Document container tag provenance and enhance container-list (#263)

## Summary

After investigating deployed container images, confirmed that squash-merging PRs orphans the commit SHAs embedded in container image tags. Two of our currently deployed images (prometheus, grafana) reference branch commits not on main.

This PR:

- Documents the squash-merge SHA orphan problem and the post-merge workflow in [[build-container-image]]
- Adds step 9 to the C1 process: after merging a PR that changes `containers/`, do a follow-up C0 to point manifests at the rebuilt `[main]` tag
- Rewrites `container-list` as a `uv run --script` (typer + rich + httpx)
- Adds optional container name filter (`mise run container-list prometheus` shows 10 tags instead of 4)
- Annotates every tag with `[main]` or `[branch]` based on git commit ancestry

## Test plan

- [x] `mise run container-list` — all containers shown with `[main]`/`[branch]` hints
- [x] `mise run container-list prometheus` — filtered view, more tags, correctly shows `[main]` and `[branch]`
- [x] `mise run container-list nonexistent` — error message with exit code 1
- [x] Pre-commit hooks pass

Reviewed-on: https://forge.ops.eblu.me/eblume/blumeops/pulls/263
This commit is contained in:
Erich Blume 2026-02-24 09:54:58 -08:00
commit 1b9f706a30
4 changed files with 170 additions and 62 deletions

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Document squash-merge container tag provenance issue and post-merge workflow for updating manifests to main-SHA tags.

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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
title: Agent Change Process
modified: 2026-02-23
modified: 2026-02-24
last-reviewed: 2026-02-23
tags:
- how-to
@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ A change with enough complexity or risk that a human should review it, but not s
- **Workflows:** point workflow triggers at the branch if needed
7. After user review and successful deployment, the user merges the PR
8. **After merge:** reset ArgoCD revisions back to main, re-sync
9. **If the PR changed `containers/`:** the merge triggers a rebuild from main automatically. Once it completes, commit a C0 updating the manifest to the new `[main]`-tagged image (see [[build-container-image#Squash-merge and container tags]])
### Upgrading to C2
@ -227,6 +228,7 @@ When starting a new session to continue C2 work:
Mikado resets apply to branch code, not build artifacts. Container images in the registry are independent of branch lifecycle:
- **Registry images** are build outputs cached in zot — tagged with commit SHAs, so each build is unique and traceable
- **Squash-merge orphans:** Images built during PR development reference branch SHAs that won't exist on main after merge. After merge, a rebuild triggers automatically; commit a C0 to update manifests to the new `[main]`-tagged image. Use `mise run container-list <name>` to find it
- **Automatic builds** trigger when container changes merge to main. Use `mise run container-build-and-release` for manual dispatch
- **If a build succeeds but deployment fails**, the image is fine; the problem is elsewhere. Document what you learned and try again
- **If a build fails in CI**, no image is pushed. Fix the nix/dockerfile and re-merge or re-dispatch

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@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
---
title: Build Container Image
modified: 2026-02-20
modified: 2026-02-24
last-reviewed: 2026-02-15
tags:
- how-to
@ -86,6 +86,26 @@ image: registry.ops.eblu.me/blumeops/<name>:vX.Y.Z-abc1234
Then deploy per [[deploy-k8s-service]].
### Squash-merge and container tags
Container image tags include the git commit SHA they were built from (e.g. `v3.9.1-74029e1`). When a PR is squash-merged, the original branch commits are replaced by a single new commit on main — the SHA in the image tag no longer exists on main. After branch cleanup (30 days), the SHA becomes unreachable and the container loses source traceability.
**The rule:** Production manifests must reference images built from a commit on main. After merging a PR that changed `containers/<name>/`:
1. The merge to main automatically triggers a rebuild (the `build-container.yaml` / `build-container-nix.yaml` workflows fire on pushes to `main` that touch `containers/**`)
2. Wait for the workflow to complete — check at `https://forge.ops.eblu.me/eblume/blumeops/actions`
3. Find the new main-SHA tag:
```bash
mise run container-list <name>
```
Tags marked `[main]` were built from a commit on main; tags marked `[branch]` are from PR branches
4. Commit a C0 follow-up updating the manifest to use the `[main]` tag:
```yaml
image: registry.ops.eblu.me/blumeops/<name>:vX.Y.Z-<main-sha>
```
This follow-up C0 is expected and routine — it's the cost of squash-merge + SHA-tagged containers.
## Common Patterns
Existing containers demonstrate several build approaches: