Note: GitHub Packages is currently in beta for GitHub AE.
About GitHub Packages
GitHub Packages is a platform for hosting and managing packages, including containers and other dependencies. GitHub Packages combines your source code and packages in one place to provide integrated permissions management, so you can centralize your software development on GitHub AE.
You can integrate GitHub Packages with GitHub AE APIs, GitHub Actions, and webhooks to create an end-to-end DevOps workflow that includes your code, CI, and deployment solutions.
GitHub Packages offers different package registries for commonly used packages, such as for Node, RubyGems, Apache Maven, Gradle, and Nuget.
Viewing packages
You can review the package's README, some metadata like licensing, download statistics, version history, and more on GitHub AE. For more information, see "Viewing packages."
About package permissions and visibility
| Package registries | |
|---|---|
| Hosting locations | You can host multiple packages in one repository. |
| Permissions | Each package inherits the permissions of the repository where the package is hosted. For example, anyone with read permissions for a repository can install a package as a dependency in a project, and anyone with write permissions can publish a new package version. |
| Visibility | You can publish packages in an internal repository (internal packages) to share with everyone on your enterprise, or in a private repository (private packages) to share with collaborators or an organization. |
Supported clients and formats
GitHub Packages uses the native package tooling commands you're already familiar with to publish and install package versions.
Support for package registries
| Language | Description | Package format | Package client |
|---|---|---|---|
| JavaScript | Node package manager | package.json | npm |
| Ruby | RubyGems package manager | Gemfile | gem |
| Java | Apache Maven project management and comprehension tool | pom.xml | mvn |
| Java | Gradle build automation tool for Java | build.gradle or build.gradle.kts | gradle |
| .NET | NuGet package management for .NET | nupkg | dotnet CLI |
| N/A | Docker container management | Dockerfile | Docker |
For more information about configuring your package client for use with GitHub Packages, see "Package client guides for GitHub Packages."
Authenticating to GitHub Packages
You need an access token to publish, install, and delete packages. You can use a personal access token to authenticate with your username directly to GitHub Packages or the GitHub API. When you create a personal access token, you can assign the token different scopes depending on your needs.
To authenticate to GitHub Packages using a GitHub Actions workflow, you must use GITHUB_TOKEN.
About scopes and permissions for package registries
To use or manage a package hosted by a package registry, you must use a token with the appropriate scope, and your user account must have appropriate permissions for that repository.
For example:
- To download and install packages from a repository, your token must have the
read:packagesscope, and your user account must have read permissions for the repository. - To delete a specified version of a package on GitHub AE, your token must have the
delete:packagesandreposcope. For more information, see "Deleting a package."
| Scope | Description | Repository permissions |
|---|---|---|
read:packages | Download and install packages from GitHub Packages | read |
write:packages | Upload and publish packages to GitHub Packages | write |
delete:packages | Delete specified versions of packages from GitHub Packages | admin |
repo | Upload and delete packages (along with write:packages, or delete:packages) | write, or admin |
When you create a GitHub Actions workflow, you can use the GITHUB_TOKEN to publish and install packages in GitHub Packages without needing to store and manage a personal access token.
For more information, see:
Managing packages
You can delete a version of a package in the GitHub AE user interface or using the GraphQL API.
When you use the GraphQL API to query and delete private packages, you must use the same token you use to authenticate to GitHub Packages. For more information, see "Deleting a package" and "Forming calls with GraphQL."
You can configure webhooks to subscribe to package-related events, such as when a package is published or updated. For more information, see the "package webhook event."
Contacting support
If you need support for GitHub Packages, please contact your site administrators.