12. Understanding Profile Patch Updates
January 5, 2024Less than 1 minute
Learning Objectives
- Understand what constitutes a patch update
- Learn the complete patch update workflow
- Master the testing and validation process
What is a Patch Update?
A patch update is a minor modification to an InSpec profile that addresses specific issues, bugs, or improvements without changing core functionality. Common examples include:
- Fixing control logic errors
- Updating threshold values
- Improving error handling
- Adding missing test cases
Step-by-Step Patch Update Process
1. Issue Documentation
- Create a detailed issue in the project repository
- Include specific examples of the problem
- Reference any related documentation
- Link: Project Issues Page
2. Environment Setup
- Fork the repository
- Create a branch from the target patch release tag
- Configure test environments:
- AWS testing suite
- Docker testing suite
3. Implementation
- Make necessary updates to:
- Control logic
inspec.ymlinputs- Threshold values
Version number increments
The version attribute in inspec.yml is managed during releases so you shouldn't change it in every merged branch, just when you cut a new release.
4. Testing Protocol
Verify your changes across multiple environments:
- Vanilla systems
- Hardened systems
- Known bad states
- Known good states
- Edge cases and error conditions
Test contexts to cover:
- Container environments
- Virtual machines
- Physical hardware (1U machines)
5. Quality Assurance
Run the provided linting tools:
bundle exec rake lintbundle exec rake lint:autocorrect
6. Commit and PR
- Commit your updates with a message including
Fixes #ISSUE - Open a PR from your fork to the project repository
7. Test Suite Verification
- Ensure the GitHub Action test suite passes
- Link: Project Actions Page