Managing secrets for GitHub Actions workflows

Question

Pulumi · Accepted Answer

Managing secrets in GitHub Actions workflows is an essential task to protect sensitive information such as passwords, private keys, and access tokens. In Pulumi, you can manage GitHub Actions secrets using the `github.ActionsSecret` resource, which allows you to provision and manage the secrets programmatically.

Let's look at how we can create a GitHub Actions secret using Pulumi.

Firstly, we'll define a Pulumi project and install the necessary dependencies. We'll use the `@pulumi/github` provider to interact with GitHub.

### Step 1: Set up your Pulumi project

If you haven't already done so, create a new directory for your Pulumi project and initialize a new project with `pulumi new`. Choose the TypeScript template when prompted.

```bash
$ mkdir pulumi-github-actions-secrets
$ cd pulumi-github-actions-secrets
$ pulumi new typescript
```

### Step 2: Install the GitHub provider

Install the `@pulumi/github` package using npm:

```bash
$ npm install @pulumi/github
```

### Step 3: Create a GitHub Actions secret

In your project's `index.ts` file, import the necessary modules and create a new secret for use in GitHub Actions workflows.

```typescript
import * as pulumi from '@pulumi/pulumi';
import * as github from '@pulumi/github';

// You must configure your GitHub provider with appropriate credentials.
// This can be done via the Pulumi config, environment variables, or manually
// in your program (as shown below).

// Define your GitHub repository and the secret name.
const repositoryName = "my-repository";
const secretName = "MY_SECRET";

// The value for the secret. Normally, you'd use a Pulumi secret here or
// another secret management service for the actual secret value.
// For demonstration purposes, it's hardcoded here.
const secretValue = "supersecretvalue";

// Create a new GitHub Actions secret resource.
const mySecret = new github.ActionsSecret(secretName, {
    repository: repositoryName,
    plaintextValue: secretValue, // This value should be secured. Consider using Pulumi's secret management.
});

// Export the secret's name for easy access.
export const githubSecretName = mySecret.secretName;
```

In the code above, you first import the necessary Pulumi and GitHub provider-specific modules. You then specify details about the GitHub repository and the secret that you want to create.

You instantiate a `github.ActionsSecret`, passing in the repository name and the plaintext value of the secret. Note that `plaintextValue` should be treated securely. It is recommended to use Pulumi's configuration system to manage secret values instead of hardcoding them.

### Step 4: Deploy your changes

Run the following command to deploy your Pulumi stack:

```bash
$ pulumi up
```

### Step 5: Verify the secret

You can go to your GitHub repository's settings under the "Secrets" section to verify that the secret has been added.

Congratulations! You've just created a GitHub Actions secret using Pulumi. Remember to use secure practices when managing the secret values, like using environment variables or Pulumi's built-in secret management.