How to deploy apps to AWS Elastic Beanstalk with GitHub Actions

name: Deploy master
on:
  push:
    branches:
    - master

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:

    - name: Checkout source code
      uses: actions/checkout@v2

    - name: Generate deployment package
      run: zip -r deploy.zip . -x '*.git*'

    - name: Deploy to EB
      uses: einaregilsson/beanstalk-deploy@v22

beanstalk-deploy

GitHub action (and command line script) to deploy apps to Elastic Beanstalk

The content explains how to use the beanstalk-deploy GitHub action to deploy applications to AWS Elastic Beanstalk. It involves a creation package, action configuration, optional parameters, and security considerations.

Now, this is a fully automated deployment through GitHub Actions into AWS Elastic Beanstalk, keeping our applications updated with the hardly earned changes. It also follows security best practices, thus securing the deployment process.

Automated deployment to AWS Elastic Beanstalk makes this process smooth, cost-effective, and reduces manual interventions and errors. This way, it also ensures that it is secure by sticking to the permissions and best practices of AWS IAM.

How to use the beanstalk-deploy action in GitHub Actions?​

name: Deploy to master
on:
  push:
    branches:
    - master
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
    - name: Checkout source code
      uses: actions/checkout@v2
    - name: Generate deployment package
      run: zip -r deploy.zip.  -x '*.git*'
    - name: Deploy to EB
      uses: einaregilsson/beanstalk-deploy@v22
      with:
        aws_access_key: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
        aws_secret_key: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
        application_name: MyApplicationName
        environment_name: MyApplication-Environment
        version_label: 12345
        region: us-west-2
        deployment_package: deploy.zip

It will create a deployment package, publish to S3. It is supposed to wait until the deployment has completed and logs all messages being sent from the environment.

How to deploy an already existing version to AWS Elastic Beanstalk​

• Deploy Existing Version:

- name: Deploy to EB
  uses: einaregilsson/beanstalk-deploy@v22
  with:
    aws_access_key: ${{ secrets.AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID }}
    aws_secret_key: ${{ secrets.AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY }}
    application_name: MyApplicationName
    environment_name: MyApplication-Environment
    version_label: 12345
    region: us-west-2

The deployment_package input is optional for not using a deployment package and deploying an already created version and, with this being used, the version_label will need to be passed to the action. This is handy for redeploying already built versions without having to regenerate them.

Optional parameters: aws_session_token Temporary security credentials use_existing_version_if_available Will deploy an existing version, if available. Otherwise, we will create it from the deployment package wait_for_deployment, which Indicates whether to wait for the deployment to complete. Default: accurate wait_for_environment_recovery Wait time for the environment to be Green after deployment. version_description Description of the version being created.

• environment_name Defaults to an empty value in version 10; when omitted, the action creates the version but does not deploy the version.
• existing_bucket_name Name of existing bucket to which the deployment package will be uploaded.
• max_backoff_retries Number of exponential back-off retries. When omitted, value defaults to 10.

The optional parameters were for having maximum flexibility in the deployment process. At the same time, it allows the user to do a lot more specific configurations for the deployment at a use case level that one might end up facing in the field.

How to make sure AWS permissions will be in the right place?​

• AWS Permissions:

{
 "Version":"2012-10-17",
 "Statement":[
   {
     "Sid":"RegisterTaskDefinition",
     "Effect":"Allow",
     "Action":[
       "ecs:RegisterTaskDefinition"
     ],
     "Resource":"*"
   },
   {
     "Sid":"PassRolesInTaskDefinition",
     "Effect":"Allow",
     "Action":[
       "iam:PassRole"
     ],
     "Resource":[
       "arn:aws:iam::<aws_account_id>:role/<task_definition_task_role_name>",
       "arn:aws:iam::<aws_account_id>:role/<task_definition_task. These policies help to support the given action to register task definitions, pass IAM roles, and deploy services.

## How to manage support of AWS CodeDeploy for ECS services?
- **Deploy to ECS with CodeDeploy**:
```yaml
- name: Deploy to Amazon ECS
  uses: aws-actions/amazon-ecs-deploy-task-definition@v1
  with:
    task-definition: task-definition.json
    service: my-service
    cluster: my-cluster
    wait-for-service-stability: true
    codedeploy-appspec: appspec.json
    codedeploy-application: my-codedeploy-application
    codedeploy-deployment-group: my-codedeploy-deployment-group

Additional configuration is needed for ECS services using the CodeDeploy deployment controller. Ensuring the action has the necessary permissions for CodeDeploy operations is crucial for successful deployments.

How to use beanstalk-deploy as a command line program?​

beanstalk-deploy.js MyApplicationName MyApplication-Environment 12345 us-west-2 deploy.zip

The best part is that this command line app can be used outside GitHub Actions in performing deployments directly from our command line with the same parameters and setup.