Hello Apache NiFi community, Following the discussion threads on both the dev and users mailing lists [1][2], I would like to call a formal vote on the deprecation of NiFi Registry.
This vote will remain open for a minimum of 72 hours. == SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION == The discussion began on January 12, 2026, and received feedback from multiple community members including PMC members, committers, and users. **Reasons for Deprecation:** - NiFi Registry has accumulated a significant number of CVEs (double digits) related to its Angular-based frontend that cannot be resolved through simple dependency updates - The sub-project has received minimal maintenance attention over the past several years, beyond the UI rewrite effort - As a PMC, we have an obligation to respond to CVEs in software we release **Alternatives Available:** - NiFi 2.x introduced Git-based Flow Registry Clients (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps) that provide direct integration with existing version control infrastructure - Kevin Doran, one of the original authors of NiFi Registry, noted that if starting over today, a git repository client-based approach would likely be preferred - Future improvements such as NIP-13 (branch support) are planned for git-based clients **Feature Gaps Identified:** - Permission model for multi-tenant deployments (Mark Bean proposed an Access Policy solution for Registry Clients) - NAR autoloading from external sources (NIP-4 proposes Extensions Registry Clients as a future solution) - Some bugs in GitLab Flow Registry Client being addressed (NIFI-15475) **Community Feedback:** - Kevin Doran, David Handermann, Scott Aslan, Matt Burgess, and Wes Render expressed support for or no objection to the deprecation - Shane Ardell and Scott Aslan have made significant progress on the UI rewrite over the past months and expressed willingness to continue - No strong objections were raised against deprecation == PROPOSAL == If this vote passes: 1. NiFi Registry will be marked as deprecated in documentation and codebase 2. A deprecation notice will be added to the Apache NiFi website 3. A deprecation warning will be displayed in NiFi Registry logs at startup 4. A deprecation notice may be added to the NiFi Registry UI via a header banner 5. NiFi Registry would be planned for removal as part of NiFi 3.0 == IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS == 1. **This decision is REVERSIBLE.** If sufficient contributors step forward to actively maintain and improve NiFi Registry, the deprecation status can be reconsidered and reverted. The deprecation decision could be revisited whenever discussions for NiFi 3 begin. 2. **The ongoing UI rewrite work should continue regardless of this vote's outcome.** We have a responsibility to address the existing CVEs for software we ship. The work by Shane Ardell and Scott Aslan is appreciated and should be completed. 3. **There is NO KNOWN TIMELINE for NiFi 3.0.** With major work ongoing for NIP-11 (Connectors) on a development branch, formal steps toward NiFi 3 are not expected until after that feature lands. Any potential removal of NiFi Registry would not happen before NiFi 3.0, giving users significant time to plan migrations. == VOTE == Please cast your vote: [ ] +1 - I approve the deprecation of NiFi Registry [ ] 0 - I have no strong opinion [ ] -1 - I do not approve (please provide technical justification) Per Apache voting guidelines, PMC member votes are binding. Community member votes are welcome and encouraged. [1] https://lists.apache.org/thread/jo7v158k3zr2o93chsm3mh8zkl6lgz8v [2] https://lists.apache.org/thread/tkp3cdzxwwrhoxp4txx145vfrko91gs3 Thanks, Pierre
