Automate Your Air-Gapped AWS Container Registry with ECR and Terraform
In an air-gapped AWS environment, securely managing container images is crucial. Traditional methods can lead to inefficiencies and security risks. By automating the process with Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR) and Terraform, you can streamline your workflow while maintaining robust security practices.
The automation flow consists of three main steps. First, source registries, including public options like Docker Hub and private ones such as Harbor, serve as the starting point for your Helm charts and container images. Next, a migration tool copies these artifacts into your AWS account, ensuring that multi-architecture manifests are preserved and that access to private sources is authenticated via AWS Secrets Manager. Finally, as each artifact is pushed, Amazon ECR automatically creates the target repository using predefined templates. This includes applying customer-managed encryption through AWS Key Management Service (KMS), enforcing immutable tags, and implementing lifecycle rules to manage image retention effectively.
In practice, you’ll want to define your repository creation templates carefully. Key parameters include setting the applied_for field to CREATE_ON_PUSH to auto-create repositories upon the first image push, and configuring image_tag_mutability to IMMUTABLE to prevent tag overwrites. Be mindful of the lifecycle policy to manage untagged images effectively. This setup not only enhances security but also ensures that your container management is efficient and compliant with best practices.
Key takeaways
- →Leverage Amazon ECR for secure container image storage and management.
- →Use Terraform to automate repository creation with the CREATE_ON_PUSH capability.
- →Configure KMS for customer-managed encryption to enhance security.
- →Set image tags to IMMUTABLE to prevent accidental overwrites.
- →Implement lifecycle policies to manage untagged images effectively.
Why it matters
Automating container registry management in air-gapped environments reduces manual overhead and enhances security, ensuring compliance with organizational policies while maintaining operational efficiency.
Code examples
1resource "aws_ecr_repository_creation_template" "templates" {
2 for_each = { for t in var.repository_templates : t.prefix => t }
3
4 prefix = "${var.resource_prefix}${each.value.prefix}"
5 applied_for = ["CREATE_ON_PUSH"] # auto-create repos on first push
6
7 encryption_configuration { # customer-managed AWS KMS encryption
8 encryption_type = "KMS"
9 kms_key = aws_kms_key.ecr.arn
10 }
11
12 image_tag_mutability = "IMMUTABLE" # prevent tag overwrites
13
14 lifecycle_policy = jsonencode({ # expire untagged images
15 rules = [{
16 rulePriority = 1
17 description = "Expire untagged images"
18 selection = {
19 tagStatus = "untagged", countType = "sinceImagePushed"
20 countUnit = "days", countNumber = var.lifecycle_expiration_days
21 }
22 action = { type = "expire" }
23 }]
24 })
25
26 custom_role_arn = aws_iam_role.ecr_template_role.arn
27}When NOT to use this
The official docs don't call out specific anti-patterns here. Use your judgment based on your scale and requirements.
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