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Healthy competition makes industries stronger, products better, and benefits customers. JFrog has recently published two blog posts (

) criticizing our platform, a clear sign that Cloudsmith’s approach - built cloud-native, open, transparent, and customer-focused - is winning over customers.

JFrog’s own CEO has framed Cloudsmith as just “

fluffy marketing spin and empty presale promises.

” We disagree strongly. Our platform is proven in production every day, powering software delivery for some of the world’s most demanding organizations. Enterprise customers 

use Cloudsmith to build, secure and deliver software at scale

. And we are open about our capabilities for anyone to evaluate firsthand, through a 

 that shows exactly what it’s like to work with Cloudsmith.

JFrog’s latest tests seem intentionally designed to mislead. Rather than respond point by point, we invite customers to conduct their own comparisons. We welcome head-to-head evaluations because this is where our truly cloud-native, massive-scale architecture really shines. We believe our vision for the software supply chain serves customers best today and into the future. We’ve faced off against JFrog in a number of competitive situations recently, and we’ve won more than we’ve lost. It’s the spirit of healthy competition that has prompted all of this recent attention from JFrog. We welcome it.

JFrog has been able to test our platform because we let them trial Cloudsmith, too. The same cannot be said about JFrog, since they block our domain (and possibly others) from even signing up. This lack of openness ultimately hurts customers; many large organizations have multiple artifact management systems in place, and access to both systems would let us better support customers’ interoperability requirements.

Openness and transparency are core to who we are

: “Hide nothing, then there is nothing to hide.”

Openness and honesty, both in how we operate our business and how we communicate, are essential for building trust with customers and also how we work together as Cloudsmithers. Transparency is second nature for Cloudsmith; it’s how we make decisions, share information, and hold ourselves accountable.

We avoid that “lies, damned lies, and statistics” feeling when sharing information. We focus on facts, context, and clarity.

That’s why anyone can sign up for a Cloudsmith developer account - yes, even if you’re from JFrog - and experience our platform firsthand; no gatekeeping, no NDA. It’s why we share platform status and service issues, no matter how minor; it’s more important to share the small stuff than to stick to a claim of “flawless 100% uptime.”

Transparency isn’t just fluffy marketing - it’s how we operate, every day.

We believe in Community and Open Ecosystems

Security of the software supply chain depends on collaboration. From open standards to public registries, collaboration is how enterprises actually build software securely and at scale. We support open ecosystems because they accelerate innovation and benefit everyone.

Closed platforms and walled gardens are tempting to legacy software vendors like JFrog, but they inevitably lead to lock‑in and slow progress. Our approach is different: Cloudsmith is designed to integrate, not isolate. We recognize that we are the trusted control plane and data plane for software artifacts. To do that effectively means working alongside the tools and ecosystems our customers already rely on, rather than forcing a single‑vendor stack.

Competition pushes every company to deliver more value to customers. We welcome direct competition with JFrog because it helps us to improve our platform and our customer experience.

Artifact management is critical infrastructure. Software teams depend on us to build, secure, and deliver their products. Choosing an artifact management platform is a decision about who you trust, and who you want to work with for the next 5-10 years and beyond.

Cloudsmith’s growth has been built on long‑term partnerships. We understand our customers’ needs, deliver meaningful improvements, and act as a trusted partner as requirements evolve. That’s what real competition is about: 

Alison Sickelka

VP of Product

Competition, transparency and building the future of the Software Supply Chain

Over the past few years, Platform Engineering has gained traction as more enterprise organisations adopt the practice of creating centralised, self-service platforms that give developers easy access to the tools they need to focus on what they do best: building great software.

At the heart of every Golden Path lies the ability to reliably produce, store, and consume build artifacts, from container images to internal libraries. Without artifact management platforms, even the best developer workflows quickly break down under the weight of inconsistency and manual overhead.

If you haven’t already heard the term “Golden Path” in relation to Platform Engineering, you’re sure to encounter it along your journey through the modern software development ecosystem.

a preconfigured, paved road that provides an end-to-end workflow for developers, typically enabled via an Internal Developer Platform (IDP).

