syft-generation

Overview

Per github.com/anchore/syft (opens in new window), Syft generates SBOMs from "container images, filesystems, archives" (OCI, Docker, Singularity). The SBOM is the input artifact for vuln scanning (grype-scanning) and for compliance delivery in SPDX or CycloneDX format.

SBOMs are mandated by US EO 14028 (software sold to federal agencies), the EU Cyber Resilience Act (products with digital elements, in effect 2024+), and FDA medical-device guidance; internal supply-chain audits also need a full dependency manifest.

When to use

• The team ships software to customers requiring an SBOM (federal, EU regulated, medical device, etc.).
• Internal compliance program requires SBOM as evidence artifact.
• The vuln-scanning workflow needs an SBOM input (Grype, OSV-Scanner with --sbom).
• Container-image build pipelines need accompanying SBOM for delivery alongside the image.

Step 1 - Install

Per sf-gh (opens in new window):

# curl install
curl -sSfL https://get.anchore.io/syft | sudo sh -s -- -b /usr/local/bin

# Homebrew
brew install syft

# Docker
docker run --rm -v "$PWD:/scan" anchore/syft scan dir:/scan -o cyclonedx-json

Other paths (consult sf-gh (opens in new window)): Scoop, Chocolatey, Nix.

Step 2 - Basic SBOM generation

Per sf-gh (opens in new window):

# Container image
syft alpine:latest

# Local directory
syft ./my-project

# Specific output format to stdout
syft <image> -o cyclonedx-json

# Multiple formats to files in one pass
syft <image> -o spdx-json=./spdx.json -o cyclonedx-json=./cdx.json

The default output is the table format (human-readable); use explicit -o for machine-readable formats in CI.

Step 3 - Output format catalog

Per sf-gh (opens in new window), the common formats are cyclonedx-json (CycloneDX 1.5+, broad support), spdx-json (SPDX 2.3, preferred by US federal procurement), and syft-json (richest metadata). For grype-scanning input use syft-json or cyclonedx-json; for compliance delivery the consumer dictates (SPDX-JSON US federal, CycloneDX-JSON most EU). The full format catalog is in references/formats.md.

Step 4 - Source types

Per sf-gh (opens in new window), the common sources are a local Docker image (syft alpine:latest), a remote registry (syft registry:docker.io/alpine:latest), an archive (syft oci-archive:./image.tar), and a directory (syft dir:./my-project). The full source-type syntax table is in references/formats.md.

Step 5 - Attestation pattern (cosign)

For supply-chain integrity, attach the SBOM to the container image via Sigstore cosign:

# Generate SBOM
syft my-image:1.0 -o cyclonedx-json=sbom.json

# Sign + attach to image (Sigstore)
cosign attest --predicate sbom.json --type cyclonedx my-image:1.0

# Verify
cosign verify-attestation --type cyclonedx my-image:1.0

The attestation lives alongside the image in the registry; downstream consumers can verify provenance + retrieve the SBOM.

Step 6 - False-positive triage analogue

Syft generates inventories, not findings - there's no FP triage per se. The analogue here is inventory accuracy: ensuring Syft correctly identifies all components.

Inventory accuracy validation:

# Compare two SBOMs (e.g., before vs after a build change)
syft image:1.0 -o syft-json=v1-sbom.json
syft image:1.1 -o syft-json=v1.1-sbom.json
diff <(jq -S . v1-sbom.json) <(jq -S . v1.1-sbom.json)

If Syft misses a component (false negative on inventory), the downstream vuln scan misses any CVEs against that component. Periodic accuracy validation against known dependencies catches this.

Step 7 - CI integration

jobs:
  sbom:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v5
      - uses: anchore/sbom-action@v0
        with:
          path: ./
          format: cyclonedx-json
          output-file: sbom.cyclonedx.json
      - uses: anchore/sbom-action@v0
        with:
          path: ./
          format: spdx-json
          output-file: sbom.spdx.json
      - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: sboms
          path: sbom.*.json

The anchore/sbom-action GHA wraps Syft + handles GitHub dependency-graph submission automatically when format: github-json.

Step 8 - Composition with sister tools

Anti-patterns

Limitations

• Syft can't scan what it can't see - encrypted archives, custom package formats may produce incomplete SBOMs.
• Some language-specific catalogers have edge cases (e.g., npm workspaces, Python wheel quirks); validate against known deps.
• SBOM generation alone doesn't prove the deps are vulnerability-free - pair with grype-scanning.
• Multi-arch container scanning is per-platform; combine SBOMs manually or via tooling for unified view.

References

• sf-gh (opens in new window) - repository, install, scan commands, formats
• references/formats.md - full output format catalog + source-type syntax
• anchore.com/syft - landing
• ntia.gov/SBOM - NTIA SBOM minimum elements
• whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/05/12/executive-order-on-improving-the-nations-cybersecurity/ - US EO 14028
• grype-scanning, cyclonedx-format, spdx-format, trivy-image - sister tools