
Skill
diff-scanning-with-aws-security-agent
run AWS Security Agent diff scans
Description
Run a fast AWS Security Agent diff scan on only the changed code since a git ref. Use when the user asks to scan changes, run a diff scan, check what changed for security issues, scan before committing, scan before PR, or any pre-commit/pre-push security check.
SKILL.md
AWS Security Agent — Diff Scan
Scan only the code that changed since a git ref. Faster than a full scan — focuses findings on the diff. No prior full scan needed.
Local state
Read .security-agent/config.json for agent_space_id and region. If missing, run the setup-security-agent workflow inline first.
Track scans in .security-agent/scans.json.
Resolving the values you need
| Placeholder | How to resolve |
|---|---|
<id> (agent space) | config.agent_space_id |
<region> | config.region (default us-east-1) |
<account> | aws sts get-caller-identity --query Account --output text |
<role-arn> | arn:aws:iam::<account>:role/SecurityAgentScanRole |
<bucket> | security-agent-scans-<account>-<region> |
<WORKSPACE_ID> | printf '%s' "$(pwd)" | md5sum | cut -c1-12 |
Workflow
- Pre-scan checks. Same as full scan — read config, verify agent space, resolve values, generate workspace ID.
- Ask what to scan against:
- Uncommitted changes →
BASE_REF=HEAD(default) - Branch vs main →
BASE_REF=main - Custom ref → user provides
- Uncommitted changes →
- Generate diff (fail fast if empty):
cd <absolute-workspace-path> if [ "$BASE_REF" = "HEAD" ]; then git diff HEAD > /tmp/diff.patch else git diff "$BASE_REF..HEAD" > /tmp/diff.patch fi [ -s /tmp/diff.patch ] || { echo "No changes vs $BASE_REF"; exit 1; } - Zip the workspace (same exclusions as full scan, 2 GB limit):
cd <absolute-workspace-path> zip -r /tmp/source.zip . \ -x ".git/*" -x ".security-agent/*" -x "node_modules/*" \ -x "__pycache__/*" -x ".venv/*" -x "venv/*" \ -x "dist/*" -x "build/*" -x "target/*" \ -x ".mypy_cache/*" -x ".pytest_cache/*" -x ".tox/*" \ -x ".next/*" -x "cdk.out/*" -x ".DS_Store" -x "*.pyc" - Upload both source zip and diff patch:
SCAN_ID="diff-$(date +%s)-$(openssl rand -hex 3)" aws s3 cp /tmp/source.zip s3://<bucket>/security-scans/source/<WORKSPACE_ID>/source.zip aws s3 cp /tmp/diff.patch s3://<bucket>/security-scans/diffs/${SCAN_ID}/diff.patch - Get or create per-workspace CodeReview (same logic as full scan — lookup
config.json → code_reviews[<abs_path>], create if absent):aws securityagent create-code-review --agent-space-id <id> --title <title> \ --service-role <role-arn> \ --assets sourceCode=[{s3Location=s3://<bucket>/security-scans/source/<WORKSPACE_ID>/source.zip}] - Start the diff job:
aws securityagent start-code-review-job --agent-space-id <id> --code-review-id <cr-id> \ --diff-source s3Uri=s3://<bucket>/security-scans/diffs/${SCAN_ID}/diff.patch
IfResourceNotFoundException: recreate CodeReview and retry. - Capture
codeReviewJobId. Persist toscans.jsonwithscan_type: "DIFF"andbase_ref. - Tell user: "Diff scan started. Takes a few minutes. I'll check every 2 minutes — say 'stop polling' to opt out."
- Poll every 2 minutes:
aws securityagent batch-get-code-review-jobs --agent-space-id <id> --code-review-job-ids <job_id>
Only respond when status changes. On COMPLETED → fetch findings. - Findings: same presentation as full scan — grouped by severity, report written to
.security-agent/findings-{scan_id}.md.
Rules
- Diff scans are standalone — no prior full scan needed
- Poll every 2 minutes, not faster
- Default to
BASE_REF=HEADif user doesn't specify - Title:
diff-<git-branch>-<timestamp>(no spaces) - If diff is empty, tell user and stop — don't start a scan
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