---
layout: docs
page_title: artifact Block - Job Specification
description: |-
  The "artifact" block instructs Nomad to fetch and unpack a remote resource,
  such as a file, tarball, or binary, and permits downloading artifacts from a
  variety of locations using a URL as the input source.
---

# `artifact` Block

<Placement groups={['job', 'group', 'task', 'artifact']} />

The `artifact` block instructs Nomad to fetch and unpack a remote resource,
such as a file, tarball, or binary. Nomad downloads artifacts using the popular
[`go-getter`][go-getter] library, which permits downloading artifacts from a
variety of locations using a URL as the input source.

```hcl
job "docs" {
  group "example" {
    task "server" {
      artifact {
        source      = "https://example.com/file.tar.gz"
        destination = "local/some-directory"
        options {
          checksum = "md5:df6a4178aec9fbdc1d6d7e3634d1bc33"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Nomad supports downloading `http`, `https`, `git`, `hg` and `S3` artifacts. If
these artifacts are archived (`zip`, `tgz`, `bz2`, `xz`), they are
automatically unarchived before the starting the task.

## `artifact` Parameters

- `destination` `(string: "local/")` - Specifies the directory path to
  download the artifact, relative to the root of the [task's working
  directory]. If omitted, the default value is to place the artifact in
  `local/`. The destination is treated as a directory unless `mode` is set to
  `file`. Source files will be downloaded into that directory path. For more
  details on how the `destination` interacts with task drivers, see the
  [Filesystem internals] documentation.

- `mode` `(string: "any")` - One of `any`, `file`, or `dir`. If set to `file`
  the `destination` must be a file, not a directory. By default the
  `destination` will be `local/<filename>`.

- `options` `(map<string|string>: nil)` - Specifies configuration parameters to
  fetch the artifact. The key-value pairs map directly to parameters appended to
  the supplied `source` URL. Please see the [`go-getter`
  documentation][go-getter] for a complete list of options and examples.

- `headers` `(map<string|string>: nil)` - Specifies HTTP headers to set when
  fetching the artifact using `http` or `https` protocol. Please see the
  [`go-getter` headers documentation][go-getter-headers] for more information.

- `source` `(string: <required>)` - Specifies the URL of the artifact to download.
  See [`go-getter`][go-getter] for details.

## Operation Limits

The client [`artifact`][client_artifact] configuration can set limits to
specific artifact operations to prevent excessive data download or operation
time.

If a task's `artifact` retrieval exceeds one of those limits, the task will be
interrupted and fail to start. Refer to the task events for more information.

## `artifact` Examples

The following examples only show the `artifact` blocks. Remember that the
`artifact` block is only valid in the placements listed above.

### Download File

This example downloads the artifact from the provided URL and places it in
`local/file.txt`. The `local/` path is relative to the [task's working
directory].

```hcl
artifact {
  source = "https://example.com/file.txt"
}
```

To set HTTP headers in the request for the source the optional `headers` field
can be configured.

```hcl
artifact {
  source = "https://example.com/file.txt"

  headers {
    User-Agent    = "nomad-[${NOMAD_JOB_ID}]-[${NOMAD_GROUP_NAME}]-[${NOMAD_TASK_NAME}]"
    X-Nomad-Alloc = "${NOMAD_ALLOC_ID}"
  }
}
```

To use HTTP basic authentication, preprend the username and password to the
hostname in the URL. All special characters, including the username and
password, must be URL encoded. For example, for a username `exampleUser` and
the password `pass/word!`:

```hcl
artifact {
  source = "https://exampleUser:pass%2Fword%21@example.com/file.txt"
}
```

### Download using git

This example downloads the artifact from the provided GitHub URL and places it at
`local/repo`, as specified by the optional `destination` parameter.

