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Version: 1.6.0

Setting Up in CI/CD

SAFE runs as a step in your CI pipeline. When vulnerabilities are found it exits with a non-zero code, blocking the build. This page covers how to integrate SAFE into common CI systems.

Approaches​

There are three ways to add SAFE to a pipeline:

  1. Binary download — download the SAFE binary as part of the job. No changes to your project files.
  2. Mix plugin (mix_safe) — add mix_safe to your mix.exs dependencies. The plugin manages the SAFE binary automatically and integrates with the Mix workflow. See mix_safe.
  3. Rebar3 plugin (rebar_safe) — add rebar_safe to your rebar.config plugins. The plugin manages the SAFE binary automatically and integrates with the Rebar3 workflow. See rebar_safe.

Prerequisites​

Before running SAFE in CI, make sure:

  • .safe/config.json is committed to your repository. Generate it locally with safe setup and commit the result.
  • The SAFE_LICENSE secret is configured in your CI system.

GitHub Actions​

.github/workflows/safe.yml
name: SAFE Security Scan

on:
  push:
    branches: ["main"]
  pull_request:
    branches: ["main"]

jobs:
  safe:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - uses: erlef/setup-beam@v1
        with:
          otp-version: '26'
          elixir-version: '1.16'

      - name: Restore plugin binary cache
        uses: actions/cache@v4
        with:
          path: _build/safe
          key: safe-binary-${{ hashFiles('safe.lock') }}
          restore-keys: safe-binary-

      - name: Restore analysis state cache
        uses: actions/cache@v4
        with:
          path: ~/.safe
          key: safe-state-${{ github.ref }}-${{ github.sha }}
          restore-keys: |
            safe-state-${{ github.ref }}-
            safe-state-

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: mix deps.get

      - name: Compile
        run: mix compile

      - name: Run SAFE analysis
        run: mix safe analyse
        env:
          SAFE_LICENSE: ${{ secrets.SAFE_LICENSE }}

GitLab CI​

info

GitLab CI cache paths must be relative to the project directory. SAFE's analysis state lives at ~/.safe, which is outside that scope, so incremental state caching is not available on GitLab. Each run performs a full analysis.

.gitlab-ci.yml
safe:
  stage: test
  image: elixir:1.16
  variables:
    SAFE_LICENSE: $SAFE_LICENSE
  before_script:
    - mix deps.get
    - mix compile
  script:
    - mix safe analyse

CircleCI​

info

CircleCI requires environment variables to be configured in the project settings or as a context. Set SAFE_LICENSE there rather than hard-coding it in the config.

.circleci/config.yml
version: 2.1

jobs:
  safe:
    docker:
      - image: cimg/elixir:1.17
    steps:
      - checkout

      - restore_cache:
          keys:
            - safe-binary-{{ checksum "safe.lock" }}
            - safe-binary-

      - restore_cache:
          keys:
            - safe-state-{{ .Branch }}-{{ .Revision }}
            - safe-state-{{ .Branch }}-
            - safe-state-

      - run:
          name: Install dependencies
          command: mix deps.get

      - run:
          name: Compile
          command: mix compile

      - run:
          name: Run SAFE analysis
          command: mix safe analyse

      - save_cache:
          key: safe-binary-{{ checksum "safe.lock" }}
          paths:
            - _build/safe

      - save_cache:
          key: safe-state-{{ .Branch }}-{{ .Revision }}
          paths:
            - ~/.safe

workflows:
  version: 2
  security:
    jobs:
      - safe

Caching​

Caching reduces scan time significantly on repeat runs. There are two directories worth caching:

DirectoryPurposeCache key recommendation
~/.safeSAFE analysis state. Stores the results of previous runs so only changed files are re-analysed.Branch + commit SHA, falling back to branch
_build/safePlugin binary cache (mix_safe / rebar_safe). Avoids re-downloading the SAFE binary on every run.Contents of safe.lock (mix_safe) or branch (rebar_safe)
tip

Always restore the ~/.safe cache before the compile step, and save it after the SAFE step. This ensures the analysis state reflects the compiled BEAM files from the current run.

Exit Codes​

CodeMeaning
0Analysis completed successfully — no vulnerabilities found.
1An error occurred (bad configuration, missing license, etc.).
2Analysis completed — vulnerabilities were found.

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