Upload rules
peryx validates normalized identity, verifies each declared digest, and resolves version-scoped mutations against the served release. The tables list accepted inputs, rejected inputs, and rejection messages. See upload compatibility for the design and HTTP endpoints.
Import a directory
peryx import-dir loads local wheels and gzip-compressed source distributions into a hosted index:
peryx import-dir root/pypi ./dist --data-dir /var/lib/peryx
peryx import-dir hosted ./dist --config peryx.toml
The index argument accepts a hosted name, a hosted route, or a virtual route with a hosted upload target. The command
walks the directory tree and applies the same upload checks to .whl and .tar.gz files. It skips unsupported files
and rejects invalid distributions.
Output is tab-separated:
status filename project version reason
Each row has an imported, skipped, or rejected status and a reason. A summary row reports the three counts.
Ingress admission and publication
Every PyPI upload uses the ingress ledger, including mode = "none". After form and digest validation, the handler
records an intent bound to the upload route, normalized project, filename, digest, size, ingress datacenter, and stable
operation ID. It then claims that operation, resolves an HA home when ownership is active, and commits the blob and
metadata on the serving node. The handler advances the intent to admitted after that local publication.
| Situation | Status | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Local publication and required evidence complete | 200 | Metadata is visible and the operation records published |
| Local publication complete but the evidence deadline expires | 202 | Metadata is already committed; retrying the same upload rechecks the same operation |
| An HA request reaches a node outside the assigned project home | 503 | project authority is unavailable; retry the upload, with Retry-After: 1 |
| The same filename is resent with different content | 400 | File already exists: "<name>" has different content; use a different filename |
| The same bytes are resent with different attestations | 400 | File already exists: "<name>" was published with different attestations; a re-upload cannot change them |
| A declared digest does not match the bytes | 400 | <field> mismatch, before an intent is recorded |
| The backend lacks the required write capabilities | 503 | same-datacenter durability unavailable: <guarantee> |
| The authority reaches either retention ceiling | 503 | The matching ingress admission retention is full error, with Retry-After: 30 |
Idempotency. The intent key uses the tenant, authority, and filename. The operation key also includes the digest,
and the provenance bundle's digest when the upload attached attestations, because a resend that changes what a publisher
attested is a different request rather than a retry. A retry of an operation already marked published replays its
stored response. A pending retry re-enters the idempotent store and checks durability again, so a 202 can become 200
after more receipts arrive.
Checksums. The handler verifies sha256_digest, blake2_256_digest, and the supported md5_digest case before it
records an intent. See upload digest fields.
Admission limits. Each authority can retain 65,536 records and 64 GiB. Crossing 80% logs backpressure; crossing a hard bound rejects the next intent. Settled intents become eligible for pruning. Pending intents remain retained, so a failure before publication can consume capacity until a later retry or reaper transition resolves it.
Current deployment boundary. The release has no protocol that sends an admitted intent from one datacenter to
another authority home. In HA code, a first publish can assign the serving datacenter as home; later uploads must reach
that home or receive 503. The local finalizer and peryx job drain read the node's own metadata store. They cannot
pull another datacenter's intent. The finalization contract labels the missing
transport and the design that depends on it.
Crash-recovery evidence. The local finalizer sweep can recover a pending intent after its file rows were stored. It
checks local placement but does not call the distributed acknowledgement resolver before recording published. A retry
can replay that 200 upload accepted result without the same-DC receipts used by the synchronous request path.
