JFrog Container Registry
Learn what JFrog Container Registry is and which package types it supports.
JFrog Container Registry (JCR) is a free, self-managed edition of JFrog Artifactory that is limited to container and Helm workflows. It provides local, remote, and virtual repositories for Docker, OCI, Helm, Helm OCI, and Generic packages, with role-based access control, metadata search, and the same Docker, Helm, and OCI clients you use with Artifactory.
JCR is the non-commercial installer type jcr. The container image is jfrog/artifactory-jcr, and the Helm chart is jfrog/artifactory-jcr. Paths and examples in Artifactory documentation still say Artifactory because JCR is that product with a smaller set of package types and add-ons.
Note
The free JFrog Container Registry edition is self-managed only. JFrog SaaS trials and subscriptions include container and Helm registries as part of JFrog Artifactory, not as this installer. For more information, see Feature Comparison Matrix.
Supported Package Types
The onboarding wizard and repository UI expose only these package types:
- Docker: Private Docker registries, including proxying Docker Hub and other remote registries. For more information, see Docker Repositories.
- OCI: OCI images and artifacts that share Docker V2 registry APIs. For more information, see OCI Repositories.
- Helm: Classic Helm chart repositories (
helm repo). For more information, see Kubernetes Helm Chart Repositories. - Helm OCI: Helm charts stored as OCI artifacts (
helm pushandoci://). For more information, see Helm OCI Repositories. - Generic: Files that are not indexed as a package format. For more information, see Generic Repositories.
Maven, npm, PyPI, and other Artifactory package types are not available in JCR. Those formats are available in Artifactory OSS or a commercial Artifactory subscription.
Repository Model
JCR uses the same repository classes as Artifactory:
- Local repositories store images and charts you produce.
- Remote repositories proxy and cache external registries such as Docker Hub. You can configure a smart remote repository to cache another Artifactory or JCR instance.
- Virtual repositories present several local and remote repositories behind one URL.
You can run multiple Docker, OCI, or Helm registries on one JCR instance to separate teams or promotion stages. Repository replication and federated repositories are not part of this edition.
How JCR Relates to Artifactory
The following table compares JCR with other Artifactory editions.
| Edition | Typical Use | Package Types |
|---|---|---|
JFrog Container Registry (jcr) | Free self-managed Docker, OCI, and Helm registry | Docker, OCI, Helm, Helm OCI, Generic |
Artifactory OSS (oss) | Free self-managed build repositories | Maven, Gradle, Ivy, SBT, Generic |
| Artifactory Pro and the JFrog Platform | Universal registry, high availability, JFrog Xray, and the rest of the platform | All Artifactory package types |
JCR includes capabilities that OSS does not, including Docker, OCI, and Helm package types, Artifactory Query Language (AQL), searchable properties, and cloud object storage (Amazon S3, Google Cloud Storage, and Azure Blob). It does not include JFrog Xray, high availability, build promotion, user plugins, or package types outside the list above.
Related Topics
Updated 4 days ago