Container Registry Deletion UX Issue - Dependency Chain Prevents Standard Cleanup Workflows

[opencolin]

We discovered a significant UX issue with Nebius Container Registry deletion workflows that prevents users from successfully cleaning up their registries using standard approaches.

Technical Report:
Full details available in this gist: https://gist.github.com/opencolin/c96eb13e848bf5b3cebd90701cd428df

Summary:

• OCI manifest dependencies require deletion in specific order
• No CLI guidance or tooling for dependency-aware deletion
• Standard deletion workflows fail with unclear error messages
• Workaround exists but requires deep technical knowledge

Impact:

• Complete workflow blockage for registry cleanup
• Poor user experience vs competing platforms
• Potential support burden increase

Suggested Solutions:

1. Improve error messages with actionable guidance
2. Add cascade deletion flags (--cascade, --force)
3. Implement bulk operations for registries
4. Add dependency visualization tools
5. Update documentation with dependency workflows

Environment:

• Nebius CLI: v0.12.239
• Registry: eu-north1
• Affected: All registries with multi-arch images

Reproduction Steps:

1. Create registry with multi-arch container images (OCI index manifests)
2. Attempt to delete individual images: nebius registry image delete --id <artifact-id>
3. Observe error: "There are resources that depends on the artifact"
4. Attempt registry deletion: nebius registry delete --id <registry-id>
5. Observe error: "Please remove all artifacts from registry!"

Working Solution (requires technical knowledge):
Delete artifacts in dependency order: OCI indexes → individual manifests → Docker v2 manifests → registry

This issue affects user adoption and creates unnecessary friction in the platform experience. The technical solution works perfectly once discovered, but the discovery process should not be required for standard cleanup operations.