Project size quota
An index policy can set max_project_size_bytes for hosted PyPI uploads. The limit counts each distribution file's
logical size under its normalized project. Files that existed before quota accounting was enabled are not backfilled;
the counter starts at zero and grows through metered uploads.
| Situation | Status | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Projected counted bytes are within the limit | 200 | File and reservation commit together |
| Projected counted bytes exceed the limit | 403 | Rule max-project-size; no file metadata publishes |
The policy enables quota_audit | 200 | File publishes and the durable reservation records the hit |
| Validation, storage, metadata, or status fails | varies | No file publishes and reserved project bytes return to zero |
| The request is cancelled or disconnected | varies | Pending project bytes are released |
| The filename already holds the same content | 200 | No new allocation |
The denial reason remains project size <total> would exceed limit <limit>. It is returned as the existing JSON policy
denial with action upload, field project_size, and rule max-project-size. Lowering a limit below current counted
use rejects later counted uploads; project pages and file downloads remain available.
A virtual upload route and its hosted target can both configure the limit. The lower value applies. When both set a
limit, audit behavior requires quota_audit = true on both; either enforcing layer makes the combined decision enforce.
Quota decisions increment peryx_pypi_quota_admitted_total or peryx_pypi_quota_rejected_total under the hosted role.
The metric series contain no project names.
Wheel .dist-info matching
Every wheel carries one *.dist-info directory holding its METADATA, WHEEL, and RECORD.
PEP 427 names it
{distribution}-{version}.dist-info. peryx checks that this directory names the same project and version as the wheel
filename before it reads those files, so a wheel cannot claim to be requests-2.32.5 while shipping another project's
metadata.
Compared wheel names
peryx derives the project name and version from the filename, then reads the project name and version from the
.dist-info directory, and compares the two by value:
- Project name. PEP 503 normalization on both sides: lowercase, and collapse
every run of
-,_, or.into a single-.Flask,flask, andFLASKare one name;Foo.Bar,foo_bar, andfoo--barare one name. - Version. PEP 440 parsing and equality, not string equality.
1.0and1.0.0are the same version, as are1.0rc1and1.0RC1.
The directory's stem (everything before .dist-info) is split into name and version at its last hyphen, matching
how the filename splits. peryx does not require the directory bytes to equal the normalized filename bytes. An
archive whose directory is spelled the un-normalized way older build tools wrote it is accepted, which is what pip and
Warehouse (pypi.org) do. For why, see
un-normalized wheels.
Accepted
Each of these wheels is accepted; the filename is on the left, the directory the archive actually contains on the right.
| Wheel filename | .dist-info directory | Why it matches |
|---|---|---|
Flask-0.12-py2.py3-none-any.whl | Flask-0.12.dist-info | Flask and flask normalize the same |
foo_bar-1.0-py3-none-any.whl | Foo.Bar-1.0.dist-info | Foo.Bar and foo_bar normalize to foo-bar |
pkg-1.0-py3-none-any.whl | pkg-1.0.0.dist-info | 1.0 and 1.0.0 are equal under PEP 440 |
Rejected
peryx rejects a directory whose identity disagrees with the filename, and any archive without exactly one .dist-info.
For a wheel filed Flask-1.0-py3-none-any.whl, expected flask-1.0.dist-info:
.dist-info directory | Error |
|---|---|
other-1.0.dist-info | .dist-info directory other-1.0.dist-info does not match expected flask-1.0.dist-info |
flask-2.0.dist-info | .dist-info directory flask-2.0.dist-info does not match expected flask-1.0.dist-info |
flask.dist-info | .dist-info directory flask.dist-info does not match expected flask-1.0.dist-info |
| none | missing .dist-info directory |
| two or more | multiple .dist-info directories found: ... |
A directory with no hyphen in its stem, such as flask.dist-info, has no version segment to parse and so cannot match.
A version that does not parse as PEP 440 fails the same way. Every failure is an invalid wheel: message and a 400 on
upload.
Required wheel files
peryx reads METADATA, WHEEL, and RECORD from the directory the archive contains, spelled the way the archive
spells it, not from the normalized name it computed. A missing one of these is a distinct
missing required <dir>/METADATA (or WHEEL, or RECORD) failure.
Upload digest fields
The legacy upload API lets a client declare a content digest of the file it sends. peryx accepts three digest fields and verifies whichever the client declared against the bytes it staged. A correct digest passes; a wrong one is rejected.
