fix(ci): back to GHCR - GitLab's registry vhost serves Rails, not the registry

Diagnosed definitively rather than by log-guessing this time:

  $ curl -i https://registry.gitlab.vnc.biz/v2/
  www-authenticate: Bearer realm="http://gitlab.vnc.biz/jwt/auth",
                           service="dependency_proxy"
  x-runtime: 0.020470
  x-gitlab-meta: {"correlation_id":...}

x-runtime/x-gitlab-meta are Rails headers and the service is
"dependency_proxy" - nginx routes that hostname to the GitLab Rails app,
which treats /v2/ as the Docker Hub pull-through cache, not as this
project's container registry. The registry service was never wired behind
the vhost, which is why an unscoped docker login succeeded while kaniko's
scoped :push request got 403 (the dependency proxy has no push concept).

Fixing that is server-side nginx/omnibus work. Keeping kaniko (it solved
the real dind-needs-privileged problem) and pointing it at GHCR, plus an
upfront credential check so a missing variable fails in seconds instead of
after a full Next.js build.

.gitlab-ci.yml

@@ -34,22 +34,42 @@
 # known amd64 microk8s clusters, not public multi-arch distribution (that's
 # what the GHCR release workflows are for, untouched by this file).
 #
-# Registry history (so nobody re-litigates this from scratch): GitLab's own
+# Registry history (so nobody re-litigates this from scratch). GitLab's own
-# Container Registry was the first choice, hit a dead end (registry_external_url
+# Container Registry was tried twice and does not work on this server:
-# alone didn't populate $CI_REGISTRY — see git history of this file around
+#
-# 2026-08-05 for the GHCR detour that followed), then got fixed server-side
+#   Round 1: registry_external_url was unset, so $CI_REGISTRY was empty and
-# (gitlab_rails['registry_enabled'] confirmed set — the project's left sidebar
+#            docker login silently fell through to Docker Hub.
-# now shows "Container Registry" under Deploy). Back on GitLab's native
+#   Round 2: after the server-side config, the project's sidebar DID show
-# registry since then: it needs zero extra credentials (CI_REGISTRY_* are
+#            "Container Registry" and docker login DID succeed - but the push
-# predefined GitLab CI variables, always present, scoped to this project
+#            failed 403. Diagnosed 2026-08-05 by curling the vhost directly:
-# only), which is strictly better than holding a GitHub PAT in GitLab CI/CD
+#
-# variables just to push images.
+#              $ curl -i https://registry.gitlab.vnc.biz/v2/
+#              www-authenticate: Bearer realm="http://gitlab.vnc.biz/jwt/auth",
+#                                       service="dependency_proxy"
+#              x-runtime: 0.020470
+#              x-gitlab-meta: {"correlation_id":...}
+#
+#            x-runtime/x-gitlab-meta are RAILS headers, and the service is
+#            "dependency_proxy" - so nginx routes that hostname to the GitLab
+#            Rails app, which reads /v2/ as the dependency proxy (a Docker Hub
+#            pull-through cache), NOT to the registry container. The registry
+#            service was never actually wired behind that vhost. That is why
+#            login worked (Rails issues an unscoped dependency-proxy token)
+#            while a scoped :push request 403'd - the dependency proxy has no
+#            push concept at all.
+#
+# Fixing that is an nginx/omnibus change on the GitLab server (registry
+# service must actually listen behind registry.gitlab.vnc.biz), not something
+# any .gitlab-ci.yml can reach. Until someone does that, GHCR it is - the
+# same image the sandbox already pulls, and confirmed public so the cluster
+# needs no imagePullSecrets (see deploy/k8s/base/deployment.yaml).
 #
 # Prerequisite this file assumes (documented in VNCMAIL-SETUP.md, not
 # something this file can set up itself):
-#   - GitLab Container Registry enabled for this project (confirmed 2026-08-05
+#   - A GitHub PAT with `write:packages` for ghcr.io/brvncde-dotcom as
-#     — "Container Registry" appears in the project's left sidebar under
+#     $GITLAB_CI_GHCR_TOKEN, plus the matching GitHub username as
-#     Deploy / Packages and registries).
+#     $GITLAB_CI_GHCR_USER — both masked+protected CI/CD variables. A GitHub
+#     credential can only come from GitHub; nothing GitLab-native substitutes.
 #   - A GitLab Runner (any kind — no cluster access needed at all now).
 #   - Either "allow this job token to push to this project" enabled
 #     (Settings → CI/CD → Job token permissions), OR a project access token
@@ -67,11 +87,10 @@ stages:
   - bump-prod
 
 variables:
-  # GitLab's own registry, scoped to this project. $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE is a
+  # GHCR, not GitLab's own registry - see the "Registry history" note in the
-  # predefined GitLab CI variable (populated automatically once the Container
+  # header for the curl output proving why. Same image the sandbox already
-  # Registry is enabled for the project) — no manual image name to keep in
+  # pulls today.
-  # sync, no external credential.
+  IMAGE: ghcr.io/brvncde-dotcom/vncmail-plus-dev
-  IMAGE: $CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE
   GIT_STRATEGY: clone
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -117,14 +136,20 @@ build:
   rules:
     - if: '$CI_PIPELINE_SOURCE == "push" && $CI_COMMIT_BRANCH == "dev"'
   script:
-    # $CI_REGISTRY / $CI_REGISTRY_USER / $CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD are predefined
+    # Fail loudly and immediately if the GHCR credentials aren't configured,
-    # GitLab CI variables, populated automatically now that this project's
+    # rather than letting kaniko get all the way through a full Next.js build
-    # Container Registry is enabled — same credentials the old docker-login
+    # and only then 403 on push (which is exactly how the GitLab-registry
-    # step already proved work, just handed to kaniko's own config.json
+    # attempt burned several pipeline runs).
-    # instead of a daemon's.
+    - |
+      if [ -z "$GITLAB_CI_GHCR_TOKEN" ] || [ -z "$GITLAB_CI_GHCR_USER" ]; then
+        echo "ERROR: \$GITLAB_CI_GHCR_TOKEN and/or \$GITLAB_CI_GHCR_USER are not set."
+        echo "Add both under Settings -> CI/CD -> Variables (masked + protected)."
+        echo "The token is a GitHub PAT with the write:packages scope."
+        exit 1
+      fi
     - mkdir -p /kaniko/.docker
     - |
-      echo "{\"auths\":{\"$CI_REGISTRY\":{\"auth\":\"$(printf '%s:%s' "$CI_REGISTRY_USER" "$CI_REGISTRY_PASSWORD" | base64 | tr -d '\n')\"}}}" > /kaniko/.docker/config.json
+      echo "{\"auths\":{\"ghcr.io\":{\"auth\":\"$(printf '%s:%s' "$GITLAB_CI_GHCR_USER" "$GITLAB_CI_GHCR_TOKEN" | base64 | tr -d '\n')\"}}}" > /kaniko/.docker/config.json
     - >
       /kaniko/executor
       --context "$CI_PROJECT_DIR"