AWS CodePipeline - Part 2 (Artifacts)

Artifacts are the most essential moving objects in AWS CodePipeline. With the help of flexibility and usefulness given by AWS, artifacts can solve the important aspect of a pipeline as end users required. This article will explain about artifacts of AWS CodePipeline and their surrounding. You may interest on the previous topic on AWS CodePipeline here from WitCentre! Let's move on with this topic!

AWS CodePipeline Artifacts

Let's say you are configuring AWS CodePipeline for deploying/delivering your website adhering a CICD process. When you need to deploy a change or an update of your website to end users, you just need to commit your changes to the repository of your website source. Thus, it will eventually end up with deploying the latest version of the website. In order to do so, the pipeline needs source files or may be just binaries (based on your configurations). For an example, let's say you are using GitHub as source code version controlling solution and configure it with AWS CodePipeline to make the CICD pipeline. Then, when the pipeline is triggered, it will take your source code into it's (CodePipeline's) environment. It will be the input artifact of your pipeline. Basically, everything coming and going via the CodePipeline is considered as artifacts. That may be any kind of data based on your requirement! However, there are some special things that everyone should be aware of, when it comes to artifacts. Let's see them quickly too!

Where AWS CodePipeline stores these artifacts?

Have you ever thought this before :) ? AWS CodePipeline requires an AWS S3 bucket as it's artifact store. This is where the pipeline store all it's artifacts and use when needed. As we know, CodePipeline cannot work without artifacts. As well, artifacts cannot persist without an artifact store/bucket. Therefore, this AWS S3 artifact store is a must needed resource for each AWS CodePipleine.

Where do we see artifacts?

As mentioned above, everything passes through the pipeline is considered as an artifact. Thus, we should see (not physically :) ) artifacts at entry points in AWS CodePipeline. That means every action in AWS CodePipeline has input artifacts and output artifacts (If you need to know about actions, please wait for the next article on AWS CodePipeline. It will be on stages and actions). Actions can be configured to use artifacts as needed within the pipeline. It will help to make the connection throughout the whole process.

You should have a proper understanding on artifacts in AWS CodePipeline and what Artifact Store is in CodePipeline. Look at the figure below to get some more clarification graphically.

If you need anything specially know about AWS CodePipeline or related, please contact us! You may either post a comment or directly send an email via the contact us form just mentioning your requirement. WitCentre will be there to help  you!