Accepted fields
An upload's multipart form may carry any of these fields alongside the content part:
| Field | Algorithm | Hex length |
|---|---|---|
sha256_digest | SHA-256 | 64 |
blake2_256_digest | BLAKE2b-256 | 64 |
md5_digest | MD5 | 32 |
Any one of them suffices, and none is required. peryx always computes the SHA-256 it content-addresses the file by,
independent of what the client declares, so an upload that declares no digest at all is still stored. twine and
uv publish normally send all three; older tooling and minimal CI scripts sometimes send md5_digest alone.
Wheel verification
peryx hashes the staged bytes with SHA-256 and BLAKE2b-256 as it reads the upload stream, so verifying a declared
sha256_digest or blake2_256_digest costs nothing beyond a comparison. It verifies each field the client declared:
sha256_digestagainst the content SHA-256 it computed.blake2_256_digestagainst the content BLAKE2b-256 it computed.md5_digestonly when it is the sole declared digest, meaning neithersha256_digestnorblake2_256_digestis present. peryx does not compute MD5 while staging, so this is the one case that reads the staged content a second time. When a stronger digest is declared, that verification already covers the bytes, and peryx leaves the declared MD5 unverified rather than re-reading the file.
The check is the same regardless of field: the declared value must be lowercase hex of the field's length and must equal the digest peryx computed.
Rejections
A declared digest that does not match the content is a 400:
| Condition | Status | Message |
|---|---|---|
md5_digest disagrees with the content | 400 | md5_digest mismatch |
sha256_digest disagrees with the content | 400 | sha256_digest mismatch |
blake2_256_digest disagrees with the content | 400 | blake2_256_digest mismatch |
| a digest is not lowercase hex of its length | 400 | <field> value "<value>" is not lowercase hex with the expected length |
The mismatch message is always <field> mismatch, naming the field that disagreed. A wrong md5_digest is only reached
when MD5 is the sole declared digest; when a stronger digest is present peryx verifies that one and never inspects the
MD5.
Digest scope
peryx does not advertise MD5 downstream. The simple-index entry for a stored file carries a sha256 hash and no md5,
so clients read and verify the artifact by SHA-256 regardless of which digest the uploader declared. MD5 is a weak hash;
peryx accepts it on upload for parity with the index it fronts, not as a content guarantee it re-serves.
Attestations
The upload multipart form may carry an attestations field: a JSON array of
PEP 740 attestation objects. When present and valid, peryx stores the bundle and
publishes a provenance URL on the file's Simple API entry; when absent, the file publishes with no provenance.
Declared-digest validation
Validation binds every attestation to the uploaded distribution and bounds the untrusted input. peryx does not verify signatures, certificates, or transparency-log inclusion.
| Check | Rule |
|---|---|
| Field shape | A JSON array of at least one object; at most 32 attestations |
| Version | Each attestation's version is 1 |
| Envelope | envelope.statement is base64 that decodes to a valid in-toto statement |
| Subject digest | Some subject's digest.sha256 equals the uploaded file's SHA-256 |
| Subject name | If that subject names a file, the name equals the upload filename |
| Per-attestation size | Each attestation is at most 256 KiB |
| Aggregate field size | The whole attestations field is at most 1 MiB |
| Statement size | A decoded statement is at most 64 KiB |
| Parser depth | The field must parse within the JSON recursion limit; deeper nesting is rejected |
Publication is atomic
A valid bundle and its distribution publish in one transaction. Any validation failure returns 400 and publishes
neither the file nor its provenance. The 400 body names the offending attestation by index and the reason, for example
attestation 0 subject digest does not match the uploaded distribution or
attestations field carries 40 attestations; at most 32 are accepted.
