Jenkins

Configure variables

Before getting started, you need to configure your Jenkins instance with the required credentials. Make sure the following values are added under Dashboard → Manage Jenkins → Credentials as credentials of type Secret text:

ANCHORECTL_USERNAME 
ANCHORECTL_PASSWORD
ANCHORECTL_URL

These are necessary for the integration to access your Anchore Enterprise deployment. The ANCHORECTL_PASSWORD value should be created as a repository secret to prevent exposure of the value in job logs, while ANCHORECTL_URL and ANCHORECTL_USERNAME can be created as repository variables.

Configure scanning mode

Below are examples of the two types of image scans. For a detailed explanation of their differences, refer to the Images concept page.

a) Distributed

This is the most easily scalable method for scanning images. Distributed scanning uses the anchorectl utility to build the SBOM directly on the build runner and then pushes the SBOM to Anchore Enterprise through the API. The example below demonstrates how to automate distributed analysis within a pipeline.

pipeline {
        
    // Define parameters for user input
    parameters {
        string(name: 'REGISTRY', defaultValue: 'docker.io', description: 'The container registry to use.', trim: true)
        string(name: 'REPOSITORY', defaultValue: 'library/nginx', description: 'The image repository path.', trim: true)
        string(name: 'TAG', defaultValue: 'latest', description: 'The image tag to analyze.', trim: true)
        choice(name: 'ANCHORECTL_QUIET', choices: ['true', 'false'], description: 'Suppress anchorectl informational messages.')
        choice(name: 'ANCHORECTL_FORMAT', choices: ['json', 'csv'], description: 'The output format for anchorectl (e.g., json, csv).')
        choice(name: 'ANCHORECTL_FAIL_BASED_ON_RESULTS', choices: ['true', 'false'], description: 'How to handle fail signals (e.g., policy check outcomes)')
    }

    stages {
        stage('Anchore Image Scan') {
            environment {
              // This is the AnchoreCTL service endpoint (fetched securely from Jenkins credentials)
                ANCHORECTL_URL = credentials('ANCHORECTL_URL')
              // Define the Anchore account username
                ANCHORECTL_USERNAME = credentials('ANCHORECTL_USERNAME')

              // Define the Anchore account password
                ANCHORECTL_PASSWORD = credentials('ANCHORECTL_PASSWORD')

              // Whether to fail the pipeline based on AnchoreCTL scan results (controlled by Jenkins parameter)
                ANCHORECTL_FAIL_BASED_ON_RESULTS = "${params.ANCHORECTL_FAIL_BASED_ON_RESULTS}"

              // You can also choose to Suppress unnecessary output logs
                ANCHORECTL_QUIET = "${params.ANCHORECTL_QUIET}"

              // Define the Output format for AnchoreCTL results
                ANCHORECTL_FORMAT = "${params.ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}"
            }
            steps {
                script {
                    echo 'Starting image analysis pipeline.'
                    
                    // Download and configure the Anchore CLI
                    sh '''
                        mkdir -p $HOME/.local/bin
                        curl -sSfL "${ANCHORECTL_URL}v2/system/anchorectl?operating_system=linux&architecture=amd64" \\
                            -H "accept: /" | tar -zx -C $HOME/.local/bin anchorectl
                        export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
                    '''

                    // Add the image to Anchore and wait for analysis to complete
                    sh "anchorectl image add --wait --from registry ${params.REGISTRY}/${params.REPOSITORY}:${params.TAG}"

                    // Retrieve and archive vulnerability report
                    sh "anchorectl image vulnerabilities ${params.REGISTRY}/${params.REPOSITORY}:${params.TAG} | tee vulnerabilities.${ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}"
                    archiveArtifacts artifacts: "vulnerabilities.${env.ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}"
                    
                    // Run and archive the policy check
                    sh """#!/bin/bash
                        set -o pipefail
                        anchorectl image check --detail ${params.REGISTRY}/${params.REPOSITORY}:${params.TAG} | tee policy-check.${ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}
                    """
                    archiveArtifacts artifacts: "policy-check.${env.ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}"

                    // Post-build action to handle policy failure, if configured
                    if (env.ANCHORECTL_FAIL_BASED_ON_RESULTS == 'true') {
                        def policyCheckResult = sh(script: "grep -q 'Policy Evaluation: PASS' policy-check.${ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}", returnStatus: true)
                        if (policyCheckResult != 0) {
                            error('Policy check failed based on results.')
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

b) Centralized

Centralized Scanning uses analyzer pods in Anchore Enterprise to generate the SBOM. This method is ideal when the operator does not control the image build process, supports asynchronous scanning, and is required for malware detection through ClamAV. After your container image is built, you can trigger a scan by adding the provided stage to your pipeline, which will instruct Anchore Enterprise to analyze the image and display vulnerability and policy results in the build log. Below is an example of how to achieve centralized scanning in your pipeline

pipeline {
    
    // Define parameters for user input
    parameters {
        string(name: 'REGISTRY', defaultValue: 'docker.io', description: 'The container registry to use.', trim: true)
        string(name: 'REPOSITORY', defaultValue: 'library/nginx', description: 'The image repository path.', trim: true)
        string(name: 'TAG', defaultValue: 'latest', description: 'The image tag to analyze.', trim: true)
        choice(name: 'ANCHORECTL_QUIET', choices: ['true', 'false'], description: 'Suppress anchorectl informational messages.')
        choice(name: 'ANCHORECTL_FORMAT', choices: ['json', 'csv'], description: 'The output format for anchorectl (e.g., json, csv).')
        choice(name: 'ANCHORECTL_FAIL_BASED_ON_RESULTS', choices: ['true', 'false'], description: 'How to handle fail signals (e.g., policy check outcomes)')
    }

    stages {
        stage('Anchore Image Scan') {
            environment {
                // This is the AnchoreCTL service endpoint (fetched securely from Jenkins credentials)
                ANCHORECTL_URL = credentials('ANCHORECTL_URL')
              // Define the Anchore account username
                ANCHORECTL_USERNAME = credentials('ANCHORECTL_USERNAME')

