// Module included in the following assemblies:
//
// * operators/understanding/olm/olm-arch.adoc
// * operators/operator-reference.adoc

:_mod-docs-content-type: CONCEPT
[id="olm-arch-catalog-registry_{context}"]
= Catalog Registry

[role="_abstract"]
The Catalog Registry stores cluster service versions (CSVs), custom resource definitions (CRDs), and metadata about packages and channels for Operator installation in {product-title}. Package manifests link package identities to CSVs so the Catalog Operator can step through channel upgrade paths.

A _package manifest_ is an entry in the Catalog Registry that associates a package identity with sets of CSVs. Within a package, channels point to a particular CSV. Because CSVs explicitly reference the CSV that they replace, a package manifest provides the Catalog Operator with all of the information that is required to update a CSV to the latest version in a channel, stepping through each intermediate version.
