Subregistries

A subregistry is a registry that functions as a subordinate component within a larger registry system. It provides a separate namespace under a parent registry to organize entries such as software packages, artifacts, or configuration items. Subregistries enable delegation of administration and tenant isolation while keeping centralized governance and policy enforceability.

Structure: The parent registry defines a namespace hierarchy and routing to subregistries. Each subregistry maintains its own catalog of entries, metadata, and lifecycle policies. Entries can be identified by composite keys including the subregistry path; operations may be scoped to a subregistry. Access control and auditing can be applied at the subregistry level.

Governance and security: Subregistries support multi-tenant use by partitioning data and permissions. Administrators can delegate creation, update, and deletion rights to subregistry owners. Central policies may apply across all subregistries, while exceptions can be enforced locally. Logging and auditing help trace actions within subregistries.

Use cases: In software development, subregistries appear in package and artifact management systems that organize artifacts by project, team, or environment. In container registries, namespaces or repositories can function as subregistries to isolate images. In configuration management, subregistries can separate environments (dev, test, prod) or customer tenants.

Implementation patterns: Path-based routing (registryName/subregistry/entry), namespace-based isolation, or federated registries where multiple registries reference a common index. Caching, replication, and synchronization strategies may be employed to improve performance and availability.

Challenges: Consistency across subregistries, cross-reference integrity, access control complexity, and tooling compatibility. Migration between subregistries and parent registries may require careful planning.

See also: Registry, Namespace, Subdomain, Multitenancy, Package registry, Container registry.