specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
provider: NuGet
providerId: nuget
publisherName: .NET Foundation / Microsoft Corporation
serviceCategory: Developer Tools / Package Registry
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Package Management
  - .NET
  - Packages
  - Registry
  - FinOps
  - Cost Management
  - FOCUS
description: 'FOCUS-aligned FinOps for nuget.org: the public registry is free of charge. Commercial spend
  for private NuGet feeds is on Azure Artifacts (per-user) or GitHub Packages (per-org), not nuget.org
  itself.'
sources:
  - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/nuget/api/overview
  - https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/devops/azure-devops-services/
  - https://github.com/pricing
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: nuget.org does not invoice consumers; visibility is about restore cost and time. Track
      package download bytes, restore duration, and CI cache hit rate. For Azure Artifacts or GitHub Packages,
      use the respective billing dashboards.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Allocate package storage and Actions/Pipelines minutes to the publishing org/team. Tag
      private feeds by repo or product so each owner sees their share.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Cache restored packages in CI (e.g. actions/cache, NuGet.config globalPackagesFolder).
      Use a proxy feed (Azure Artifacts upstream, JFrog, Sonatype) for high-volume monorepos to reduce
      egress from nuget.org and avoid throttling.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Even though nuget.org is free, runaway CI restores cost time and money downstream. Assign
      an owner for the package cache, restore performance, and any private feed billing.
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Free / Public Service
  billingFrequency: None
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Usage
  chargeFrequency: None
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: NuGet
  ServiceCategory: Developer Tools / Package Registry
  ProviderName: NuGet
  PublisherName: .NET Foundation / Microsoft Corporation
  InvoiceIssuerName: N/A (free service for public feed)
  PricingCategory: Free
  PricingUnit: request
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
meters:
  - name: package_downloads
    description: Total .nupkg downloads from nuget.org
    unit: download
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - package_id
      - version
  - name: package_egress_bytes
    description: Bytes egressed by .nupkg downloads
    unit: GB
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - package_id
  - name: search_requests
    description: Search and metadata requests
    unit: request
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - api
  - name: catalog_pages_processed
    description: Catalog API pages consumed by mirroring/ingestion clients
    unit: page
    aggregation: sum
apis:
  - name: NuGet Server API
    baseURL: https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json
    tags:
      - Package Management
      - .NET
      - Registry
    serviceName: NuGet Server API
    serviceCategory: Package Registry
  - name: NuGet Catalog API
    baseURL: https://api.nuget.org/v3/catalog0/index.json
    tags:
      - Catalog
      - Event Log
    serviceName: NuGet Catalog API
    serviceCategory: Package Registry
  - name: NuGet Search API
    baseURL: https://azuresearch-usnc.nuget.org/query
    tags:
      - Search
      - Discovery
    serviceName: NuGet Search API
    serviceCategory: Package Registry
  - name: NuGet Package Metadata API
    baseURL: https://api.nuget.org/v3/registration5-gz-semver2
    tags:
      - Metadata
      - Versions
    serviceName: NuGet Package Metadata API
    serviceCategory: Package Registry
  - name: NuGet Package Content API
    baseURL: https://api.nuget.org/v3-flatcontainer
    tags:
      - Package Download
      - NuPkg
    serviceName: NuGet Package Content API
    serviceCategory: Package Registry
unitEconomics:
  - name: Restore time per CI build
    metric: ci_restore_seconds / ci_build_count
  - name: Egress per build
    metric: package_egress_bytes / ci_build_count
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com