Without Golden Paths, each team is left to build their own workflows and pipelines from scratch. This results in:

: Teams reinvent the wheel, spending valuable time wiring up their CI/CD, security scans, and deployment steps instead of focusing on product work.

: With no shared templates, security, compliance, and operational practices become fragmented, which introduces risk and makes governance harder to achieve.

: Developers moving across teams face steep learning curves, as every team’s stack and practices are different.

: Introducing platform-level improvements such as security updates, new tooling, and organisation-wide polices become slow and error-prone because there’s no consistent delivery mechanism.

: Finally, without centralised artifact management practices, teams duplicate efforts, store untracked builds, and rely on manual conventions that lead to debugging nightmares and deployment inconsistencies.

Golden Paths addresses these challenges by providing a pre-defined, paved route for delivering software, backed by self-service templates, sensible defaults, and secure, reusable components. This self-service approach not only accelerates development cycles but also reduces cognitive load, promotes consistency, and allows developers to focus on building value rather than maintaining the infrastructure.

There is more to Golden Paths than just combining tools and services - it’s also about intentionally understanding the needs of your developers and crafting a path that will actually benefit the developer’s day-to-day tasks. Below are the core pillars of Golden Paths:

A golden path should empower developers to operate independently by providing automated, well-documented, and secure self-service tooling. This means developers can provision everything they need, such as infrastructure, repositories, pipelines, environments, and service templates, all without relying on manual interventions from platform, DevOps, or infrastructure teams. By reducing the need to open tickets or wait in queues, teams can move faster, experiment safely, and maintain momentum. This not only improves developer productivity but also reduces bottlenecks and operational overhead for supporting teams. A strong golden path makes the right way the easy way to self-serve by default and scalable by design.

Golden Paths should embed security, compliance, and governance controls directly into the desired developer workflow - automatically and invisibly. This means that secure defaults, access controls, audit logging, policy enforcement, and regulatory compliance are all baked into the tooling and templates provided. Developers shouldn’t have to worry about configuring these aspects manually or remembering compliance checklists afterwards. The golden path handles it all for your teams, reducing the risk of human error and ensuring consistency across teams. By baking these controls into the system instead of relying on external gates, golden paths help teams meet compliance or security standards by default, because it’s already handled in those paths.

Golden Paths should be highly repeatable and standardised, serving as the “blessed” or recommended approach to solving common problems. This consistency helps ensure that developers across different teams are using the same tools, patterns, and workflows, which reduces cognitive load, lowers onboarding times for new engineers, and minimises error or inconsistencies in implementation. By following a well-defined golden path, we avoid variation between teams and can instead focus on delivering value. We want to avoid repeatedly making the same foundational decisions.

Golden Paths are designed not just for individual use cases, but to operate reliably and efficiently at organisation-wide scale. This means the recommended patterns, tools, and platforms can handle high volumes of usage, large teams, and complex systems without degradation in performance or user experience.

For example, a Golden Path might define a standard CI/CD pipeline that includes automated testing, security scanning, and deployment to production. Rather than each team building their own version, hundreds of teams can adopt the same pipeline template, which is backed by a shared, scalable build infrastructure like Github Actions runners or a managed ArgoCD setup.

They should be resilient by default, fault-tolerant, and implement redundancy to ensure it performs consistently across geographies, teams and workloads. Whether deployed in a single region or across global environments, golden path solutions should maintain predictable reliability, ensuring fast feedback loops even under high load.

One of Cloudsmith’s own pillars, tooling is intuitive, fast, and well-documented so developers stay in flow and don’t need tribal knowledge.

Golden Paths require tooling that is flexible, secure, and invisible when it needs to be. Cloudsmith’s cloud-native, fully managed architecture supports Platform Engineering teams in building paved roads with minimal friction.

