CI/CD compliance scanner for GitLab CI and GitHub Actions
_{One CLI, one .plumber.yaml, one Rego policy engine.}

  

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What Is Plumber?

Plumber scans CI/CD pipelines for risky patterns and compliance gaps.

• GitLab CI: reads .gitlab-ci.yml, resolved includes, and repository settings.
• GitHub Actions: reads .github/workflows/*.{yml,yaml} locally or through the GitHub API.
• One config: .plumber.yaml contains provider-specific policy sections for GitLab and GitHub.

Plumber reports findings in the terminal, JSON, SARIF, GitLab SAST, PBOM, and CycloneDX formats.

Start Here

Run your first scan before reading the full docs.

brew tap getplumber/plumber
brew install plumber

plumber config generate # generates default configuration yaml file
plumber analyze

See the generated default config in this repo: .plumber.yaml.

Plumber auto-detects the provider from your git remote. Use explicit flags when scanning a repo that is not the current checkout.

Choose Your Path

I want to...	Use this	Start here
Try Plumber locally	CLI	plumber analyze
Add checks to GitLab CI	GitLab CI Component	GitLab CI Component
Add checks to GitHub Actions	GitHub Action	GitHub Action
Audit many repos from a script	CLI + JSON/SARIF	Outputs
Tune policy rules	.plumber.yaml	Configuration

Local CLI

Install

brew tap getplumber/plumber
brew install plumber

Other options:

• mise use -g github:getplumber/plumber
• Download a binary from GitHub Releases
• Run the Docker image: getplumber/plumber

Full install docs:

• GitLab: getplumber.io/docs/cli/gitlab#installation
• GitHub: getplumber.io/docs/cli/github#installation

Authenticate

GitLab:

export GITLAB_TOKEN=glpat_xxxx

GitHub (preferred — uses the gh CLI's keyring):

gh auth login

Alternative (CI runners, automation):

export GH_TOKEN=ghp_xxxx

GitHub local scans can run without a token for workflow-content checks. A token enables repo-level and action-metadata checks.

Run

Current repo:

plumber analyze

Specific GitLab project:

plumber analyze \
  --provider gitlab \
  --gitlab-url https://gitlab.com \
  --project group/project

Specific GitHub repo without a local clone:

plumber analyze \
  --provider github \
  --github-url github.com \
  --project owner/repo

GitLab CI Component

Add Plumber to .gitlab-ci.yml:

include:
  - component: gitlab.com/getplumber/plumber/plumber@<version>

Find the latest published version on the GitLab CI/CD Catalog.

Then add GITLAB_TOKEN in Settings -> CI/CD -> Variables.

Use read_api + read_repository for scanning. Use api if you want Plumber to create MR comments or badges.

Full guide: getplumber.io/docs/cli/gitlab#gitlab-ci-component

GitHub Action

Add Plumber to .github/workflows/plumber.yml:

name: Plumber

on:
  pull_request:
  push:
    branches: [main]

permissions:
  contents: read
  security-events: write

jobs:
  plumber:
    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
      - uses: getplumber/plumber@a7fa2feca21bd02c21c2e45d87e352b5ff7e7f28 # v0.3.43

Full guide (SARIF upload, Code Scanning, action inputs): getplumber.io/docs/cli/github#github-action

Configuration

Plumber reads .plumber.yaml.

Create a config interactively:

plumber config init

Generate the full commented default template:

plumber config generate

Example:

version: "2.0"

gitlab:
  controls:
    containerImageMustNotUseForbiddenTags:
      enabled: true

github:
  controls:
    actionsMustBePinnedByCommitSha:
      enabled: true
      trustedOwners:
        - actions
        - github

Useful commands:

plumber config validate
plumber config view
plumber config diff
plumber explain ISSUE-411

Full config reference:

• Default config: .plumber.yaml
• CLI docs: getplumber.io/docs/cli
• Issue reference: getplumber.io/docs/cli/issues

Controls

Plumber ships controls for:

• container image pinning and authorized sources
• branch protection
• unverified script execution (curl | bash, base64 -d | bash, etc.)
• Docker-in-Docker
• weakened security jobs
• unsafe variable expansion
• GitHub action pinning, archived actions, and known CVEs
• dangerous GitHub triggers and overbroad permissions
• hardcoded secrets in pipeline YAML (opt-in; shells out to gitleaks)

Full catalogs:

• GitLab controls: getplumber.io/docs/cli/gitlab#available-controls
• GitHub controls: getplumber.io/docs/cli/github#available-controls

Outputs

Output	Flag	Use it for
Terminal	default	Human review during local or CI runs
JSON	--output results.json	Automation and dashboards
SARIF	--sarif results.sarif	GitHub Code Scanning and SARIF-compatible tools
GitLab SAST	--glsast gl-sast-report.json	GitLab Security Dashboard / MR widget
PBOM	--pbom pbom.json	Pipeline inventory
CycloneDX	--pbom-cyclonedx cdx.json	SBOM tooling

Example:

plumber analyze \
  --output results.json \
  --sarif results.sarif \
  --pbom pbom.json \
  --pbom-cyclonedx cdx.json

More details:

• PBOM docs: docs/PBOM.md
• Scoring docs: docs/scoring.md
• CLI reference: getplumber.io/docs/cli

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
0	Compliance is greater than or equal to --threshold
1	Compliance is below --threshold
2	Invalid usage or configuration
3	Runtime, provider, auth, or network failure

Self-Hosted GitLab

If you run a self-hosted GitLab instance, host or mirror the Plumber component inside your instance, publish a release, and include that component URL from your pipelines.

Guide: getplumber.io/docs/cli/gitlab#hosting-on-self-hosted-gitlab

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to check
GITLAB_TOKEN environment variable is required	Export GITLAB_TOKEN or add it as a CI/CD variable
GitHub upstream scan refuses to start	Set GH_TOKEN, GITHUB_TOKEN, or run gh auth login
No GitHub repo-level findings	Local GitHub scans soft-degrade without token/API scope
Config warnings	Run plumber config validate
Need to inspect a finding	Run plumber explain ISSUE-XXX

More help:

• GitLab guide: getplumber.io/docs/cli/gitlab
• GitHub guide: getplumber.io/docs/cli/github
• Discord: discord.gg/932xkSU24f

Development

Build locally:

make build

Run tests:

make test

Contributing guide: CONTRIBUTING.md

Resources

• Website: getplumber.io
• Documentation: getplumber.io/docs/cli
• GitHub Action listing: Plumber Compliance Scanner
• GitLab component docs: COMPONENT_README.md
• Security policy: SECURITY.md

License

Plumber is licensed under the Mozilla Public License 2.0.