Since its inception in 2002, the Central Repository has grown to be the largest component repository of Java and other JVM, Android, related components and beyond. It is the default repository for Apache Maven, sbt and Leiningen, and it can easily be used from Gradle, Apache Ivy and others. The Central Repository has become the default destination for open source projects that want to publish their components and reach millions of fellow developers. With its many servers powering a high performance delivery network, developers can rest assured that their components are delivered reliably and quickly.
With the Central Repository as a key entry point for many open source projects, we have heard many requests over the years about making it easier to publish components. Most suggestions have been related to the initial project creation. Once that process is complete, publishing can be fully automated and occur any time and as often as you like without any intervention.
The more complicated elements of that setup (like groupId verification) ensure a higher level of quality for the vast audience consuming from the Central Repository. This high level of integrity through curated components sets the Central Repository apart from other repositories. For example, if there is a component in org.apache, you can be sure that it was published by a member of the Apache Software Foundation. Similarly, if you own a domain (and therefore the groupId), you can rest assured that nobody else can publish components into your groupId. In addition, we ensure that javadocs and sources are available for all components, to maximize the benefits for your component users and enforce other requirements. These validation steps and requirements are the results of community input we have received and implemented over the years.
To make things easier, we have engaged in a number of improvements, with the goal of providing better overall service for the community at large. The starting point can be found at http://central.sonatype.org as a new web site that acts as the primary source of information associated to the Central Repository. This includes updated project setup documentation, service status, information on how to get assistance, and more.
Going forward, we will continue to improve the web site and documentation, and we hope to receive lots of feedback and ideas from you. Please visit the site and let your fellow developers and open source contributors know about it. We look forward to hearing from you!
Central Repository/Sonatype Ops Team (@sonatype_ops)