Where and how Cloudsmith enables Golden Paths

Now that we’ve covered each of the core pillars, let’s explore how Cloudsmith best enables Golden Paths:

Cloudsmith’s architecture was designed from the ground up to prioritise speed and simplicity. These are core pillars of Golden Paths. There’s no need to manage infrastructure, patch servers, or wrestle with upgrades.

With a streamlined golden path, developers can:

Create and manage artifact repositories for multiple formats

Configure upstream proxies for public dependencies

Create, manage, and rotate Entitlement Tokens

Create and manage service accounts with OIDC

Bootstrap a full microservice project with a dedicated repository with upstream proxy

This self-service approach makes it easier for Platform teams to build repeatable workflows that scale across dev squads. Next we’ll look at how Cloudsmith’s multi-format repositories make automation easier while improving self-service for developers. They’re a perfect fit for how we scale our internal platform and support modern delivery workflows.

At a high-level, Cloudsmith allows businesses to host all supported package types in a single repository (npm, Docker, Python, Maven, NuGet, Ruby and more) without sacrificing compatibility with native tooling. This flexibility opens a door to unified, scalable, and an automated approach to artifact management.

This enables flexible repo structures where platform teams can organise based on environment (such as dev, staging, prod), product lines, teams, or any kind of structure that fits your workflow, without being constrained by package formats. The very nature of centralising artifacts allows teams to monitor, and more importantly audit all formats from a “single source of truth” with detailed stats, versioning, tooling compatibility and entitlement token controls.

Security shouldn’t slow you down - and with Cloudsmith, it doesn’t.

Golden Paths can bake governance into the developer experience, enabling teams to move fast without bypassing standards. Rather than embedding artifact verification logic inside individual pipelines (which quickly becomes unmanageable at scale), platform teams can use Enterprise Policy Management (EPM) to abstract these controls into centrally managed, observable policies as code.

For example, rules about which artifacts can be ingested - based on origin, signature, license type, or vulnerability status - can be codified as reusable policies, enforced consistently across all teams and environments. These policies are versioned, auditable, and deployable via Terraform, just like the infrastructure that serves the artifacts.

With Cloudsmith, teams can also enforce fine-grained RBAC, set global privileges, apply OIDC-based auth scopes, and define deny-by-default rules that can be codified without the need for manual setup. The result: every team benefits from hardened defaults and automated compliance without having to write custom pipeline logic or wait on security tickets.

This means every team follows the same standards - with no extra work required.

Golden Paths depend on tools that fade into the background: tools developers barely notice because they “just work.”

Most of our customers interact with Cloudsmith through our developer-friendly CLI, language-native tool support (e.g. npm, twine, docker), or API-first workflows. However, when the UI is needed, it matters, and Cloudsmith delivers a clean, unified, format-agnostic interface that developers actually enjoy using.

No more clunky dashboards or having to consult internal wikis just to navigate a repository. Cloudsmith’s UI reflects the same principles as a great platform: clarity, consistency, and control.

Golden Paths are only golden if they work for every team, wherever they are.

Cloudsmith delivers artifacts via a powerful, CDN-backed architecture with global edge caching, so developers around the world experience the same speed and reliability. Whether developers are pulling containers, Helm charts, or Python wheels, the experience is consistent and fast, without the need for custom cloud infrastructure or replication setup.

Customer success story through Golden Paths

One of our enterprise customers, a global semiconductor and signal‑processing leader, has implemented multiple Cloudsmith‑powered Golden Paths to streamline onboarding for development teams. Using a combination of our 

, they created self‑service workflows that provision Cloudsmith repositories, teams, service accounts, and OIDC configurations in minutes.

Currently, we’re helping them automate token rotation and upstream source creation for open‑source dependencies with streamlined self service cards in Backstage, which further reduces manual effort and boosts developer productivity. This customer is just one of many who are taking advantage of Cloudsmith’s global scale to meet the needs of their developers.

