Use the Package Registry UI list view to view more robust data
Problem to solve
The Package stage allows you to publish, consume and discover packages, all in one place. Users publish and pull packages using GitLab CI/CD, the command line or the GitLab API.
The problem is that we currently do not expose most of the useful metadata to users to about how a dependency was built, by whom or when and where it was last used. In order to provide a more robust, intuitive experience, we need to add the data our users need to the package registry UI.
However, we also must ensure that we are not cluttering the UI or providing irrelevant data. We will need to update the design and validate with our users.
Intended users
- Delaney (Development Team Lead)
- Sasha (Software Developer)
- Devon (DevOps Engineer)
- Sidney (Systems Administrator)
Further details
Currently, the user interface of the package list view only shows a limited amount of information related to the packages. While the information being displayed is important, the information our users are seeking is not currently available.
Proposal
The proposed solution is to change the user interface of the list view to show a more robust data set related to specific packages. This data includes:
- package name
- tags associated with the package
- version number
- published by name
- package type
- branch and commit data (with the commit sha being a quick copy function)
- created date
User interface
Permissions and Security
n/a
Documentation
Screen shots of the package list view should be updated with the new experience.
Information around what data can be viewed and interacted with should be updated inside the documentation.
Availability & Testing
What does success look like, and how can we measure that?
Users should be better enabled by the experience change by including the data they search for most often at the list view, saving a click when necessary. It should also be easier for users to navigate to a relevant package during troubleshooting, quickly navigating back to the pipelines and code that the package came from.