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push-to-registry

✓ Official★ 699

by hashicorp · part of hashicorp/agent-skills

Push Packer build metadata to HCP Packer registry for tracking and managing image lifecycle. Use when integrating Packer builds with HCP Packer for version control and governance.

🔥🔥🔥✓ VerifiedFreeQuick setup
#devops#git
🧩 One of 7 skills in the hashicorp/agent-skills package — works on its own, and pairs well with its siblings.

This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates — you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.

Push to HCP Packer Registry

Configure Packer templates to push build metadata to HCP Packer registry.

Reference: HCP Packer Registry

Note: HCP Packer is free for basic use. Builds push metadata only (not actual images), adding minimal overhead (<1 minute).

Authentication

Set environment variables before building:

export HCP_CLIENT_ID="your-service-principal-client-id"
export HCP_CLIENT_SECRET="your-service-principal-secret"
export HCP_ORGANIZATION_ID="your-org-id"
export HCP_PROJECT_ID="your-project-id"

packer build .

Create HCP Service Principal

  1. Navigate to HCP → Access Control (IAM)
  2. Create Service Principal
  3. Grant "Contributor" role on project
  4. Generate client secret
  5. Save client ID and secret

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

name: Build and Push to HCP Packer

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]

env:
  HCP_CLIENT_ID: ${{ secrets.HCP_CLIENT_ID }}
  HCP_CLIENT_SECRET: ${{ secrets.HCP_CLIENT_SECRET }}
  HCP_ORGANIZATION_ID: ${{ secrets.HCP_ORGANIZATION_ID }}
  HCP_PROJECT_ID: ${{ secrets.HCP_PROJECT_ID }}

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: hashicorp/setup-packer@main

      - name: Build and push
        run: |
          packer init .
          packer build \
            -var "git_commit=${{ github.sha }}" \
            .

Querying in Terraform

data "hcp_packer_artifact" "ubuntu" {
  bucket_name  = "web-server"
  channel_name = "production"
  platform     = "aws"
  region       = "us-west-2"
}

resource "aws_instance" "web" {
  ami           = data.hcp_packer_artifact.ubuntu.external_identifier
  instance_type = "t3.micro"

  tags = {
    PackerBucket = data.hcp_packer_artifact.ubuntu.bucket_name
  }
}

Best Practices

  • Consistent bucket names - Never change for same image type
  • Meaningful labels - Use for versions, teams, compliance
  • CI/CD automation - Automate builds and registry pushes
  • Immutable build labels - Put changing data (git SHA, date) in build_labels

References