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Configure Alpine with Nexus

Configure your Alpine client to connect to a Nexus Alpine repository. Alpine uses the /etc/apk/repositories file to define repository endpoints. Note that you must create an Alpine repository in Nexus before configuring your Alpine client to connect to it. Refer to Create an Alpine Repository for more details.

Note

Testing indicates that Alpine Linux 3.17 or later, using apk-tools 2.12.14 or later, is required for compatibility with Alpine repositories in Nexus Repository. Alpine Linux 3.16 with apk-tools 2.12.9 can return a package file format error when reading repository metadata.

Configure the Alpine Repository URL

Use the following syntax to configure an Alpine repository URL:

https://<nexus-host>/repository/<repository-name>/<alpine-version>/<channel>

Where,

  • <nexus-host> - Host name and port for your Nexus Repository instance

  • <repository-name> - Target Alpine repository in Nexus

  • <alpine-version> - Alpine version path, for example v3.19 or edge

  • <channel> - Alpine repository channel, for example main or community

For example:

https://example.nexus.com/repository/alpine-group/v3.19/main

Add the Repository URL to Alpine

Add the Nexus Alpine repository URL to /etc/apk/repositories.

echo "https://<nexus-host>/repository/<repository-name>/<alpine-version>/<channel>" >> /etc/apk/repositories

Where,

  • <nexus-host> - Host name and port for your Nexus Repository instance

  • <repository-name> - Name of the target Alpine repository in Nexus

  • <alpine-version> - Alpine version path

  • <channel> - Alpine repository channel

For example:

echo "https://example.nexus.com/repository/alpine-group/v3.19/main" >> /etc/apk/repositories

Add The Public Key

If your Alpine repository uses signed metadata, add the public key generated during repository setup to the Alpine trusted keys directory at /etc/apk/keys/. Update the package index after adding the public key.

If you do not add the public key, you can use --allow-untrusted when installing a package. Sonatype does not recommend this option because it bypasses Alpine package signature trust checks.