Secure Model Development with Protected Branches in GitLab

Securing GitLab Branches with AI

To create a secure model development workflow using GitLab's protected branches feature, you will need to define certain resources in your infrastructure as code. With Pulumi, you can manage GitLab resources like projects, branches, and protected branches.

Here's what you will typically set up for a secure development workflow:

Project: This is your repository in GitLab where your source code and branches will reside.
Branch: This represents a branch in your GitLab project. Development typically takes place in branches.
Branch Protection: This rule secures your branches by specifying which actions are allowed by whom and under what conditions.

Below is a detailed Pulumi program written in Python that sets up a GitLab project, a branch, and a branch protection rule. Note that this program assumes you have a GitLab provider configured with Pulumi.

Explanation

gitlab.Project: Creates a new project in GitLab. The name property specifies the name of the project, and you can also include other properties like visibility_level to set the visibility of the project (private, internal, or public).
gitlab.Branch: Defines a branch in the specified GitLab project.
gitlab.BranchProtection: Applies protection rules to your branch. For instance, you can restrict who can push or merge to the branch, whether force pushes are allowed, and whether all merges should be approved by specific users or groups.

Program

import pulumi
import pulumi_gitlab as gitlab

# Create a new project in GitLab. Replace 'my-secure-project' with your desired project name.
project = gitlab.Project("my-secure-project",
                         name="my-secure-project",
                         visibility_level="private"
)

# Define a branch in the GitLab project. Replace 'main' with your desired branch name.
branch = gitlab.Branch("main",
                       branch="main",
                       project=project.id,
                       ref="master"
)

# Set up branch protection rules. This secures your 'main' branch by limiting actions like push and merge.
branch_protection = gitlab.BranchProtection("main-protection",
                                            project=project.id,
                                            branch=branch.name,
                                            push_access_level="developer",
                                            merge_access_level="master",
                                            unprotect_access_level="master",
                                            code_owner_approval_required=True
)

pulumi.export('project_id', project.id)
pulumi.export('branch_name', branch.name)
pulumi.export('branch_protection_id', branch_protection.id)

The code initializes the Pulumi GitLab provider and sets up the required resources. In the branch protection rules, push_access_level, merge_access_level, and unprotect_access_level are set to control who can push, merge, and unprotect the branch, respectively. The code_owner_approval_required setting enforces approval from code owners before merging is allowed.

How to use this program

Install Pulumi and set up the GitLab provider following the instructions on the Pulumi GitLab Provider documentation.
Customize the project, branch, and branch_protection resources as needed.
Run pulumi up to create the resources in your GitLab account.
To get the created resources' identifiers, the pulumi.export lines will output them upon successful execution.

Remember to use strong authentication and authorization practices when setting up your Pulumi and GitLab accounts to maintain security throughout your infrastructure management process.