Nexus

Overview

Heeler connects with the Sonatype Nexus Repository for analysis of the artifacts running in your environment. Heeler connects to Nexus using a user token and can utilize the Broker for on-premise deployments with limited accessibility.

For on-premise Nexus instances, these instructions assume you have already setup the Broker with access to the Nexus registry. See Instructions for the Broker here.

Nexus User and Permissions

Heeler connects to Nexus at a given domain using an account user name and user token. We recommend creating a Heeler-specific account that has the minimum permissions required to harvest the necessary information for Heeler to perform its analysis. For more information on reference tokens see: https://help.sonatype.com/en/user-tokens.html#generating-a-user-token

Using a User Token instead of your real password is more secure and avoids exposing personal credentials.

1. Log in to your Nexus Repository Manager UI.

2. In the top-right corner, click your username and choose User Token from the menu.

3. If you don’t already have one, click Access User Token (or Reset to regenerate).

4. Copy the Username and Password values shown — these will be your “Username” and “Token” for Heeler.

Note: If your Nexus administrator has disabled User Tokens, request a dedicated automation account with read permissions.

Add Nexus to Heeler

1. In Heeler, select the Settings icon from the top navigation

2. Select Connections -> Registries then select Add Registry

1. Select the Nexus Registry type

2. Select Artifact

3. Select Maven as the Artifact Type

4. Enter a Name for the Registry

5. Enter the Domain of the Nexus repository

6. Enter the User Name and Reference Token for Heeler to use to access the Nexus repository

7. Enter the repository paths that Heeler should collect from. You can add multiple paths.

8. If the registry is public-facing, check Public Internet Facing. If the registry is on-premise, leave unchecked as Heeler will connect to the repository using the Broker.

After clicking Add Registry, its Health property should update. If the Registry is on-prem or if it is public-facing and its credentials validated, it should update to Healthy.

If your Registry is public-facing and Healthy, the setup is complete. Heeler will be able to download and analyze artifacts.

Link Nexus Connection to the Broker

If the Nexus instance is utilizing the Broker, you need to add the newly added connection to the Broker.

1. Select the icon from the top navigation

2. Select Connections -> Brokers

3. Edit the Broker you want to add the Harbor connection to

4. Select the Nexus connection by name for the Broker connection

5. Save the changes