See how other platform teams are using Cloudsmith to power their Golden Paths

Cristian Garcia

Senior Customer Success Manager

Golden Paths Made Easy With Cloudsmith

Migrating from JFrog Artifactory to a new artifact management platform like Cloudsmith can feel like a daunting task. We promise, it’s actually easier and more straightforward than you think! Many organizations have successfully completed migrations away from JFrog Artifactory, even with complex setups and dependencies. With a well-planned approach and some help following best practices for Artifactory migration, the process becomes seamless.

This guide provides a step-by-step JFrog Artifactory migration strategy and highlights why Cloudsmith is one of the best JFrog Artifactory alternatives.

Why Plan Your JFrog Artifactory Migration?

Migration is basically two things: moving data and re-evaluating workflows. Cloudsmith offers numerous advantages that streamline JFrog migration and ensure your tools align with your long-term goals. With a successful migration, you’ll even minimize downtime and maintain business continuity.

Steps to a Successful JFrog Artifactory Migration

Before beginning your migration from JFrog artifactory, take stock of your current environment:

Identify all hosted repositories and ensure they are up to date.

You may want to take this opportunity to remove unused or outdated artifacts to simplify the migration process. (Note, this is NOT required, and it may be easier and less risky to just move everything.)

Note any upstream repositories and registries, third-party integrations, and workflows that are dependent on your current setup.

2 - Export Your Artifacts from JFrog Artifactory

Exporting artifacts is the first technical step in migrating from JFrog Artifactory. There are three basic approaches:

 Export repositories directly through the Artifactory UI.

 Use CLI commands to export specific packages or repositories.

 This powerful tool automates critical aspects of migration, including ensuring your repositories are correctly organized in the new environment (Repository Structure Mapping) and retaining important data during the transfer (Metadata Preservation) to avoid manual updates post-migration.

After exporting, the next step is importing your artifacts into Cloudsmith:

 Create your organization and repositories in Cloudsmith, aligning them with your intended structure and best practices. This ensures a clean, scalable setup that supports various formats (e.g., Docker, PyPi, NPM).

 Use the Cloudsmith CLI to streamline the import process, allowing you to efficiently upload multiple artifacts in bulk. Automation tools and CI/CD integrations further enhance this workflow by ensuring consistency in artifact management.

 Ensure that metadata, including version history and dependency information, is maintained during the import process. Preserving metadata is crucial for traceability and accountability, especially as you scale your projects and collaborate across teams​

For optimal management, it's essential to follow best practices for repository and package workflows, such as maintaining clear versioning, ensuring secure access control, and leveraging automation for repeatable processes. These practices help streamline workflows, improve security, and ensure consistency in artifact management.

4 - Update Your Build Tools and Integrations

Reconfigure your development tools to integrate with Cloudsmith:

 Update endpoints in your pipelines to push and pull from Cloudsmith.

 Set up upstreams in Cloudsmith to cache and manage third-party libraries from sources like DockerHub, Chainguard, and PyPi.

 Ensure secure access by configuring advanced authentication methods such as Single Sign-On (SSO), OpenID Connect (OIDC), and API tokens. Additionally, define user roles to manage permissions and maintain a robust security framework.

5 - Validate Your JFrog Artifactory Migration

This is a good time to validate your setup to ensure everything is working as expected:

 Confirm that all packages and metadata are present and accessible in Cloudsmith.

Test your pipelines to ensure seamless integration with Cloudsmith.

 Address discrepancies early to avoid complications post-migration.

At this point, you will have a performant, secure, highly available single source for all the artifacts and containers flowing into your organization. If you need any assistance, our friendly support team is always ready to help ensure your migration is smooth and successful.

Once Cloudsmith is fully operational, safely phase out your old Artifactory system:

 Retain logs and critical data for compliance and historical reference.

 Disconnect tools and workflows tied to Artifactory.

Why Choose Cloudsmith as a JFrog Artifactory Alternative?

Cloudsmith is designed to meet the demands of modern software development. It supports all major package types, offers advanced security features, and simplifies artifact management with a fully managed, cloud-native solution. By switching to Cloudsmith, you can reduce infrastructure overhead, streamline workflows, and scale effortlessly with your needs.

