Overview
Unlike version control systems (like Git) which are optimized for text files, binary repositories are designed to handle large binary files efficiently. They serve as a 'single source of truth' for all deployable assets.
Popular Tools
- JFrog Artifactory: A universal repository manager supporting many formats.
- Sonatype Nexus: Another widely used repository manager.
- Docker Hub / GitHub Container Registry: Specialized for container images.
- AWS CodeArtifact / Azure Artifacts: Cloud-native artifact management services.
Benefits
- Performance: Optimized for fast upload and download of large files.
- Caching: Acting as a proxy for external repositories (like npm or Maven Central) to improve build speeds and reliability.