Packaging applications

Deploying software with Octopus often involves deploying packages. This section explains how to package your applications for deployment with Octopus.

Before you can deploy a package you need to:

  1. Give your package a package ID.
  2. Choose and apply a versioning scheme.
  3. Create the package in a supported format.
  4. Host the package in a package repository.

Package ID

Package IDs must conform to the following specifications:

  • Package IDs must be unique within your Octopus Deploy instance.
  • Package IDs consist of one or more segments separated by one of the following separator characters: - . _.
  • Segments contain only alphanumeric characters.

For instance, the package ID in this sample package is hello-world.

hello-world.1.0.0.zip

Avoid using numbers in your package ID as it could result in the version number being incorrectly parsed.

Version numbers

Octopus supports Semantic Versioning, unless you are deploying artifacts to a Maven repository in which case you will need to use Maven Versions.

The version number needs to be applied to your package after the package ID and before the format. For instance. The version number in our sample package is 1.0.0.

hello-world.1.0.0.zip

Learn more about versioning schemes.

Package dependencies and structure

When you package your applications, you need to include all the binaries that are required to run the application, and structure the package the way you want it to appear after it has been extracted.

Supported formats

It is important that your packages have the correct file extension because Octopus uses the file extension to determine the correct extraction algorithm to use with your packages.

Package typeFile ExtensionsNotes
NuGet.nupkgCompatible with any NuGet repository (including the Built-In repository). Currently only NuGet packages will have extra metadata like release notes and description extracted from the package metadata. Learn about NuGet on the official NuGet website.
Zip.zipStandard zip file as created through most common zip programs. Compatible with the built-In repository only.
JAR WAR EAR RAR.jar, .war, .ear, .rarCompatible with the built-In repository and Maven Feeds. RAR files are Java Resource Adaptor Archives, not the .rar compressed archive format.
Tar.tarCompatible with the Built-In repository only.
Tar + Gzip.tgz, .tar.gz, .tar.ZCompatible with the built-In repository only.
Tar + Bzip2.tar.bz, .tar.bz2, .tbz*Compatible with the built-In repository only.
Docker ImageDocker Registries. Learn about Docker and Octopus Deploy.
Helm Chart.tgzHelm Chart Repositories (including the Built-In repository). Learn about Helm and Octopus Deploy.

Learn more

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Page updated on Sunday, January 1, 2023