JFrog Package Safety and Download
Prerequisites
- Read
../jfrog/SKILL.mdfor JFrog Platform concepts, domain model, CLI setup, and API patterns. - OneModel shapes drift by server version. Before inventing GraphQL fields or
wherefilters, read../jfrog/references/onemodel-graphql.md(schema fetch workflow) and../jfrog/references/onemodel-query-examples.md(Public packages, Stored packages). Regenerate or verify queries againstGET "$JFROG_URL/onemodel/api/v1/supergraph/schema"when examples fail validation.
Workflow
Package safety check and download workflow
When to read this file:
- User asks to check if a package is safe and/or download it.
- User asks to download a package from Artifactory.
- User mentions checking a package for curation approval.
- User wants to know if a package is allowed or approved for use.
Workflow overview
flowchart TD
A[User requests package check / download] --> B{Package in Public Catalog?}
B -->|Yes| C[Get latest version from Catalog]
B -->|No| D{Package in Jfrog Platform Stored Packages?}
D -->|Yes| E[Get latest version from Stored Packages]
D -->|No| F[Package not found — stop]
C --> G{Latest version in Jfrog Platform?}
E --> G
G -->|Yes| H[Safe — download from Jfrog Platform]
G -->|No| I{Curation entitled?}
I -->|Yes| J[Check curation policy via API]
I -->|No| K[Download via remote repo]
J -->|200 Allowed| K
J -->|403 Blocked| M[Report curation blocked — stop]Parallelization opportunities
Several steps in this workflow are independent and can run in parallel to reduce total latency:
- Step 1 + Step 1 fallback: When package type is known, query both the Public Catalog (
getPackage) and Stored Packages (getPackage) in parallel. Use whichever returns data; if the Public Catalog returns a hit, prefer itslatestVersionfor Step 2. - Step 3 + Step 5: After determining the version, query stored package versions (Jfrog Platform check) and curation entitlement (
/api/system/version) in parallel. Both are independent reads — the curation result is needed immediately if the Jfrog Platform check returns empty.
When issuing parallel Shell calls, each jf api call authenticates independently against the active jf config server; no shell state needs to be passed between calls.
Step 1: Find the package
Search the Public Catalog first via OneModel GraphQL, then fall back to Stored Packages if not found.
Execute the query through jf api as described in ../jfrog/references/onemodel-graphql.md; refer to ../jfrog/references/onemodel-query-examples.md for concrete query shapes.
When package type is known (e.g. npm, maven, pypi), use publicPackages.getPackage(type:, name:) (see *Get a public package*). Include the latestVersion {version} selection set — latestVersion is an object, not a scalar.
When type is unknown, use publicPackages.searchPackages with nameContains (see *Search public packages*). Add type: when the user narrows the ecosystem.
- Found → note
typeandlatestVersion.version. Proceed to Step 2. - Not found → the package may be 1st/2nd party. Search Stored Packages using
storedPackages.searchPackagesorstoredPackages.getPackage(see *Stored packages domain* inonemodel-query-examples.md). Prefer filtering bytypewhen known; if not, usenameContainsalone.
- Found → note type and latestVersionName (or derive a version from versionsConnection). Proceed to Step 2. - Not found in either → report "package not found" and stop.
If multiple results with different type values, ask the user which package type they mean.
Step 2: Determine latest version
| Source | Version field |
|---|---|
| Public Catalog | latestVersion.version (object selection required) |
| Jfrog Platform Stored Packages | latestVersionName on StoredPackage, or highest entry from versionsConnection |
Step 3: Check if package + latest version exists in Jfrog Platform
Query stored package versions using storedPackages.searchPackageVersions with a hasPackageWith filter (see ../jfrog/references/onemodel-query-examples.md → *Search stored package versions*). Add a version filter for the specific version from Step 2, and request locationsConnection to get repository details (repositoryKey, repositoryType, leadArtifactPath).
Execute the query through jf api (see ../jfrog/references/onemodel-graphql.md for the invocation pattern).
- Found with locations → package is in the Jfrog Platform. Report as safe to download. Proceed to Step 4.
- Not found → proceed to Step 5.
Step 4: Download from Jfrog Platform
Use the location info from Step 3. Binary artifact downloads go through jf rt dl — not jf api. jf api is the unified entry point for the JFrog REST APIs (metadata, admin, curation, etc.) and does not expose the -L / -o flags needed to stream binary content through a redirect chain.
<target> must be a full file path (e.g. ./downloads/lodash-4.18.1.tgz), not a bare directory. jf rt dl --flat treats the target as a file name; passing a directory causes a misleading "open path: is a directory" error.
repositoryType | Strategy |
|---|---|
local or federated | jf rt dl "<repositoryKey>/<leadArtifactPath>" <target-file> --flat |
remote | jf rt dl against the base remote repo (strip any trailing -cache) — it transparently triggers the remote fetch when the artifact is not yet cached |
local / federated / remote download:
jf rt dl "<baseRepoKey>/<leadArtifactPath>" <target-file> --flatResolving the remote repo key: The repositoryKey returned by OneModel for remote locations often already ends in -cache (e.g. devNPM-remote-cache). jf rt dl needs the base remote repo name (without -cache). Strip the -cache suffix when present (e.g. devNPM-remote-cache → devNPM-remote). If the key does not end in -cache, use it as-is.