Stored and served digests
peryx wraps the accepted attestations into a provenance object
{"version": 1, "attestation_bundles": [{"publisher": null, "attestations": [...]}]}, stores it content-addressed in
the blob store, and records the reference against this publication - hosted index, normalized project, artifact digest,
and filename - so another index publishing the same bytes cannot replace it. It serves the object at
.../files/{sha256}/{filename}.provenance with media type application/vnd.pypi.integrity.v1+json. The publisher is
null because peryx does not resolve a Trusted Publisher identity. See
Simple API serving for the served shape.
Promoting a release copies the source publication's reference onto the target, which then holds it independently: deleting either publication leaves the other's bundle readable, and the bytes become reclaimable only when the last publication releases them.
Requiring predicate types
An index whose [index.policy] sets required_attestations makes an upload carry a PEP 740 attestation for every
listed in-toto predicate type. peryx evaluates this after the structural, digest, and attestation-binding checks above
and after the neutral project, size, and tag rules, so a file rejected on one of those reports that denial first. The
requirement matches predicate types verbatim against the predicateType each bound attestation declares; it verifies no
signature, certificate, or transparency-log entry.
| Situation | Status | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Every required predicate type is present | passes | none |
A required predicate type is missing (enforce mode) | 403 | required-attestation |
A required predicate type is missing (audit mode) | passes | required-attestation-audit |
In enforce mode the 403 body is a policy denial whose reason names the missing types, for example
upload is missing a required attestation predicate type: https://docs.pypi.org/attestations/publish/v1, without
echoing bundle content. In audit mode the upload publishes and peryx records the required-attestation-audit decision
instead of rejecting. Either way the decision is persisted to the policy-decision log. An upload with no attestations
satisfies no requirement.
Promotion authorization
PUT /{route}/{project}/{version}/promote?from={source} reads one index and writes another, and each side is judged on
its own ACL. The target needs write for the presented credential, exactly as an upload does. The named source route
needs read for that same credential, so target write alone cannot copy a private release into an index the caller can
download from.
The source decision reads the ACL of the route the request named. A virtual source resolves its records through a hosted
write target, and that layer's ACL does not stand in for the route's: a sealed virtual route over a readable layer is
refused, and a readable virtual route over a sealed layer is allowed. An index whose ACL keeps anonymous_read is
readable by every credential, so promoting out of a public source needs no ACL change.
A source the credential cannot read answers 404 with not found, the same reply as a route that does not exist. The
read is decided before the source's hosted upload layer is resolved, so a private cache no longer answers 405 and
separates itself from a route the caller cannot see. peryx records the refusal as a promote security event with reason
source read denied, naming the actor, both indexes, and the release.
Version matching for admin operations
The version-scoped admin operations address a release by version: yank, un-yank, delete, and promote. Each reads the
version recorded on every upload of the project and acts on the files whose version matches the one in the request. The
match is PEP 440 equality of the release, not a byte-exact comparison of the two
strings, so a request addressed to 1.0.0 reaches a file uploaded with form version 1.0.
Version-matching rule
Two versions match when either holds:
- their strings are byte-identical, or
- both parse as PEP 440 versions and those parsed versions are equal.
When either string fails to parse as a PEP 440 version, only the byte-identical case remains: the comparison falls back to exact string equality. This is the same equality the served project page applies when it decides which files a version filter shows, so an operation and the page it acts on agree on what one release is.
Equivalent versions
PEP 440 equality normalizes the release segment, so trailing-zero spellings of the same release are equal, while a different release, or a version carrying a distinct local segment, is not.
| Requested | Recorded on upload | Match | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
1.0.0 | 1.0 | yes | same release, 1.0 == 1.0.0 |
1.0.0.0 | 1.0 | yes | same release, trailing zeros normalize |
1.0.0.0 | 1.0.0 | yes | same release |
1.0.0 | 1.0.1 | no | different release |
1.0+build | 1.0.0+build | yes | same release and same local segment |
1.0+build | 1.0 | no | local segment present on one side only |
1.0.0 | nightly | no | nightly does not parse; byte comparison fails |
nightly | nightly | yes | neither parses; byte-identical |
Record fallback
Matching reads the version stored on each upload record, the form value captured when the file was published, not a value re-derived from the filename. When that stored string is not a parseable PEP 440 version, or the requested version is not, the comparison is byte-exact: an unparseable recorded version matches only a request that spells it the same way. Delete relies on this. When the served-page filter matches nothing, delete falls back to matching on the stored record, and the two notions of equality have to agree or the fallback misses the file it should remove.
