Smart Remote Repositories

A Smart Remote repository is a remote repository that proxies a local, remote, or Federated repository from another instance of Artifactory or an Edge node. In addition to the usual benefits of Remote Repositories, Smart Remote repositories offer several additional benefits:

Reported Download Statistics

Artifactory maintains download statistics for repositories so you can evaluate if artifacts are still being used and manage your cleanup policies. When you proxy a repository in another instance of Artifactory and cache an artifact downloaded from the other instance, the distant Artifactory is not aware if users on your end continue to use the artifact (by downloading it from your local cache), and may end up cleaning up the original artifact. An Artifactory Smart Remote Repository lets you notify the distant instance whenever a cached artifact is downloaded, so it can update an internal counter for remote downloads.

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Download statistics may vary between Artifactory instances

Downloads are reported through the proxy chain only from the time this option is set, so the actual download statistics reported for an artifact may differ between the local Artifactory instance and the remote Artifactory instance.

Synchronized Properties

When you proxy a repository in another instance of Artifactory and cache an artifact downloaded from it, you may not be aware of changes that may have been made to the original artifact’s properties if they are changed after you cache it. By synchronizing properties, any changes to artifact properties in the remote instance are propagated to your cached instance of the artifact.

Remote Repository Browsing

You can browse the contents of the repository in the remote Artifactory instance for all package types, even if none of its artifacts have been cached in your instance of Artifactory. This enables you to browse remote files as if they were local without having to request a particular file.

Source Absence Detection

When viewing a cached artifact, Artifactory will indicate if the original artifact in the remote instance has been deleted. This enables you to copy the artifact from your remote repository cache to a local repository to maintain access to it.

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Note

When configuring a Smart Remote Repository, it is generally recommended that a local or remote Artifactory repository be used as an endpoint. A virtual repository is not recommended, as it might result in inconsistent behavior. However, a virtual repository must be used as an endpoint for Go Smart Remote repositories.

Configure a Smart Remote Repository

To create a Smart Remote repository, set the repository URL to point to a repository in another instance of Artifactory. Many package types require you to add the prefix api/<package_type> to the URL.

For example:

http://<JFrog URL>/artifactory/api/<package type>/<repository key>

The prefix is required for the following repository types:

All other package types do not require the api/<package_type> prefix.

After you finish entering the URL and move to another field, Artifactory detects automatically that the remote URL is on another instance of Artifactory and displays a banner above the URL.

The Basic tab of the New Remote Repository screen contains additional fields where you can configure the behavior of your Smart Remote repository.

You can modify these settings at any time from the Edit Repository screen.

REST API

For a repository to be identified as a Smart Remote repository, go to the Repository Configuration JSON and under contentSynchronisation set the enabled flag to true.

Create a Go Smart Remote Repository

Go package resolution is supported exclusively through virtual repositories. Therefore, the configuration of a Smart Remote repository for Go differs from other package types.

​​To create a Go Smart Remote repository:​​

1. On the first Artifactory instance (​​JFROG_INSTANCE_1​​), do the following:

   1. In the ​Administration​ module, go to ​Repositories > Create a Repository > Remote​​.

   2. Choose ​Go​​ as the package type.

   3. In the ​Basic​ tab, verify that the URL is set to the default (https://proxy.golang.org​​).

   4. Enter additional ​basic​ and ​advanced​ settings as required, and then click ​Create Remote Repository​​.

      You now have a virtual repository that points to the official Go registry.

2. On the first Artifactory instance, create a virtual repository that aggregates the remote repository you just created. For more information, see ​Configure a Virtual Repository.
3. On the second Artifactory instance, create a Smart Remote repository that points to the virtual repository on the first Artifactory instance. The URL will look like this:
   ​​https://<JFROG_INSTANCE_1>/artifactory/api/go/<JFROG_INSTANCE_1_VIRTUAL_REPO>​​
4. Enter your username and password for ​​JFROG_INSTANCE_1​​. Alternatively, enter a valid access token issued by ​JFROG_INSTANCE_1​​.
5. Click the ​​Test​​ button to verify the connection to the first Artifactory instance.
6. To configure your Go client with the newly created Smart Remote repository, see ​Connect Your Go Client to Artifactory.

Create a NuGet Smart Remote Repository

The procedure for creating a Smart Remote repository for NuGet involves additional configuration, as described below.

To create a NuGet Smart Remote repository:

1. On the first Artifactory instance (JFROG_INSTANCE_1), do the following:

   1. In the Administration module, go to Repositories > Create a Repository > Remote.
   2. Choose NuGet as the package type.
   3. In the Basic tab, enter the URL of the desired remote NuGet registry (default: https://www.nuget.org).
   4. Enter additional basic and advanced settings as required, and then click Create Remote Repository. You now have a remote repository that points to the remote NuGet registry.

2. On the second Artifactory instance, create a Smart Remote repository that points to the remote repository on the first Artifactory instance. The URL will look like this:

   https://<JFROG_INSTANCE_1>/artifactory/api/nuget/<JFROG_INSTANCE_1_REMOTE_REPO>

3. Enter your username and password for JFROG_INSTANCE_1. Alternatively, enter a valid access token issued by JFROG_INSTANCE_1.

