KEP-907: Renaming "Model Registry" to reflect Registry and Catalog use-cases

[tarilabs]

👉👉👉 We want to hear from you! Anyone is free to add their proposal here in the PR (use the github PR review suggestion button) 👈👈👈

The voting on the actual chosen name can happen after PR merge or as part of this PR directly, depending on how many contributions/feedback we receive.

---

spin-off the community discussion from this https://github.com/kubeflow/community/pull/892#discussion_r2263804358 as a proper KEP form.

Executive Summary

This KEP proposes renaming the current "Model Registry" Kubeflow project to better reflect its evolution that encompasses both model registry capabilities (for tracking model evolution during development) and model catalog capabilities (for showcasing organization-approved models). The current naming might under-evaluate the project's capabilities and goals, as the "Kubeflow Model Registry" project has well grown beyond its original scope to include GenAI/LLM showcasing, enterprise-wide model sharing, and more than a singular use-case pattern (i.e.: multi-tenant Registries and a cluster-wide Catalog).

KEP Workflow

Status: provisional.

Raised as Draft PR in GitHub to collect community input, since the discussion happened in this github thread, but as separate KEP, and given the intended scope is already quite framed (i.e. renaming). Will move to "Ready for Review" to be merged once we have enough discussion, while keeping records of the received feedback here in github.

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[tarilabs]

@kubeflow/kubeflow-steering-committee fyi. Separated the thread into an appropriate KEP.

[rareddy]

Would coming with new name part of KEP or should we have separate effort for this?

[rareddy]

I’d like to gauge the community’s interest in expanding the scope of the Registry to include additional AI assets such as MCP Servers and Agents. I realize this broadens the scope for which name change is outlined in the current PR, but as we go through the name change, this could be an opportune time to extend our reach into the GenAI space.

To clarify, I’m not suggesting that this project take on full ownership of those areas. Rather, the Registry could serve as an integration platform that connects with other open-source solutions. For example, we’ve previously discussed integrating with MLflow for experiment tracking. Similarly, we could explore integrations in the MCP and Agents domains.

If there’s community interest, I’d be happy to draft an amended proposal reflecting this broader vision. We can later follow up additional KEP into each space

[tarilabs]

I’d like to gauge the community’s interest in expanding the scope of the Registry to include additional AI assets such as MCP Servers and Agents

would you concur that is consistent with the following entries from the current list of suggested name change (ie dropping "Model" or variations):

• "Kubeflow AI Asset Registry"
• "Kubeflow AI Assets"
• "Kubeflow Registry" (simplified by dropping "Model")
• "Kubeflow AI Hub"
• "Kubeflow AI Registry"
• "Kubeflow AI Atlas"
• "Kubeflow Atlas"

[tarilabs]

Following the 2025-11-04 meeting, I'm asking people to express their preferred name as a simple comment here on this Pull Request. This would allow us to rank and pick the preferred name. (for a single individual I will keep the last comment in case of multiple ones)

[Al-Pragliola]

I vote for "Kubeflow Registry"

[rareddy]

"Kubeflow Registry" seems most fitting as with Atlas and AI Hub there is further explanation one need to do what it means.

[ederign]

I vote for "Kubeflow Registry"

[tarilabs]

I don't like "sticking" with Registry as that seems it generated a lot of assumptions in the reader, and opt for a "generic umbrella" so my vote is for "Kubeflow AI Hub", also considering the current/imminent status of the project itself:

---
config:
  theme: 'forest'
---
mindmap
  root((this project))
    Registry "pattern"
      Model Registry
      Catalog "pattern"
        Model Catalog
        MCP Catalog
        ... Catalog
    Integrations
      KServe
        Isvc reconciler
        Storage Initializer
      Python client
        orchestration of Store+Register
          S3
          OCI / KServe ModelCar in Python
      async-upload "vanilla" K8s Job

[rareddy]

Based on more research

1. "Hub" implies ecosystem and community - aligns with how AI models are discovered, shared, and deployed
2. "Registry" suggests technical infrastructure - more backend/administrative
3. "Catalog" is retail/shopping focused - doesn't capture the collaborative/development aspect
4. "Atlas" lacks market recognition in AI contexts

In Market we see

• Hugging Face Hub - The de facto standard for AI model sharing
• Azure AI Hub - Microsoft's enterprise AI platform
• Vertex AI Model Garden - Google's approach (garden = hub concept)

I change my vote to "Kubeflow AI Hub"

[adysenrothman]

Considering that we see "Hub" used in other spaces, my vote is also "Kubeflow AI Hub". I think it encapsulates the idea of a central project well for the registry and the catalog.

[ederign]

After the valid points raised by Matteo, I also change my vote to "Kubeflow AI Hub".

[Al-Pragliola]

Moving my vote to "Kubeflow AI Hub"

[chambridge]

I'd vote for "Kubeflow AI Hub".

[andreyvelich]

I also like the idea of AI Hub and explanation that @rareddy has given. That would make us consistent with other products. So +1 for Kubeflow AI Hub.

[jonburdo]

I vote "Kubeflow Hub"

A few things that occurred to me: With "X AI Hub", the X is usually a broader company/platform rather than a community project or established AI platform:

• Azure AI Hub
• Google AI Hub

With "X Hub", the X is usually a more established concept and more likely a project/platform:

• Docker Hub
• Hugging Face Hub
• JupyterHub
• PyTorch Hub
• TensorFlow Hub

"Kubeflow Hub" feel more natural to me while "Kubeflow AI Hub" feels a little bit long.

I'm also thinking about how it looks/reads alongside other kubeflow projects. For example, scrolling down on: https://www.kubeflow.org/ We have other projects related to AI, but Kubeflow is already an established AI concept so we don't usually put "AI" in sub-project names.

Also, as we progress towards a unified SDK we may end with things like:

from kubeflow.trainer ...
from kubeflow.optimizer ...
from kubeflow.hub ...
# or
from kubeflow.ai_hub ...

[rareddy]

@jonburdo has a valid point. Is there any reason to distinguish with "AI"? Are we trying to separate AI and ML? Which I do not think so.

[tarilabs]

I like this "less is more" principle @jonburdo , thanks for your write up! 👍 🚀

Kubeflow Hub, and specifically Hub in the logo subtitle I assume ~like this?

[jonburdo]

Kubeflow Hub, and specifically Hub in the logo subtitle I assume ~like this?

Sure - maybe with a shorter blue bar, or with the whole thing on one line instead. Not sure about the logo. I was mostly just thinking the list of project names.

[tarilabs]

yeah I'm just approximating of the logo, that will not be our call, I suppose they will fall their stylistic guide for CNCF, so we might get the full bar anyway or shorter... who knows 😅 let focus on what we can decide (name) "Hub" is a great "single-shot" and we will ask for a new ticket be created for the logo

[tarilabs]

@andreyvelich @kubeflow/kubeflow-steering-committee I've updated the KEP following what was discussed yesterday meeting following your indications. I can update about this during today's (2025-11-25) community meeting.

[johnugeorge]

+1 to Kubeflow Hub

[franciscojavierarceo]

+1 to Kubeflow Hub

[ederign]

@tarilabs @kubeflow/kubeflow-steering-committee, what is missing to move this proposal forward?

[fege]

+1 to Kubeflow Hub

[tarilabs]

@tarilabs @kubeflow/kubeflow-steering-committee, what is missing to move this proposal forward?

we need the KSC to merge it 🙃 I've raised this in the recent Kubeflow community meetings but unsure if it's missing something more cc @andreyvelich kindly advise, please?