Scope
The rule governs every version-scoped form of these endpoints:
PUT /{route}/{project}/{version}/yankand itsDELETEun-yankDELETE /{route}/{project}/{version}/PUT /{route}/{project}/{version}/promote?from=...
The project-wide forms that carry no version, such as PUT /{route}/{project}/yank, act on every file of the project
and never compare versions.
Version-matching scope
The match is equality of one release, not a range or a prefix. A request for 1.0 does not reach 1.0.1 or 1.1. It
does not ignore the local segment: 1.0+build and 1.0 are distinct releases. And it never rewrites a stored version;
the record keeps the spelling it was uploaded with, and matching is decided per request.
Mutation paths for verb-named projects
peryx names its mutation actions in the URL. A PUT yanks, restores, or promotes; a DELETE deletes or un-yanks. The
action is the last path segment: PUT /{route}/{project}/yank, DELETE /{route}/{project}/yank (un-yank),
PUT /{route}/{project}/{version}/restore. yank, restore, and promote are also legal
PEP 503 project names, so a project can be named after the verb that acts on it.
Mutation-path grammar
peryx peels a trailing action segment only when a project segment precedes it: the text left after removing the verb
must end in /, so the request names a project before it names an action. A path that is nothing but the verb is not an
action, it is the project. Names are compared after PEP 503 normalization, so Yank, YANK, and yank are the same
project and collide the same way.
The table uses route root/pypi and a project whose normalized name is yank.
| Request | Meaning |
|---|---|
DELETE /root/pypi/yank/ | delete the project yank |
DELETE /root/pypi/yank/1.0/ | delete version 1.0 of yank |
PUT /root/pypi/yank/yank | yank every file of yank |
PUT /root/pypi/yank/1.0/yank | yank version 1.0 of yank |
DELETE /root/pypi/yank/yank | un-yank the project yank |
PUT /root/pypi/restore/restore | restore the project restore |
promote is always versioned and takes from={source route}, so its verb-named form is
PUT /root/pypi/promote/1.0/promote?from=staging to promote version 1.0 of the project promote. A promote without a
version answers 400 with promotion requires a version, verb-named or not.
Accepted verb-named projects
peryx used to strip the verb even when it was the whole path, reading the request as the action on an empty project.
DELETE /root/pypi/yank/, a delete of the project yank, parsed as an un-yank of a project with no name and failed
validation with 400 Bad Request. The project named yank had no working project-level delete: its own name shadowed
the action. The versioned delete DELETE /root/pypi/yank/1.0/ and the project-level yank PUT /root/pypi/yank/yank
already worked, because each puts a project segment before the trailing token.
The scope was narrow. DELETE peels only yank, so yank was the one project name whose project-level delete broke;
restore and promote never collided on DELETE. The fix drops the whole-path case from the grammar for every verb,
so a project named after any mutation verb stays addressable on both methods.
Not affected
Uploading a project named yank, restore, or promote was never blocked; the collision lived only in the mutation
router, and the upload path parses the name straight. Every request above takes the same upload token as any other
mutation, and a 200 carries the number of files affected, a 404 means nothing matched.
Operational checks
- The standards these implement: standards
- The full set of upload checks in one place: publish packages
- Target a release by any equivalent spelling, or host a verb-named project: yank and delete packages
- Walk a legacy wheel, an MD5-only client, an equivalent-version yank, and a verb-named delete end to end: publish and manage a release
- Why peryx accepts these inputs: what peryx accepts on upload