DNFrepository

DNFrepository is a standardized software artifact repository designed to store, version, and distribute software packages, container images, and data artifacts. It emphasizes scalability, integrity, and provenance, providing a centralized storage and retrieval layer with a pluggable storage backend and a content-addressable layout that supports immutable objects and reproducible builds.

The repository is designed to host multiple artifact types under a unified metadata model. It offers APIs for publishing, querying, and retrieving artifacts, and maintains a searchable index to support dependency resolution and artifact discovery. Artifacts are typically addressed by content hash, enabling strong integrity guarantees and facilitating caching and deduplication.

Key components of a DNFrepository include a storage backend for raw data, a metadata catalog for versioning and provenance, an authentication and authorization layer, a signature and verification mechanism, and a distribution layer that supports mirroring and integration with content delivery networks. Lifecycle management features such as versioning, retention policies, and pruning help manage storage costs and compliance requirements.

Common workflows involve publishers uploading artifacts along with cryptographic signatures and metadata, continuous integration systems publishing builds and their provenance, and consumers verifying signatures before download. Clients can synchronize between multiple repositories to improve resilience and enable regional access, while policy engines enforce access control and governance rules.

Security and governance are central to DNFrepository, with support for cryptographic signing, role-based access control, tamper-evident logs, and provenance tracking. Trust relationships can be modeled with trust chains and policy-based controls to ensure integrity and reproducibility across the software supply chain.

Adoption and interoperability emphasize open APIs (REST or GraphQL), compatibility with existing packaging ecosystems, and integration with caching and delivery networks to streamline distribution and automation.