Package Feeds

Manage and distribute private FHIR packages with controlled access.

What is a package feed?

You already know what a FHIR package is: a collection of resources such as profiles, extensions, and value sets that other projects can use as a dependency.

On Simplifier, packages are published to a feed - a named container with its own access controls. By default this is the main public feed. A private feed is your own separate space, visible only to members of the managing team.

Public feed

Private feed

Shared and visible to everyone. The default for all published packages.

Visible only to the managing team. Required for packages that should stay internal.

Note

Private packages are accessible through a feed and appear under the Packages tab on portal, organization, or team pages.

Do I need one?

A private feed helps when you want to keep packages internal, share work-in-progress with a controlled group, depend on private packages managed by your team, or build an Implementation Guide around profiles that should stay private.

If all your packages are public and you have no private dependencies, the main Simplifier public feed is usually enough.

Key concepts before you start

Feeds, teams, and projects

  • Access control for packages is managed at the feed level. All members of the team linked to the feed have access to every package inside that feed.

  • Every private package lives in exactly one feed.

  • Your project must have a feed assigned before it can use private packages.

The Restore step

After changing dependencies or assigning a different feed, run Restore from the Dependencies tab. This rebuilds the dependency closure for the project. When you change feeds, the resolution scope changes - your project may have dependencies to packages that don’t exist in your new feed. Restoring ensures all dependencies are resolved correctly against the assigned feed. When the Restore button turns green, a restore is required.

Set up a feed (step by step)

1. Make your project private

Private feeds can only be used with private projects. If your project is public, set it to private first.

2. Assign a feed

In your project, go to Manage > Choose Feed.

../_images/ChooseFeed.png

You can select an existing feed or create a new one. When creating a new feed, provide:

  • Feed key: a short URL-safe identifier such as my-org-internal. The key is globally unique across Simplifier.

  • Title: a readable name for the feed.

  • Managing team: the team whose members get access to the feed.

After creation, the feed is assigned and visible on your project page.

../_images/CreateFeed.png ../_images/PackageFeed.png

3. Run Restore

Go to the Dependencies tab and run Restore.

../_images/PackageClosureError.png

This rebuilds the dependency closure using the assigned feed.

4. Publish a package

Go to Releases and create a new release. Confirm that the package is being published to the intended feed.

5. Use it in another project

Assign the same feed to the other project, add the package from the Dependencies tab, and run Restore.

Common questions

I can’t find my feed to assign it - why?

Feeds can only be assigned to projects managed by the same team as the feed.

I added a dependency but my project can’t see it.

Usually, the project needs a Restore before the dependency becomes available.

Can I use packages from two different feeds?

Not directly in one project feed assignment. Use upstream feeds when you need one feed to draw from another. The upstream feed must be permanent, and both feeds must be managed by the same team.

Can I make a package public after publishing to a private feed?

No. Private-to-public promotion is not currently supported.

Need more detail? See the Technical reference.