repository

A repository is a storage location and a managed collection of digital artifacts, organized to enable storage, retrieval, versioning, distribution, and preservation. Repositories support collaboration by providing controlled access, provenance, and auditability for changes.

In software development, common repositories include source code repositories that track changes to files and histories using version control systems. There are also package repositories that host build artifacts, libraries, and dependencies for installation by tools such as package managers. Data repositories store datasets and metadata, often with indexing, access controls, and data lineage.

Container image registries store binary images used to deploy applications, while artifact repositories consolidate builds, binaries, and artifacts across stages of a release.

Knowledge and digital libraries maintain repositories of documents, media, and metadata to enable retrieval, citation, and long-term preservation.

Key features include versioning and branching, metadata, searchability, access controls, reproducibility, and support for provenance, licensing, and retention policies. Repositories typically enforce authentication, authorization, encryption at rest, and audit logging, with backup and disaster recovery mechanisms.

Management concerns include governance, retention, migration between systems, compatibility of tooling, and standards for metadata and manifests. Examples of repository systems include Git, Subversion, npm, PyPI, Maven Central, Docker Hub, and enterprise solutions like Nexus or Artifactory; cloud object stores are often used as general repositories.