Environment Variables in CodeBuild of AWS

Building and deploying applications continuously requires managing various configurations and secrets. In this fast-paced world, AWS CodeBuild emerges as a powerful tool for streamlining your CI/CD pipelines. But how do you securely and efficiently manage configuration data within your CodeBuild projects? Enter “environment variables in codebuild”, the game-changers in configuration management.

What are Environment Variables?

Environment variables are key-value pairs that store settings and configurations accessible throughout your development process. They offer a flexible and secure way to manage various aspects of your builds. This approach eliminates the need to hardcode sensitive information directly into your code.

Why Use Environment Variables in CodeBuild?

Imagine needing to update database credentials or API keys across multiple builds. Hardcoding these values would be time-consuming and error-prone. Environment variables allow you to centralize these values, making updates a breeze and ensuring consistency across builds. Additionally, storing sensitive data in environment variables, rather than directly in your code, enhances security.

Methods for Adding Environment Variables to CodeBuild

CodeBuild offers three key methods to add environment variables:

1. Adding Environment Variables at the Project Level:

• Use the AWS Management Console: Navigate to your CodeBuild project,
• Click “Edit” button to start editing the project

• Then you find the following section in the Environment->Additional configuration section.

• Add all the environment variables in this section as key-value pairs.
• Then click on the “Update project” button in the bottom of the page

Use the AWS CLI: Employ the update-project command with the --environment-variables flag to specify your variables.

This method is suitable for global configurations. These configurations apply to all builds within a project. Examples include the default branch or build timeout.

2. Using Environment Variables in the Buildspec File:

The buildspec.yml file defines the build workflow for your CodeBuild project. You can directly define environment variables within this file using the following syntax:

env:
  MY_VARIABLE: "value"

This method shines when you need project-specific configurations or access secrets stored in external services like AWS Secrets Manager.

Following syntax illustrates how to read environment values added in project level in the buildspec.yml

pre_build:
    commands:
      - echo log in to Amazon ECR...    
      - aws ecr get-login-password --region $AWS_DEFAULT_REGION | docker login --username $ECR_LOGIN_USER --password-stdin $ECR_LOGIN_PASS
      - REPOSITORY_URI=$REPO_URL

 The “AWS_DEFAULT_REGION”, “ECR_LOGIN_USER”, “ECR_LOGIN_PASS” and “REPO_URL” are using to login AWS ECR and getting link to the image repository.

3. Leveraging AWS Secrets Manager and Parameter Store:

For storing sensitive information like API keys or database credentials, use dedicated services. Services like AWS Secrets Manager and AWS Parameter Store are crucial. CodeBuild seamlessly integrates with these services, allowing you to retrieve and use secrets securely within your buildspec:

( Using AWS Secrets Manager and AWS Parameter Store is described in here)

env:
  MY_SECRET: << (secretsmanager:MY_SECRET_NAME)

This approach promotes security by eliminating the need to store sensitive data directly in the buildspec. This reduces the risk of accidental exposure.

Best Practices for Managing Environment Variables in CodeBuild:

• Differentiate your data sources: Use Secrets Manager for confidential data. Use Parameter Store for configuration settings. Use project-level variables for non-sensitive information.
• Minimize sensitive data in the buildspec: Leverage external services like Secrets Manager to store and retrieve sensitive data securely.
• Descriptive naming: Use clear and meaningful names for environment variables, making their purpose easily identifiable.
• Principle of least privilege: Grant CodeBuild the minimum permissions required to access specific environment variables.

By following these best practices, you can maintain an efficient approach. You will also secure the management of environment variables in your CodeBuild projects.

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