Freedom251 › Artifact repository software

Nexspence

Free plan Open source APILinuxMacSelf-hostedWebWindows

What Nexspence is

Nexspence is a self-hosted artifact repository manager intended as a drop-in replacement for other artifact repository managers. It supports 15 formats, including Maven, Docker, npm, PyPI, Go Modules, NuGet, Helm, Cargo, Apt, Yum, Conan, Raw, Conda and Terraform. Repository types include Hosted, Proxy and Group, with some format-specific exceptions. A one-command migration can stream repositories, users and artifacts from a live Nexus instance; it is described as pausable and conflict-safe. Storage options include MinIO, AWS S3, Wasabi and a local filesystem, with per-repository blob-store assignment. Identity features include OIDC/SSO providers, just-in-time provisioning and group-to-role mapping. Security controls include LDAP, API tokens, JWT, fine-grained RBAC with CEL content selectors, SSRF-protected outbound fetches and a non-root container. OSV.dev scanning covers Maven, npm, PyPI and Cargo; Docker and OCI scanning requires an operator-supplied Trivy installation. Deployment options include Docker Compose, Helm/Kubernetes and native packages or archives for Linux, macOS and Windows. The native embedded-UI binary requires external PostgreSQL 13 or later. Nexspence is licensed under GNU AGPL v3 or later and has a free plan; optional supporter plans cost $5 a month, $25 a month or $100 a month.

Who it suits

Nexspence suits teams that want to host package repositories themselves and need multiple artifact formats, storage choices and access controls. It may also fit teams migrating from a live Nexus instance.

What it does well

Supports 15 artifact formats.
One-command migration is described as pausable and conflict-safe.
Multiple storage backends are available.
Deployment options include Docker Compose and Helm/Kubernetes.
Free plan with no license fees.

What to know first

Native embedded-UI binary requires external PostgreSQL 13 or later.
Docker and OCI scanning requires operator-supplied Trivy.
Some formats have repository-type exceptions.

Limits

The Nexspence plan costs nothing and is described as free forever with no license fees. The listed plans do not specify usage quotas or feature limits.

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
Nexspence	No license fees · Free forever	Free
Free forever	All product features · No license fees · Self-hosted deployment	Free
Sponsor	monthly · Backer benefits · Logo and link on README and website · Priority issue triage · Maintainer deployment contact	$100 a month
Backer	monthly · Supporter benefits · Name and link in README · Roadmap-poll input · Release-notes thanks	$25 a month
Supporter	monthly · GitHub sponsor badge · Name in SPONSORS.md · Release newsletter	$5 a month

As nexspence.com lists them, read 4 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Open the Nexspence website.
Choose Docker Compose, Helm/Kubernetes, or a native package or archive for your operating system.
For native embedded-UI installation, provide an external PostgreSQL 13 or later instance.
Configure a repository and select a supported storage backend.
Set up identity, access controls, and any integrations you need.

Verdict

Nexspence offers broad format support and self-hosted deployment choices, with migration and identity features aimed at repository operators. Check the PostgreSQL requirement for native installation and the Trivy requirement for Docker or OCI scanning.

Questions

How much does Nexspence cost?

The Nexspence plan is free. Optional Supporter, Backer, and Sponsor plans cost $5 a month, $25 a month, and $100 a month, respectively.

Is Nexspence open source?

It is licensed under GNU AGPL v3 or later.

Which platforms can Nexspence run on?

Its listed platforms include API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web, and Windows. Deployment options include Docker Compose, Helm/Kubernetes, and native packages or archives for Linux, macOS, and Windows.

Which artifact formats does it support?

It supports 15 formats, including Maven, Docker, npm, PyPI, Go Modules, NuGet, Helm, Cargo, Apt, Yum, Conan, Raw, Conda, and Terraform.

What storage backends can repositories use?

Repositories can use MinIO, AWS S3, Wasabi, or a local filesystem, with a blob store assigned per repository.

What does the Sponsor plan include?

At $100 a month, it includes the Backer benefits, a logo and link on the README and site, priority issue triage, and direct maintainer contact for deployment questions.

Facts from Nexspence's own pages

Architecture: An independent Habr article describes a Go/Gin backend, React/TypeScript frontend, PostgreSQL metadata storage and a single static binary. · habr.com, 15 Oct 2026
Artifact formats: The website lists 15 supported formats, including Maven, npm, Docker, PyPI, Go, NuGet, Helm, Cargo, Apt, Yum/RPM, Conan, Raw, Conda and Terraform. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
Audit logging: The product keeps a 90-day audit trail with date and user filters and NDJSON streaming export. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
Audit logs: Audit logs have 90-day retention and support NDJSON streaming export. · nexspence.com, 4 Oct 2026
Authorization: RBAC uses roles, privileges and CEL content selectors for path-level repository permissions. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
Cleanup policies: Automated cleanup can use maximum age, last-download thresholds or retain-N-versions rules scheduled by cron. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
CLI: The project publishes a separate Go command-line tool named nxs for Nexspence administration. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
Deployment: Deployment options include Docker Compose, Helm/Kubernetes, and native packages or archives for Linux, macOS, and Windows. · nexspence.com, 4 Oct 2026
Documentation: The documentation covers installation, high availability, SSO, repositories, format guides, RBAC, webhooks, migration, monitoring, promotion, replication and REST APIs. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
Funding model: GitHub Sponsors states that sponsorship funds infrastructure, CI and development while the software remains AGPLv3 and free. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
Identity integrations: Built-in OIDC/OAuth2 SSO supports Keycloak, Google, Microsoft Entra ID and Okta, with JIT provisioning and group-to-role mapping. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
Infrastructure as code: The official Terraform provider manages repositories, blob stores, users, roles, privileges, cleanup policies, webhooks, and promotion rules. · nexspence.com, 4 Oct 2026
Install options: Deployment options include Docker Compose, Helm/Kubernetes, Linux deb or rpm packages, macOS archives with launchd and Windows service packages. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
LDAP: LDAP and Active Directory authentication include just-in-time user creation and group-to-role mapping. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
License: The site states Nexspence is licensed under GNU AGPL v3 or later. · nexspence.com, 4 Oct 2026
Limit: database dependency: The native single-binary installation still requires an external PostgreSQL database. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
Limit: disclosed security issues: The v2.9.2 release documented five security fixes, including a critical exposure of Apt signing credentials and several high-severity authorization issues. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
Limit: Trivy dependency: Docker and OCI image scanning is unavailable until the operator supplies and configures a separate Trivy binary. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
Limit: webhook delivery: Webhook delivery is fire-and-forget and failed deliveries are not retried, so critical consumers need their own durable queue. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
Migration: A one-command migration streams repositories, users, and artifacts from a live Nexus instance and is described as pausable and conflict-safe. · nexspence.com, 4 Oct 2026
Nexus compatibility: Nexspence exposes a Nexus-compatible v1 REST API under /service/rest/v1/. · github.com, 15 Oct 2026
Nexus migration: A live migration tool streams repositories, users and artifacts from Nexus with pause and resume support. · nexspence.com, 15 Oct 2026
Praise: migration and compatibility: The Habr review praises changing only the host URL because existing CI/CD tools continue working through Nexus REST API compatibility. · habr.com, 15 Oct 2026
Praise: resource usage: The Habr review reports roughly 60–80 MB RAM for Nexspence in its described setup, versus 1.5–2 GB for Nexus in the author's comparison. · habr.com, 15 Oct 2026

Where Nexspence stands on Freedom251

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