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Getting Started

Welcome to the ActiveState Curated Catalog. This guide will help you get up and running quickly. For more general information about the Curated Catalog, click here.

What is the Curated Catalog?​

The ActiveState Curated Catalog is a private package repository containing packages specifically built and vetted for your organization. Unlike public package repositories, your catalog contains only the packages you've requested, approved, and that we've built and tested for your environment.

Key benefits:

  • Security-vetted packages only
  • Reproducible builds
  • No arbitrary public repository access
  • Full support from ActiveState

Quick Start: 4 Steps to Get Running​

  1. Receive Your Credentials
  2. Set Up Your Repository Manager
  3. Configure Your Repository Manager
  4. Test Your Setup

1. Receive Your Credentials​

ActiveState will provide you with three pieces of information:

  • Repository URL - for example, https://repository.activestate.com/<your-org-id>/<package-type>
  • Username - for example, <your-org-id> (UUID format)
  • Password

Store these credentials securely - you will need them to configure your repository manager.

2. Set Up Your Repository Manager​

You must use a repository manager (Nexus or Artifactory). This provides caching, avoids rate limits, and gives you the best experience.

3. Configure Your Repository Manager​

The setup process takes 15-30 minutes:

  1. Create a proxy/remote repository
  2. Point it to your ActiveState catalog URL
  3. Add your credentials
  4. Critical: Do NOT add /simple/ to the URL. Your repository manager will add this if required
  5. Critical: Do NOT mix with public repositories (PyPI, npm, etc.)

See detailed steps in the link or link setup guides.

4. Test Your Setup​

Verify everything works:

For Python/pip example

pip install --index-url <your-repo-manager-url> <package-name>

Packages should install successfully and appear in your repository manager's cache.

What's in Your Catalog?

Your catalog contains:

  • Packages from your original requirements list
  • All dependencies of those packages
  • Specific versions you requested
  • Packages built for your target operating systems (Linux and Windows by default)

Need additional packages? Contact your ActiveState account manager with the package name, version, and business justification.

Important Rules

✅ DO:

  • Use your repository manager for all package installations
  • Keep caching enabled (critical for performance)
  • Use the exact URL format we provided

❌ DO NOT:

  • Add /simple/ suffix to the URL
  • Disable caching
  • Use pip directly without a repository manager (unsupported)

⚠️ DO AT YOUR OWN RISK:

  • Mix ActiveState catalog components with public components in the same Virtual/Group repository.
    • We make every effort to ensure our secure components are compatible, but we cannot guarantee the security, quality, or compatibility of components pulled from public repositories.

Final Step: work with your develoeprs to set up their package manager as needed.

Need Help? Contact support.