Summary & Key Takeaways ​

• Overhauls metadata storage to use SQLite or shared libSQL databases, removing the documents backend.
• Requires republishing packages for stores that previously used the documents backend.
• Introduces transparency logs for release records, tracking who moved dist-tags and when.
• Supports publishing and accepting packages with platform variants.
• Refuses changes to published npm version manifests and never accepts unpublished versions again.
• Adds pnpr-generation header to hosted npm package responses for atomic publishes.
• Records each publish as a publication, accessible via a dedicated endpoint.

Our Commentary ​

Moving a package registry's metadata to SQL is a pretty big architectural shift, even for an alpha. The transparency logs are a smart move for security and accountability. I'm always a little wary of alpha releases that break compatibility, but the benefits here seem to outweigh the initial friction. This feels like a solid foundation for future registry features.