              // Define the Anchore account password
                ANCHORECTL_PASSWORD = credentials('ANCHORECTL_PASSWORD')

              // Whether to fail the pipeline based on AnchoreCTL scan results (controlled by Jenkins parameter)
                ANCHORECTL_FAIL_BASED_ON_RESULTS = "${params.ANCHORECTL_FAIL_BASED_ON_RESULTS}"

              // You can also choose to Suppress unnecessary output logs
                ANCHORECTL_QUIET = "${params.ANCHORECTL_QUIET}"

              // Define the Output format for AnchoreCTL results
                ANCHORECTL_FORMAT = "${params.ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}"
            }
            steps {
                script {
                    echo "Starting image analysis for: ${params.REGISTRY}/${params.REPOSITORY}:${params.TAG}"

                    // Download and configure the Anchore CLI
                    sh '''
                        mkdir -p $HOME/.local/bin
                        curl -sSfL "${ANCHORECTL_URL}v2/system/anchorectl?operating_system=linux&architecture=amd64" \\
                            -H "accept: /" | tar -zx -C $HOME/.local/bin anchorectl
                        export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
                    '''

                    // Add the image to Anchore and wait for analysis to complete
                    sh "anchorectl image add --wait ${params.REGISTRY}/${params.REPOSITORY}:${params.TAG}"

                    // Retrieve and archive vulnerability report
                    sh "anchorectl image vulnerabilities ${params.REGISTRY}/${params.REPOSITORY}:${params.TAG} | tee vulnerabilities.${ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}"
                    archiveArtifacts artifacts: "vulnerabilities.${env.ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}"

                    // Run and archive the policy check
                    sh """#!/bin/bash
                        set -o pipefail
                        anchorectl image check --detail ${params.REGISTRY}/${params.REPOSITORY}:${params.TAG} | tee policy-check.${ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}
                    """
                    archiveArtifacts artifacts: "policy-check.${env.ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}"

                    // Post-build action to handle policy failure, if configured
                    if (env.ANCHORECTL_FAIL_BASED_ON_RESULTS == 'true') {
                        def policyCheckResult = sh(script: "grep -q 'Policy Evaluation: PASS' policy-check.${ANCHORECTL_FORMAT}", returnStatus: true)
                        if (policyCheckResult != 0) {
                            error('Policy check failed based on results.')
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Visualize Vulnerabilities with the Warnings NG Plugin

The Jenkins Warnings Next Generation plugin (warnings-ng) can parse anchorectl vulnerability output and surface findings as tracked issues directly in the Jenkins UI — complete with trend graphs, per-build issue counts, and configurable quality gates.

Prerequisites

• Jenkins Warnings Next Generation plugin installed (Manage Jenkins → Plugins → Available plugins, search for “Warnings Next Generation”)
• anchorectl available on the build runner (see Configure Variables above)

Supported Output Variants

The anchoreCtl() tool scans for files matching **/*vulnerabilities*.json and transparently handles all of the following output formats:

a) One-Time Scan

Use anchorectl image one-time-scan to analyze an image against Anchore Enterprise policies without adding it to the image inventory.

pipeline {
    agent any

    stages {
        stage('Anchore One-Time Scan') {
            environment {
                ANCHORECTL_URL      = credentials('ANCHORECTL_URL')
                ANCHORECTL_USERNAME = credentials('ANCHORECTL_USERNAME')
                ANCHORECTL_PASSWORD = credentials('ANCHORECTL_PASSWORD')
            }
            steps {
                script {
                    sh '''
                        mkdir -p $HOME/.local/bin
                        curl -sSfL "${ANCHORECTL_URL}v2/system/anchorectl?operating_system=linux&architecture=amd64" \
                            -H "accept: /" | tar -zx -C $HOME/.local/bin anchorectl
                        export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
                    '''

                    sh 'anchorectl image one-time-scan -o json docker.io/library/nginx:latest | tee vulnerabilities.json'
                }
            }
        }
    }

    post {
        always {
            recordIssues(tools: [anchoreCtl()])
        }
    }
}

b) Image Add and Vulnerabilities

Use anchorectl image add to submit an image to Anchore Enterprise for centralized analysis. Once analysis is complete, retrieve the vulnerability report with anchorectl image vulnerabilities and save it to a file the plugin can detect.

pipeline {
    agent any

    stages {
        stage('Anchore Image Scan') {
            environment {
                ANCHORECTL_URL      = credentials('ANCHORECTL_URL')
                ANCHORECTL_USERNAME = credentials('ANCHORECTL_USERNAME')
                ANCHORECTL_PASSWORD = credentials('ANCHORECTL_PASSWORD')
            }
            steps {
                script {
                    sh '''
                        mkdir -p $HOME/.local/bin
                        curl -sSfL "${ANCHORECTL_URL}v2/system/anchorectl?operating_system=linux&architecture=amd64" \
                            -H "accept: /" | tar -zx -C $HOME/.local/bin anchorectl
                        export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
                    '''

                    sh 'anchorectl image add --wait docker.io/library/nginx:latest'

                    sh 'anchorectl image vulnerabilities -o json docker.io/library/nginx:latest > image_vulnerabilities.json'
                }
            }
        }
    }

    post {
        always {
            recordIssues(tools: [anchoreCtl()])
        }
    }
}

Severity Mapping

Anchore severity levels are mapped to Jenkins issue severities as follows: