Upgrade From AWS CodeArtifact

Cloudsmith: Secure alternative to AWS CodeArtifact for modern software supply chains

AWS CodeArtifact stores packages. It doesn't secure them. Here's why teams are switching.

Four reasons engineering teams switch from AWS CodeArtifact to Cloudsmith

AWS CodeArtifact is a capable package management tool for teams already deep in the AWS ecosystem, but it has no built-in supply chain security layer, limited format support, and no path to multi-cloud governance. Cloudsmith gives you a private registry with pre-ingestion security blocking and policy enforcement across your entire supply chain – without any infrastructure to manage.
    Comprehensive supply chain security, built in from day one
    Cloudsmith goes beyond storing and distributing packages; it actively secures your software supply chain at the point of ingestion, before a package ever reaches your developers. Built-in vulnerability monitoring, malware detection, license compliance, SBOM generation, and automated policy enforcement give your team a control layer without additional tooling.
    30+ package formats, unified under one platform
    As engineering stacks grow, so do format requirements. Teams evaluating AWS CodeArtifact quickly discover its limits with only 8 supported formats. Cloudsmith supports 30+ formats natively, including npm, PyPI, Maven, NuGet, Docker, Debian, Helm, Alpine, Cargo, RubyGems, and more; all managed from a single platform with a unified access model. No separate registries, no workarounds.
    Cloud-agnostic architecture, built for multi-cloud and hybrid teams
    Cloudsmith is designed as a cloud-agnostic artifact repository for multi-cloud environments, integrating natively with every major CI/CD platform regardless of which cloud providers you’re invested in. Whether your pipelines live in AWS, GCP, Azure, or a hybrid combination, Cloudsmith travels with them. One registry and one policy model.
    Built for the AI development era
    AI coding tools like Cursor and GitHub Copilot are changing how developers write and ship software and introduce new artifact management risk. LLM-assisted code generation can pull in unreviewed, unscanned packages without a developer noticing. Cloudsmith gives security and platform teams a single enforcement point across every dependency, whether it came from a human or an AI tool. We’re built for how engineering teams are working today.
Feature Comparison

Cloudsmith vs AWS CodeArtifact

Which one is right for your team?
Cloudsmith
AWS CodeArtifact
Package format support
Cloudsmith has Package format support
Cloudsmith
Yes, 30+ formats, including Docker, Debian, Helm, and Alpine, are all managed from a single platform.
AWS CodeArtifact
Limited to only 8 formats, container storage requires ECR.
Security & compliance
Cloudsmith has Security & compliance
Cloudsmith
Yes, vulnerability scanning, malware detection, SBOM, signing, policy enforcement, and dependency confusion protection are all built in.
AWS CodeArtifact does not have Security & compliance
AWS CodeArtifact
No built-in vulnerability scanning, no malware detection, no native SBOM, no policy enforcement. It includes package origin controls to help mitigate dependency confusion attacks but requires additional tooling for comprehensive supply chain security.
CI/CD integrations
Cloudsmith has CI/CD integrations
Cloudsmith
Yes, native integrations with all major platforms, cloud-agnostic by design.
AWS CodeArtifact
AWS-native integration, complex for non-AWS pipelines
Multi-cloud support
Cloudsmith has Multi-cloud support
Cloudsmith
Yes
AWS CodeArtifact does not have Multi-cloud support
AWS CodeArtifact
AWS lock-in only
Global distribution
Cloudsmith has Global distribution
Cloudsmith
Global edge caching and CDN-native for fast, reliable package delivery worldwide.
AWS CodeArtifact
Single-region by default, cross-region delivery incurs an additional cost.
Policy enforcement
Cloudsmith has Policy enforcement
Cloudsmith
Policy management via policy-as-code. Rules defined as code, applied automatically.
AWS CodeArtifact does not have Policy enforcement
AWS CodeArtifact
None
Migration support
Cloudsmith has Migration support
Cloudsmith
Dedicated onboarding and expert migration support are included with every Enterprise plan
AWS CodeArtifact
AWS Support tiers only, no artifact-specific migration assistance
Pricing competitiveness
Cloudsmith has Pricing competitiveness
Cloudsmith
Competitive for full-featured deployments
AWS CodeArtifact
Cheapest at low volumes
AWS CodeArtifact to Cloudsmith Migration Guide

Migration planning resources

We’ve compiled a no-pressure guide to help you assess a migration project. While every migration is driven by a bespoke support plan, this guide breaks down the key steps involved in most migrations.

Image of our migration guide

What customers say after switching

If you're looking for someone who's not just a vendor but a long-term partner, invested in you and you in them, then that's my highest recommendation for why you should go with Cloudsmith.

Dave Bresci

Senior Manager of Site Reliability Engineering

Before

PagerDuty's engineering teams were dealing with recurring downtime on their artifact management tool, disrupting CI/CD pipelines, causing build failures, and making it difficult to ship product releases reliably. Slow and cumbersome vendor support made things worse, and with FedRAMP certification on the horizon, their existing setup no longer met the security and compliance controls they needed.

With Cloudsmith

After evaluating seven solutions and selecting Cloudsmith, PagerDuty migrated to a fully managed, cloud-native artifact management platform that matched the way they architect and operate their own product, with the stability, security controls, and partner-level support their engineering teams needed to move at pace.

Results
  • Zero platform-impacting pipeline downtime since migration
  • FedRAMP certification requirements confidently met
  • Engineering teams fully self-sufficient with responsive support
G2 logo
Customers love Cloudsmith
G2 most implementable spring 2025G2 momentum leader spring 2025G2 high performer spring 2025G2 usability spring 2025G2 results spring 2025

Frequently asked questions

  1. Yes. Cloudsmith gives you everything CodeArtifact offers, plus supply chain security, 30+ package formats, enterprise identity management, and cloud-agnostic architecture. It's purpose-built for teams that have outgrown a basic package store.

  2. Most migrations for small-to-medium setups can be completed in hours to a few days. Larger enterprise migrations with complex access policies and many repositories may take longer. Enterprise customers receive a dedicated migration engineer to scope and manage the full process.

  3. Yes. Cloudsmith supports all eight formats available in CodeArtifact (npm, PyPI, Maven, NuGet, Swift, RubyGems, Cargo, and generic packages) plus 20+ additional formats including Docker, Debian, Helm, Alpine, and more.

  4. No, CodeArtifact has no built-in security scanning of any kind. Cloudsmith includes vulnerability scanning, malware detection, licence compliance, and SBOM generation out of the box.

  5. Yes. Cloudsmith integrates natively with AWS CodeBuild, CodePipeline, and IAM via OIDC, and works just as well outside AWS. It's cloud-agnostic by design.

  6. CodeArtifact is cheaper at low volumes. Cloudsmith is priced for teams that need security, governance, and multi-format support, capabilities that would otherwise require separate tooling on top of CodeArtifact.

Talk to us about switching from AWS CodeArtifact