Google Artifact Registry

Google Artifact Registry is a fully managed artifact repository service on Google Cloud Platform (GCP). It serves as the successor to Google Container Registry (GCR) and supports multiple artifact formats including Docker containers, Maven, npm, Python packages, and more — all from a single, unified platform integrated with the Google Cloud ecosystem.

Overview

Google Artifact Registry is Google Cloud’s unified artifact management service, replacing the legacy Google Container Registry (GCR) and Google Package Repository. It provides a single platform for storing and managing both container images and language-specific packages (Maven, npm, PyPI, etc.), eliminating the need for separate registry services. Artifact Registry integrates natively with Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Cloud Build, and Google Cloud IAM.

Artifact Registry is a cloud-only service with no self-hosted version. It is designed for organizations using Google Cloud who want a managed, unified artifact repository with deep GCP integration.

Key Features

  • Unified artifact management: Store Docker images, Maven artifacts, npm packages, Python packages, and more in a single service
  • Multiple format support: Docker/OCI, Maven, npm, PyPI, Apt, Yum, Go, and additional formats via generic repositories
  • Fully managed: No infrastructure to manage — Google handles scaling, patching, and availability
  • Vulnerability scanning: Built-in Container Analysis for scanning Docker images against vulnerability databases
  • IAM integration: Fine-grained access control using Google Cloud Identity and Access Management
  • Cloud Build integration: Automatic image and artifact builds triggered by source code changes
  • GKE integration: Seamless image pulls from Artifact Registry to Google Kubernetes Engine clusters
  • Remote repositories: Proxy and cache upstream repositories (Docker Hub, Maven Central, npm, etc.) to reduce latency and egress costs
  • Virtual repositories: Aggregate multiple repositories (local, remote, upstream) behind a single URL
  • Regional repositories: Store artifacts in specific Google Cloud regions for data residency compliance
  • VPC Service Controls: Network-level security for artifact data
  • Tag immutability: Prevent overwriting of tagged images
  • Cleanup policies: Automatically delete old or unused artifacts based on configurable rules
  • Audit logging: Full audit trail via Google Cloud Audit Logs

Technical Stack

  • Service type: Fully managed PaaS on Google Cloud Platform
  • API: Docker Registry HTTP API V2, Maven Repository HTTP API, npm Registry API, PyPI API
  • Authentication: Google Cloud IAM, Workload Identity
  • Storage: Google Cloud managed storage
  • Deployment: Cloud-only — no self-hosted option
  • CLI: Google Cloud CLI (gcloud artifacts commands), Docker CLI, native package managers (mvn, npm, pip)

Licensing

Google Artifact Registry is a commercial, proprietary cloud service from Google Cloud. There is no open-source edition and no self-hosted version. Artifact Registry is billed based on storage used and data transfer. It is a pay-as-you-go service with no upfront costs.

Pricing

Component Cost (approx.) Notes
Storage $0.026 per GB per month (Standard) Charged per GB of data stored per month
Data transfer (inbound) Free Pushing artifacts from the internet is free
Data transfer (outbound) $0.08-$0.12/GB Varies by region and destination. Free within same region to GKE/Cloud Run.
Vulnerability scanning Included Container Analysis scanning included at no extra cost
Remote repository egress Standard network pricing Data cached from upstream repos counts as egress

Pricing based on Google Cloud public pricing as of June 2026. Actual costs vary by region. Check the Google Cloud pricing page for current rates.

Self-Hosting

No. Google Artifact Registry is a cloud-only managed service. It cannot be self-hosted or deployed on-premises. Organizations requiring an on-premises artifact repository should consider Harbor, Sonatype Nexus, or JFrog Artifactory instead.

Official Resources