Principle:Bentoml BentoML Bento Artifact Management
| Sources | Domains | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|
| BentoML, BentoML Managing Bentos | ML_Serving, Artifact_Management, Distribution | 2026-02-13 15:00 GMT |
Overview
Exporting, importing, and distributing Bento artifacts across environments to enable CI/CD pipelines, team collaboration, and offline deployment.
Description
Bento artifacts are portable, versioned packages that can be exported to files (tar, gz, zip) or remote storage (S3, FTP), imported back into a local BentoStore, or pushed/pulled to/from the BentoCloud registry. This management layer enables the full lifecycle of Bento artifacts beyond the local development machine, supporting distribution workflows essential for production ML deployments.
Usage
Use export/import for file-based distribution (CI/CD artifacts, offline transfers, backup). Use push/pull for registry-based distribution (team collaboration, cloud deployment via BentoCloud).
Theoretical Basis
Bento artifact management follows the Package Registry pattern found across software ecosystems:
- npm (Node.js) -- publish/install packages to/from npmjs.com
- PyPI (Python) -- upload/download wheels and sdists
- Docker Hub -- push/pull container images
- Maven Central (Java) -- deploy/resolve JARs
The BentoML artifact management system extends this pattern with:
File-Based Distribution
Export produces a self-contained archive (tar, gz, zip) that can be transferred via any file transport mechanism. Import reconstitutes the Bento from such an archive. This supports:
- Air-gapped deployments -- transfer Bentos to environments without internet access
- CI/CD artifacts -- store build outputs in artifact repositories (S3, GCS, Artifactory)
- Backup and archival -- preserve specific Bento versions for compliance or rollback
Registry-Based Distribution
Push/pull operations interact with the BentoCloud registry, providing:
- Team collaboration -- multiple developers share Bentos through a central registry
- Deployment pipeline -- CI builds and pushes; deployment environments pull and serve
- Version management -- the registry tracks all published versions with metadata
Protocol Support
Export and import support multiple transport protocols, enabling direct integration with:
- Local filesystem -- simple file paths
- S3 -- Amazon S3 or S3-compatible object storage
- FTP/FTPS -- legacy file transfer systems
This multi-protocol support ensures Bento artifacts can flow through existing organizational infrastructure without requiring new tooling.