Fixing CI Deploy: GCP IAM Roles Needed!

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CI Deploy Blocked: Missing GCP IAM Roles (Action Required)

Hey guys! So, we've got a bit of a snag in our automated deployment workflow, and it's causing some headaches. Our CI deploy process is getting blocked because the CI service account is missing some crucial IAM roles. This means our deployments are failing, and we need to get this sorted out ASAP. Let's dive in and get this fixed!

The Problem: Missing IAM Permissions 💥

Alright, so here's the deal. Our automated deployment workflow, which is defined in the .github/workflows/deploy.yml file, is consistently failing. The culprit? Our Cloud Build and Secret Manager operations are running into permission issues. Basically, the CI service account doesn't have the necessary IAM roles to do its job. This is preventing us from deploying our code successfully. Think of it like this: the CI service account is the key to unlock the deployment process, but it doesn't have the right key to open the necessary doors. This is a common issue, and the good news is, it's usually pretty straightforward to resolve. We just need to grant the service account the right permissions, and we'll be back on track.

Evidence and Artifacts

To give you a clearer picture of what's happening, here's some evidence:

  • Readiness PR: We have a readiness pull request (https://github.com/Tazaai/medplat/pull/31) that highlights the issue and related changes.
  • Draft WIF Proposal: There's also a draft Workload Identity Federation (WIF) proposal (https://github.com/Tazaai/medplat/pull/32), which is a more secure way to manage service account credentials (more on this later).
  • Runner Logs: We've been analyzing the logs from our automation agent. These logs, like /workspaces/medplat/tmp/deploy-run-19018059437.log, and others in the /workspaces/medplat/tmp/ directory within the devcontainer, provide detailed information about the errors.
  • Monitoring and Logs Path: The logs are readily available in the devcontainer at /workspaces/medplat/tmp/, making it easy to troubleshoot and monitor deployment runs.

These logs are super important because they show us exactly what's going wrong. They're like the breadcrumbs that lead us to the solution.

Representative Errors

Here are some of the errors we're seeing:

  • ERROR: (gcloud.builds.submit) PERMISSION_DENIED: The caller does not have permission. This error means the service account doesn't have the permissions to submit builds to Cloud Build.
  • ERROR: (gcloud.secrets.create) Permission 'secretmanager.secrets.create' denied This one indicates that the service account lacks the permission to create secrets in Secret Manager.
  • In earlier runs, we also saw errors like failed to parse service account key JSON. This was addressed by switching to the credentials_json input for authentication, which is a good fix, but we still need to fix the underlying permission problem.

These errors tell us precisely what permissions are missing. They're our roadmap to fixing the issue.

Immediate Remediation: Admin Action Required 🚀

Okay, so here's the fix. We need to grant the CI service account the necessary IAM roles. This is a simple process, but it requires admin-level access to your Google Cloud project. If you have admin rights, follow these steps. If not, forward these instructions to someone who does.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Set Up Variables: First, you'll need to replace PROJECT_ID with your Google Cloud project ID and SA_EMAIL with the email address of your service account. You can find your project ID in the Google Cloud Console. The service account email usually follows this format: service-account@your-project-id.iam.gserviceaccount.com.

    PROJECT_ID=your-gcp-project-id
SA_EMAIL=service-account@${PROJECT_ID}.iam.gserviceaccount.com

  2. Grant IAM Roles: Next, run the following gcloud commands. These commands will add the necessary IAM policy bindings to your project, granting the service account the required permissions.

    gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding $PROJECT_ID \
  --member="serviceAccount:${SA_EMAIL}" --role="roles/secretmanager.admin"

gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding $PROJECT_ID \
  --member="serviceAccount:${SA_EMAIL}" --role="roles/cloudbuild.builds.builder"

gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding $PROJECT_ID \
  --member="serviceAccount:${SA_EMAIL}" --role="roles/artifactregistry.writer"

gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding $PROJECT_ID \
  --member="serviceAccount:${SA_EMAIL}" --role="roles/run.admin"

gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding $PROJECT_ID \
  --member="serviceAccount:${SA_EMAIL}" --role="roles/iam.serviceAccountUser"

    Each of these commands adds a specific role. For example, roles/secretmanager.admin grants the service account the ability to manage secrets. roles/cloudbuild.builds.builder allows it to submit builds to Cloud Build, and so on. Make sure you execute all these commands in your terminal.

  3. Enable Required APIs: Finally, enable the necessary Google Cloud APIs. This is a crucial step because these APIs provide the services the service account needs to function. Run this command:

    gcloud services enable secretmanager.googleapis.com cloudbuild.googleapis.com artifactregistry.googleapis.com run.googleapis.com --project=$PROJECT_ID

    This command enables Secret Manager, Cloud Build, Artifact Registry, and Cloud Run APIs, ensuring that your service account can interact with these services.

Once you've run these commands, your CI/CD pipeline should be able to deploy without these permission errors.

Optional/Long-Term Solution: Workload Identity Federation (WIF) 🛡️

For a more secure and robust solution, consider implementing Workload Identity Federation (WIF). This method eliminates the need to store service account JSON keys directly in your repository secrets, which reduces the risk of credential compromise. WIF allows your CI/CD workflow to securely authenticate with Google Cloud using short-lived credentials.

Why WIF is Awesome

  • Enhanced Security: No more storing sensitive service account keys in your repo.
  • Simplified Management: Easier to manage and rotate credentials.
  • Industry Best Practice: Aligning with modern security standards.

If you're interested in setting up WIF, check out PR #32 for a proposal and ci/ADMIN_CHECKLIST.md for detailed setup instructions. It's a bit more involved to set up initially, but the long-term benefits in terms of security and maintainability are well worth the effort. Think of it like upgrading your security system from a basic lock to a high-tech smart lock with multi-factor authentication!

What the Automation Agent Does Next 🤖

Our automation agent is diligently monitoring the repo and fetching logs to help us resolve this issue. Here's what it will do next:

  • Log Monitoring: The agent will continue to fetch and analyze any completed workflow run logs, storing them in /workspaces/medplat/tmp/. This helps us understand if the changes have resolved the issue and identifies any new problems. The agent acts like a tireless detective, constantly searching for clues.
  • Post-Resolution Reporting: After you've run the commands and triggered the workflow, the agent will automatically fetch the logs and report the next steps. To assist, you can provide the run ID in the comments, and the agent can immediately analyze the most recent logs.

This automation helps us stay on top of the situation, ensuring that we catch and fix any deployment problems quickly.

Need Help?

If you have any questions or need further assistance, don't hesitate to reach out! We're all in this together, and we want to get our deployments running smoothly again. If you have admin rights, please run the commands above. If you don't, please pass this info along to your admin so that they can do this for you. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thanks, guys!