4. In the Basic tab of the second Artifactory instance, configure the following settings:

   • NuGet Download Context Path: Download
   • NuGet Feed Context Path: Leave blank
   • NuGet v3 Feed URL (see note below): https://<JFROG_INSTANCE_1>/artifactory/api/nuget/v3/<JFROG_INSTANCE_1_REMOTE_REPO>/
   

5. Click the Test button to verify the connection to JFROG_INSTANCE_1.

6. To configure your NuGet client with the newly created Smart Remote repository, see Connect Your NuGet Client to Artifactory.

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Important

The Feed URL is used to download the index.json/feed.json file, which serves as the service index for NuGet packages. Make sure to point this Feed URL to your Smart Remote repository (JFROG_INSTANCE_1) so that it serves as your service index and feed. Without this, the Smart Remote repository will try to go directly to nuget.org for feed resolution, which will prevent JFROG_INSTANCE_1 from caching artifacts correctly and may be blocked by network restrictions.

Create a PyPI Smart Remote Repository

The procedure for creating a Smart Remote repository for PyPI involves an additional step, as described below.

To create a PyPI Smart Remote repository:

1. On the first Artifactory instance (JFROG_INSTANCE_1), do the following:

   1. In the Administration module, go to Repositories > Create a Repository > Remote.

   2. Choose PyPI as the package type.

   3. In the Basic tab, enter a repository key. The following default settings for PyPI are predefined:

      • The URL is set to https://files.pythonhosted.org.
      • The Registry URL is set to https://pypi.org.

   4. Enter additional basic and advanced settings as required, and then click Create Remote Repository.

   You now have a remote repository that points to the official PyPI upstream registry.

2. On the second Artifactory instance, set up a Smart Remote repository that proxies the first repository:

   1. Create a remote PyPI repository, as described above.

   2. Enter a repository key and enter additional settings as required.

   3. Modify the URL and Registry URL fields as follows:

      • URL: https://<JFROG_INSTANCE_1_URL>/artifactory/<REPO_KEY_IN_JFROG_INSTANCE_1>
      • Registry URL: https://<JFROG_INSTANCE_1_URL>/artifactory/api/pypi/<REPO_KEY_IN_JFROG_INSTANCE_1>

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Note

<REPO_KEY_IN_JFROG_INSTANCE_1> refers to the name of the PyPI remote repository you created on the first Artifactory instance (<JFROG_INSTANCE_1>) in step 1.

4. Enter your username and password for JFROG_INSTANCE_1. Alternatively, enter a valid access token issued by JFROG_INSTANCE_1.
5. Click the Test button to verify the connection to the first Artifactory instance.
6. To configure your PyPI client with the newly created Smart Remote repository, see Connect Your PyPI Client to Artifactory.

Create a Terraform Smart Remote Repository

The procedure for creating a Smart Remote repository for Terraform involves an additional step, as described below.

​​To create a Terraform Smart Remote repository:​​

1. On the first Artifactory instance (​​JFROG_INSTANCE_1​​), do the following:

   1. In the Administration module, go to ​Repositories > Create a Repository > Remote​​.

   2. Choose ​Terraform/OpenTofu​​ as the package type.

   3. Configure the repository, as described in ​Remote Terraform Repository​​, and then click ​Create Remote Repository​.

      You now have a remote repository that points to your Terraform upstream registry.

2. On the second Artifactory instance, set up a Smart Remote repository that proxies the first repository:

   1. Create a remote Terraform repository, as described above.
   2. Enter a repository key and enter additional settings as required.
   3. Modify the URL, Registry URL, and Providers URL fields as follows:
      • URL: https://<JFROG_INSTANCE_1_URL>/artifactory/<REPO_KEY_IN_JFROG_INSTANCE_1>
      • Registry URL: https://<JFROG_INSTANCE_1_URL>/artifactory/api/terraform/<REPO_KEY_IN_JFROG_INSTANCE_1>
      • Providers URL: https://<JFROG_INSTANCE_1_URL>/artifactory/api/terraform/<REPO_KEY_IN_JFROG_INSTANCE_1>/providers

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   Note

   <REPO_KEY_IN_JFROG_INSTANCE_1> refers to the name of the Terraform remote repository you created on the first Artifactory instance (<JFROG_INSTANCE_1>) in step 1.

3. Enter your username and password for ​JFROG_INSTANCE_1​​. Alternatively, enter a valid access token issued by ​JFROG_INSTANCE_1​​.

4. Click the ​Test​​ button to verify the connection to the first Artifactory instance.

   

5. To configure your Terraform client with the newly created Smart Remote repository, see ​Connect Your Terraform/OpenTofu Client to Artifactory.

Remote List Browsing

When List Remote Folder Items is checked for a repository, Artifactory lets you navigate the contents of the repository at the remote Artifactory instance, for all package types, even if the artifacts have not been cached in the repository defined in your instance of Artifactory. If the remote server discloses its files in a simple HTML index, Artifactory will try to list them.