# Running a Registry
A minimal registry can be implemented by having a git repository that contains
an index, and a server that contains the compressed `.crate` files created by
[`cargo package`]. Users won't be able to use Cargo to publish to it, but this
may be sufficient for closed environments. The index format is described in
[Registry Index].
A full-featured registry that supports publishing will additionally need to
have a web API service that conforms to the API used by Cargo. The web API is
described in [Registry Web API].
Commercial and community projects are available for building and running a
registry. See <https://github.com/rust-lang/cargo/wiki/Third-party-registries>
for a list of what is available.
[Registry Web API]: registry-web-api.md
[Registry Index]: registry-index.md
[`cargo publish`]: ../commands/cargo-publish.md
[`cargo package`]: ../commands/cargo-package.md