What is ID prefix reservation?
A reserved prefix claims a slice of the package-ID namespace (for example Acme.*) for a specific account or organisation on DPM Gallery. Once a prefix is reserved, only the designated owner — or members of the designated organisation — may publish new packages whose IDs start with that prefix. Packages that fall under a reserved prefix display a small blue badge next to the package ID so that anyone browsing the gallery can tell at a glance.
Why we offer it
Package ecosystems attract typosquatting — names that look almost identical to popular packages but are published by someone else, hoping to trick a developer into pulling the wrong dependency. Reserving a prefix is the simplest way for an established author or company to signal: “packages under this name come from us.”
Reserved prefixes are also useful for organisations that want a stable identity on the gallery, and for OSS projects that publish many related packages under a shared root name.
What the badge does and does not mean
- It means the package ID — or a dotted prefix of it — is reserved to one of the package’s listed owners.
- It does not mean the gallery, Vincent Parrett, or VSoft Technologies have audited, endorsed, or vouched for the package contents. The badge is about namespace ownership, nothing more.
Criteria for requesting a reservation
We grant a reservation when all of the following are true:
- The prefix is distinct enough to identify you — generic words (
Utils,Common,Web) are not eligible. - You are the rightful owner of the brand, project, or organisation the prefix refers to. We may ask you to demonstrate that ownership (for example, by linking to a project repository or an organisation site).
- You have already published one or more packages under that prefix, or have a concrete plan to publish soon.
- For organisation-owned prefixes, the requesting account must be a member of that organisation on the gallery.
How to request one
Send a request to the gallery administrators (see the DPM documentation for the current contact channel) with the subject “Prefix reservation request” and include:
- The exact prefix you want reserved (e.g.
Acme.). - The owner account or organisation slug the reservation should be attached to.
- A short justification — why you believe this prefix should be yours, and links to anything that supports that (a website, repository, or existing published package).
An administrator will review the request. If approved, the reservation is created and any packages you already own under that prefix will be linked automatically.
What happens to existing packages
When a prefix is reserved, packages that already match it are linked to the new reservation and start displaying the badge immediately. Packages owned by accounts other than the prefix owner are grandfathered — they continue to publish and update new versions exactly as before; the reservation only affects the ability to create new package IDs under that prefix.
Lifecycle
Reservations do not expire automatically. Administrators may revoke a reservation if it is used to suppress a legitimate user, if the underlying brand or organisation no longer exists, or for other cause. If a reservation is removed, any package previously linked to it loses the badge but is otherwise unaffected.
Questions? See the package policy or open a discussion on GitHub.