> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.onelitefeather.net/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.onelitefeather.net/ingot/repositories-and-artifacts/create-a-group-repository.md).
# Create a group repository
Create a group repository in Ingot that serves several local repositories under one URL, from the settings to a first request, with the checks that catch a wrong reference.
A group repository serves the artifacts of several local repositories under one address. Build tools then need one repository URL instead of one per repository. A group stores nothing of its own, so uploads go to the repository that holds them.
## Before you begin
* Know which local repositories the group should serve, for example `releases` and `snapshots`. Each one must already exist in the maven settings.
* Be a manager of the instance, so that you can change the maven settings.
* Read the [repository types reference](/ingot/configuration/repository-types.md) once. It lists the rules that the steps below satisfy.
## Choose the members
List the local repositories in the order a request should search them. A request answers from the first member that holds the file. Members must be local, so do not add a URL here.
## Declare the group
Add a repository with `type` set to `GROUP`, and list its members under `proxied` with their ids:
```json
{
"id": "all",
"type": "GROUP",
"visibility": "PUBLIC",
"proxied": [
{ "reference": "releases" },
{ "reference": "snapshots" }
]
}
```
Leave `store` out of every member. A group stores nothing, so Ingot refuses a member that sets it.
Save the settings in the dashboard, or send the whole maven domain to `PUT /api/settings/domain/maven`. A saved group appears in the repository list with `"type": "group"` and `"typeExplicit": true`.
## Check the members
Ask the group for its members:
```
GET /api/maven/repositories/all/members
```
The answer lists `releases` and `snapshots`, in the order you set. A member that is not visible to the caller is left out, as in the repository list.
## Use the group
Point the build at the group URL, for example:
```xml
all
https://repo.example.org/all
```
Deploy to a member, not to the group. A deployment to the group answers `405` with `Repository 'all' is a group and does not accept uploads`:
```bash
curl -u deployer:secret -X PUT --data-binary @app-1.0.jar \
https://repo.example.org/releases/com/example/app/1.0/app-1.0.jar
```
## When the save is refused
A `400` response means that a rule is broken, and nothing was stored. The message names the repository and the rule. Common causes:
| Message ends with | Fix |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `proxies local repositories only, but 'https://...' is not a repository of this instance` | Remove the URL from the group, or move it into its own `PROXY` repository and list that repository instead. |
| `but 'ghost' is not a repository of this instance` | Check the spelling of the id, or create the repository first. |
| `cannot proxy itself` | Remove the group's own id from its `proxied` list. |
| `stores nothing` | Remove `store` from the member. |
| `is part of a cycle of proxied repositories (all -> team -> all)` | Break the loop, for example by removing a group from another group's members. |
| `has an empty proxied reference` | Remove the entry with the empty reference. |
## Verify the result
1. Request a file that only a member holds, through the group URL. The group answers with it.
2. Check the repository list. The group shows `"type": "group"` and `"typeExplicit": true`.
3. Check the storage usage. The group is listed without a quota, since it stores nothing.
---
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