	OS name architeture version
Packer and Packer plugin versions	Packer version plugin name plugin version used in the build
Packer build commands	User-executed Packer build command options: `debug` `except` `force` `only` `var` `var-file` HCP Packer does not track sensitive variables specifed in the `var` option.

Metadata details

The following table describes the build pipeline metadata attributes that HCP Packer captures and tracks. Packer stores and build pipeline metadata as JSON. Refer to the example JSON for a rendered view of the data:

Attribute	Description	Type
`packer`	Object containing details about the Packer binary used to run the build.	Object
`packer.version`	Packer version in semantic version format.	String
`packer.plugins`	List of objects that contain the `name` and `version` of each plugin used in the build.	List
`packer.plugins.name`	Name of the plugin.	String
`packer.plugins.version`	Plugin version in semantic version format.	String
`packer.os`	Object containing details about the operating system that the Packer binary ran on to build the artifact.	Object
`packer.os.details`	Object containing the operating system architecture and version information.	Object
`packer.os.details.arch`	OS architecture	String
`packer.os.details.version`	OS version as reported by the system.	String
`packer.os.type`	Type of operating system.	String
`packer.options`	Object indicating the Packer binary options used to run the build.	Object
`packer.options.force`	`true` when Packer runs with the `force` option specified.	Boolean
`packer.options.debug`	`true` when Packer runs with the `debug` option specified.	Boolean
`packer.options.except`	List of builds and post-processors specified when Packer runs with the `except` option specified.	List
`packer.options.only`	List of only the builds and post-processors specified when Packer runs with the `except` option specified.	list
`packer.options.vars`	List of variables specified when Packer runs with the `vars` option specified.	List
`packer.options.var-files`	List of variable files specified when Packer runs with the `var-files` option specified.	List
`packer.options.path`	Path the Packer binary	String
`cicd`	Object containing details about the CI/CD pipeline.	Object
`cicd.details`	Object containing attributes provided by your CI/CD platform. HCP Packer supports GitHub Actions and GitLab CI/CD. Refer to the documentation for your platform for additional information.	Objects
`cicd.details.<CI/CD_PLATFORM_ATTRIBUTES>`	Attributes provided by your CI/CD platform.	String
`cicd.type`	Indicates the type of CI/CD pipeline platform.	String
`vcs`	Object containing information about the version control system.	Object
`vcs.details`	Object containing details retrieved from the VCS.	Object
`vcs.details.author`	Name of the person identified as the artifact configuration author.	String
`vcs.details.commit`	Commit ID associated with the build.	String
`vcs.details.has_uncommitted_changes`	`true` when the artifact was built with uncommitted chanages	Boolean
`vcs.details.ref`	Remote reference, such as tag or branch name, associated with the artifact build in the VCS.	String
`vcs.details.type`	Type of VCS	String

Example JSON

The following example contains rich metadata associated with GitHub actions build pipeline:

{
  "packer": {
    "version": "1.11.2",
    "plugins": [
      {
        "name": "docker",
        "version": "1.0.10"
      }
    ],
    "os": {
      "details": {
        "arch": "amd64",
        "version": "6.5.0-1024-azure"
      },
      "type": "linux"
    },
    "options": {
      "force": true,
      "debug": false,
      "except": [],
      "only": [
        "aws.docker"
      ],
      "vars": [
        "client_id",
        "client_secret"
      ],
      "var-files": [
        "variables.pkrvars.hcl"
      ],
      "path": "app.pkr.hcl"
    }
  },
  "cicd": {
    "details": {
      "GITHUB_ACTOR": "octo",
      "GITHUB_ACTOR_ID": "24626766",
      "GITHUB_EVENT_NAME": "push",
      "GITHUB_JOB": "metadata-phase-2-poc-linux",
      "GITHUB_REF": "refs/heads/poc_gha_env",
      "GITHUB_REPOSITORY": "hashicorp/cloud-packer-service",
      "GITHUB_REPOSITORY_ID": "362182133",
      "GITHUB_SHA": "eba36b80139ba1f42bc3f22760257ba1377ee6fe",
      "GITHUB_TRIGGERING_ACTOR": "octo-1",
      "GITHUB_WORKFLOW_URL": "https://github.com/hashicorp/cloud-packer-service/actions/runs/10058116707"
    },
    "type": "github-actions"
  },
  "vcs": {
    "details": {
      "author": "Octo <octo@hashicorp.com>",
      "commit": "eba36b80139ba1f42bc3f22760257ba1377ee6fe",
      "has_uncommitted_changes": false,
      "ref": "poc_gha_env"
    },
    "type": "git"
  }
}