Migrating from JFrog Artifactory to Cloudsmith offers significant advantages:

 Manage all your artifacts in one place, from Alpine to Docker to Python to Terraform Modules (32 formats in all).

 Reduce the total cost of ownership and infrastructure overhead with a fully managed service.

 Benefit from features like signing keys and entitlement tokens to enhance control over the distribution and use of your artifacts.

 Add teams, formats, repositories, upstreams, and geographies without worrying about infrastructure, with a platform built for growth.

Start Your JFrog Artifactory Migration Today!

Migrating your artifact management system is easy, and we’re here to make it even easier. Book a meeting with our experts to discuss your unique needs and learn how Cloudsmith can simplify and enhance your workflows.

"Out of all of the vendors we talked to, Cloudsmith was the one that seemed to want to work with us the most. Right away they were saying, 'Here are all the things we want to do for you. Here are the things we can build…' That won us over. And everything that’s happened since then has only confirmed that initial impression."

Master Your JFrog Migration with Cloudsmith

Cloudsmith is more than a repository - it’s a platform designed to empower modern software teams. Start your journey toward streamlined artifact management by connecting with us today. Let’s make your migration a success!

How do I migrate from JFrog Artifactory to Cloudsmith?


Use the Cloudsmith Migration Toolkit to export, import, and validate artifacts, ensuring a smooth JFrog Artifactory migration with minimal downtime.


What are the best practices for Artifactory migration?


Audit repositories, clean up unused data, document dependencies, automate exports, and validate artifacts post-migration for a seamless transition.


Why should I consider JFrog Artifactory cloud migration?


Cloudsmith offers a fully managed, scalable, and secure artifact management solution, reducing infrastructure costs and simplifying workflows.


What are the benefits of using Cloudsmith over JFrog Artifactory?


Cloudsmith provides universal package support, cloud-native efficiency, strong security, and seamless CI/CD integrations for better artifact management.


What tools can I use for JFrog cloud migration?


Use Artifactory’s export tools, JFrog CLI, or Cloudsmith’s Migration Toolkit to automate artifact transfer while preserving metadata.

Maia Livingstone

Campaign Manager

Mastering Your JFrog Artifactory Migration: Steps to Success

One of our core motivations in building Cloudsmith is to make software developers' lives easier. We want Cloudsmith to be one of those great products that feels intuitive and automates everything.

As we’re picking up more and larger customers, we’re seeing an increased need for migration tools. We want to make it as easy as possible for teams who are stuck using JFrog Artifactory, or Sonatype Nexus, or other legacy tools to move over to the joy of SaaS artifact management using Cloudsmith.

In theory, anyone can migrate their own repos and data to Cloudsmith, using our APIs, CLI, and webhooks. But we really want to make this 

So, we’ve established a new team at Cloudsmith called 

. The mission of Customer Engineering is to build migration and integration tools that extend Cloudsmith. This will include migration tools, GitHub Actions, and extensions to our Terraform provider.

We want to let the Cloudsmith community contribute to and extend the tools we build, so we’re going to make all the source code available in GitHub and invite anyone to make improvements, submit pull requests, and take these tools wherever they need to go.

Our first project is a Cloudsmith Migration Toolkit. The Toolkit provides repository structure mappings, upstream/remote source configurations, and ETL-style data migration, specifically targeted at teams migrating off JFrog Artifactory. The Toolkit will securely create your Cloudsmith repos, let you decide which Artifactory repos you want to migrate, transfer artifacts, and preserve metadata and versioning.

If you are interested in trying out the Toolkit, 

 (we just need your name + email address), and the Customer Success team will be in touch.

Cloudsmith Blog

Competition, transparency and building the future of the Software Supply Chain

Golden Paths Made Easy With Cloudsmith

Mastering Your JFrog Artifactory Migration: Steps to Success

Coming Soon: Cloudsmith Migration Toolkit