See the Protocol endpoints table below for the package-type-specific path format inside the repo.
Step 5: Check curation entitlement
jf api /artifactory/api/system/version \
| jq '.addons | index("curation") != null'true→ curation is entitled. Proceed to Step 6a.false→ curation not available. Proceed to Step 6b.
Step 6a: Check curation policy and download
When curation is entitled, use the Xray curation API to check whether the package version is allowed across all repositories before downloading.
RESPONSE_FILE="/tmp/curation-status-$$.json"
PAYLOAD_FILE="/tmp/curation-payload-$$.json"
STDERR_FILE="/tmp/curation-err-$$.log"
jq -n \
--arg type "<TYPE>" \
--arg name "<NAME>" \
--arg version "<VERSION>" \
'{packageType:$type, packageName:$name, packageVersion:$version}' \
> "$PAYLOAD_FILE"
set +e
jf api /xray/api/v1/curation/package_status/all_repos \
-X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
--input "$PAYLOAD_FILE" \
> "$RESPONSE_FILE" 2> "$STDERR_FILE"
RC=$?
set -e
echo "RC=$RC"; echo "$RESPONSE_FILE"Supported packageType values: npm, pypi, maven, go, nuget, docker, gradle.
Interpreting the result with jf api: unlike plain curl, jf api surfaces the HTTP result through its exit code and a "<hh:mm:ss> [Warn]... returned 4xx/5xx" line on stderr (not a %{http_code} suffix in stdout). The response body is always written to stdout. Parse both:
if [ "$RC" -eq 0 ]; then
echo "Package is allowed by curation."
elif grep -q 'returned 403' "$STDERR_FILE"; then
echo "Blocked by curation policy:"
cat "$RESPONSE_FILE"
else
echo "Curation check failed (rc=$RC):"
cat "$STDERR_FILE"
fiEvaluate the outcome:
- exit 0 → package is allowed by curation policy. Proceed to download via a remote repo (same as Step 6b).
returned 403on stderr → package is blocked by a curation policy. The response body explains which policy rule blocked it. Report the block reason to the user and stop — do not attempt to download.- Any other non-zero exit → treat as an operational failure (auth, DNS, endpoint disabled) and report.
Step 6b: Download without curation
When curation is not entitled and the package is not in the Jfrog Platform, download directly through a remote repo.
- Find a remote repo of the right package type:
jf api \ "/artifactory/api/repositories?type=remote&packageType=<TYPE>" \ | jq '.[].key' - Download — use
jf rt dlagainst the base remote repo (without-cache); it handles both cached and uncached artifacts:jf rt dl "<repo>/<artifact-path>" <target-file> --flat
Artifact paths by package type
Use these path patterns when leadArtifactPath is not available from OneModel. The leading <repo>/ is the base repo key you pass to jf rt dl.
| Type | jf rt dl target pattern |
|---|---|
npm | <repo>/<pkg>/-/<pkg>-<version>.tgz |
pypi | <repo>/<pkg>/<version>/<pkg>-<version>.tar.gz |
maven | <repo>/<group-path>/<artifact>/<version>/<artifact>-<version>.jar |
go | <repo>/<module>/@v/<version>.zip |
Gotchas
- Binary downloads vs.
jf api:jf apiis for REST APIs, not binary content. It does not follow redirects transparently into a binary payload and does not expose-L/-o. Always usejf rt dl(against the base remote repo, not the-cacheone) for the actual artifact download. jf rt dland uncached remotes:jf rt dl "<remote>/<path>"— targeting the base remote repo rather than<remote>-cache/<path>— transparently triggers the remote fetch and caches the artifact. Do not try to pre-query the proxy viajf api.jf rt dl --flattarget must be a file path: When downloading a single artifact, pass a full output file path (e.g../downloads/lodash-4.18.1.tgz), not a directory. The CLI opens the target path as a file; a directory causes a cryptic "open path: is a directory" error that retries four times before failing. Derive the filename fromleadArtifactPath(take the segment after the last/).- Package type detection: If the user doesn't specify the package type, the Public Catalog search by name alone may return multiple types. Ask the user to disambiguate before proceeding.
- Curation endpoint lives under Xray: use
/xray/api/v1/curation/package_status/all_repos(viajf api). Do not prefix it with/artifactory. - Curation result discrimination with
jf api: the 200/403 signal comes fromjf api's exit code plus areturned NNNline on stderr, not from a%{http_code}appended to stdout. Capture stderr to a file (2> "$STDERR_FILE") and branch onRC+grep 'returned 403'as shown in Step 6a. - Curation API package type values: Must be lowercase and match one of
npm,pypi,maven,go,nuget,docker,gradle. Other values will return an error.