GitHub has introduced the GitHub Package Registry, a package management service integrated into GitHub that allows developers to publish private or public packages next to their source code. GitHub Package Registry is available now in a limited beta release.
GitHub Package Registry provides downloads backed by GitHub’s global CDN. Packages can be hosted privately or publicly and used as dependencies in projects. Integration with GitHub enables users to utilize the familiar GitHub interface to find public packages on the site or private packages within the user organization. User and team permissions can be applied to code and package management.
GitHub Package Registry supports package management tools including NPM, Maven, and NuGet as well as Docker images. Also, multiple software package types can be hosted in one registry. A devops workflow can be created that includes code, CI, and deployment solutions, integrating GitHub APIs, GitHub Actions (for workflow automation), and webhooks. Users can view package contents as well download statistics and version history.
The README in a user’s repo is used to generate a package description. The description can be edited by the user to reflect details about the package or installation process. GitHub adds metadata for each package version, including links to the author, repository, commit SHA, version tags, and data.
You can sign up for the GitHub Package Registry beta program at GitHub.com.