```hcl
artifact {
  source      = "git::https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad-guides"
  destination = "local/repo"
}
```

To download from a private repo, sshkey needs to be set. The key must be
base64-encoded string. On Linux, you can run `base64 -w0 <file>` to encode the
file. Or use [HCL2](/nomad/docs/job-specification/hcl2)
expressions to read and encode the key from a file on your machine:

```hcl
artifact {
  # The git:: prefix forces go-getter's protocol detection to use the git ssh
  # protocol. It can also automatically detect the protocol from the domain of
  # some git hosting providers (such as GitHub) without the prefix.
  source      = "git::git@bitbucket.org:example/nomad-examples"
  destination = "local/repo"
  options {
    # Make sure that the system known hosts file is populated:
    # ssh-keyscan github.com | sudo tee -a /etc/ssh/ssh_known_hosts
    # https://github.com/hashicorp/go-getter/issues/55
    sshkey = "${base64encode(file("/path/to/private-key"))}"
  }
}
```

To clone specific refs or at a specific depth, use the `ref` and `depth`
options:

```hcl
artifact {
  source      = "git::https://github.com/hashicorp/nomad-guides"
  destination = "local/repo"
  options {
    ref = "main"
    depth = 1
  }
}
```

### Download and Unarchive

This example downloads and unarchives the result in `local/file`. Because the
source URL is an archive extension, Nomad will automatically decompress it:

```hcl
artifact {
  source = "https://example.com/file.tar.gz"
}
```

To disable automatic unarchiving, set the `archive` option to false:

```hcl
artifact {
  source = "https://example.com/file.tar.gz"
  options {
    archive = false
  }
}
```

### Download and Verify Checksums

This example downloads an artifact and verifies the resulting artifact's
checksum before proceeding. If the checksum is invalid, an error will be
returned.

```hcl
artifact {
  source = "https://example.com/file.zip"

  options {
    checksum = "md5:df6a4178aec9fbdc1d6d7e3634d1bc33"
  }
}
```

### Download from an S3-compatible Bucket

These examples download artifacts from Amazon S3. There are several different
types of [S3 bucket addressing][s3-bucket-addr] and [S3 region-specific
endpoints][s3-region-endpoints]. As of Nomad 0.6 non-Amazon S3-compatible
endpoints like [Minio] are supported, but you must explicitly set the "s3::"
prefix.

This example uses path-based notation on a publicly-accessible bucket:

```hcl
artifact {
  source = "s3://my-bucket-example.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/my_app.tar.gz"
}
```

If a bucket requires authentication, you can avoid the use of credentials by
using [EC2 IAM instance profiles][iam-instance-profiles]. If this is not possible,
credentials may be supplied via the `options` parameter:

```hcl
artifact {
  options {
    aws_access_key_id     = "<id>"
    aws_access_key_secret = "<secret>"
    aws_access_token      = "<token>"
  }
}
```

To force the S3-specific syntax, use the `s3::` prefix:

```hcl
artifact {
  source = "s3::https://my-bucket-example.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/my_app.tar.gz"
}
```

Alternatively you can use virtual hosted style:

```hcl
artifact {
  source = "s3://my-bucket-example.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/my_app.tar.gz"
}
```

## Environment

The `artifact` downloader by default does not have access to the environment variables
set for the Nomad client. Inheritence of environment variables can be managed through the [`artifact.set_environment_variables`][client_artifact]
client configuration.

[client_artifact]: /nomad/docs/configuration/client#artifact-parameters
[go-getter]: https://github.com/hashicorp/go-getter 'HashiCorp go-getter Library'
[go-getter-headers]: https://github.com/hashicorp/go-getter#headers 'HashiCorp go-getter Headers'
[minio]: https://www.minio.io/
[s3-bucket-addr]: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/UsingBucket.html#access-bucket-intro 'Amazon S3 Bucket Addressing'
[s3-region-endpoints]: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/general/latest/gr/rande.html#s3_region 'Amazon S3 Region Endpoints'
[iam-instance-profiles]: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/id_roles_use_switch-role-ec2_instance-profiles.html 'EC2 IAM instance profiles'
[task's working directory]: /nomad/docs/runtime/environment#task-directories 'Task Directories'
[filesystem internals]: /nomad/docs/concepts/filesystem#templates-artifacts-and-dispatch-payloads
