diff --git a/Godeps/Godeps.json b/Godeps/Godeps.json
index 3a4f8736..23a0e786 100644
--- a/Godeps/Godeps.json
+++ b/Godeps/Godeps.json
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@
 		},
 		{
 			"ImportPath": "github.com/stevvooe/resumable",
-			"Rev": "cf61dd331ceba0ab845444fdb626b9a465704e49"
+			"Rev": "51ad44105773cafcbe91927f70ac68e1bf78f8b4"
 		},
 		{
 			"ImportPath": "github.com/yvasiyarov/go-metrics",
diff --git a/Godeps/_workspace/src/github.com/stevvooe/resumable/sha256/resume.go b/Godeps/_workspace/src/github.com/stevvooe/resumable/sha256/resume.go
index 514bff26..426d78ad 100644
--- a/Godeps/_workspace/src/github.com/stevvooe/resumable/sha256/resume.go
+++ b/Godeps/_workspace/src/github.com/stevvooe/resumable/sha256/resume.go
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ package sha256
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/gob"
+
+	// import to ensure that our init function runs after the standard package
+	_ "crypto/sha256"
 )
 
 // Len returns the number of bytes which have been written to the digest.
diff --git a/Godeps/_workspace/src/github.com/stevvooe/resumable/sha512/resume.go b/Godeps/_workspace/src/github.com/stevvooe/resumable/sha512/resume.go
index 165f6e20..55b433e7 100644
--- a/Godeps/_workspace/src/github.com/stevvooe/resumable/sha512/resume.go
+++ b/Godeps/_workspace/src/github.com/stevvooe/resumable/sha512/resume.go
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@ package sha512
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/gob"
+
+	// import to ensure that our init function runs after the standard package
+	_ "crypto/sha512"
 )
 
 // Len returns the number of bytes which have been written to the digest.
diff --git a/digest/digest.go b/digest/digest.go
index 42a1fbf2..68991685 100644
--- a/digest/digest.go
+++ b/digest/digest.go
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ package digest
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
-	"crypto"
 	"fmt"
 	"hash"
 	"io"
@@ -19,9 +18,6 @@ const (
 
 	// DigestSha256EmptyTar is the canonical sha256 digest of empty data
 	DigestSha256EmptyTar = "sha256:e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855"
-
-	CanonicalAlgorithm = "sha256"
-	CanonicalHash      = crypto.SHA256 // main digest algorithm used through distribution
 )
 
 // Digest allows simple protection of hex formatted digest strings, prefixed
@@ -43,7 +39,7 @@ const (
 type Digest string
 
 // NewDigest returns a Digest from alg and a hash.Hash object.
-func NewDigest(alg string, h hash.Hash) Digest {
+func NewDigest(alg Algorithm, h hash.Hash) Digest {
 	return Digest(fmt.Sprintf("%s:%x", alg, h.Sum(nil)))
 }
 
@@ -76,7 +72,7 @@ func ParseDigest(s string) (Digest, error) {
 
 // FromReader returns the most valid digest for the underlying content.
 func FromReader(rd io.Reader) (Digest, error) {
-	digester := NewCanonicalDigester()
+	digester := Canonical.New()
 
 	if _, err := io.Copy(digester.Hash(), rd); err != nil {
 		return "", err
@@ -135,8 +131,8 @@ func (d Digest) Validate() error {
 		return ErrDigestInvalidFormat
 	}
 
-	switch s[:i] {
-	case "sha256", "sha384", "sha512":
+	switch Algorithm(s[:i]) {
+	case SHA256, SHA384, SHA512:
 		break
 	default:
 		return ErrDigestUnsupported
@@ -147,8 +143,8 @@ func (d Digest) Validate() error {
 
 // Algorithm returns the algorithm portion of the digest. This will panic if
 // the underlying digest is not in a valid format.
-func (d Digest) Algorithm() string {
-	return string(d[:d.sepIndex()])
+func (d Digest) Algorithm() Algorithm {
+	return Algorithm(d[:d.sepIndex()])
 }
 
 // Hex returns the hex digest portion of the digest. This will panic if the
diff --git a/digest/digest_test.go b/digest/digest_test.go
index 9e9ae356..41c8bee8 100644
--- a/digest/digest_test.go
+++ b/digest/digest_test.go
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ func TestParseDigest(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, testcase := range []struct {
 		input     string
 		err       error
-		algorithm string
+		algorithm Algorithm
 		hex       string
 	}{
 		{
diff --git a/digest/digester.go b/digest/digester.go
index 68d0b60b..556dd93a 100644
--- a/digest/digester.go
+++ b/digest/digester.go
@@ -1,6 +1,76 @@
 package digest
 
-import "hash"
+import (
+	"crypto"
+	"hash"
+)
+
+// Algorithm identifies and implementation of a digester by an identifier.
+// Note the that this defines both the hash algorithm used and the string
+// encoding.
+type Algorithm string
+
+// supported digest types
+const (
+	SHA256         Algorithm = "sha256"           // sha256 with hex encoding
+	SHA384         Algorithm = "sha384"           // sha384 with hex encoding
+	SHA512         Algorithm = "sha512"           // sha512 with hex encoding
+	TarsumV1SHA256 Algorithm = "tarsum+v1+sha256" // supported tarsum version, verification only
+
+	// Canonical is the primary digest algorithm used with the distribution
+	// project. Other digests may be used but this one is the primary storage
+	// digest.
+	Canonical = SHA256
+)
+
+var (
+	// TODO(stevvooe): Follow the pattern of the standard crypto package for
+	// registration of digests. Effectively, we are a registerable set and
+	// common symbol access.
+
+	// algorithms maps values to hash.Hash implementations. Other algorithms
+	// may be available but they cannot be calculated by the digest package.
+	algorithms = map[Algorithm]crypto.Hash{
+		SHA256: crypto.SHA256,
+		SHA384: crypto.SHA384,
+		SHA512: crypto.SHA512,
+	}
+)
+
+// Available returns true if the digest type is available for use. If this
+// returns false, New and Hash will return nil.
+func (a Algorithm) Available() bool {
+	h, ok := algorithms[a]
+	if !ok {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	// check availability of the hash, as well
+	return h.Available()
+}
+
+// New returns a new digester for the specified algorithm. If the algorithm
+// does not have a digester implementation, nil will be returned. This can be
+// checked by calling Available before calling New.
+func (a Algorithm) New() Digester {
+	return &digester{
+		alg:  a,
+		hash: a.Hash(),
+	}
+}
+
+// Hash returns a new hash as used by the algorithm. If not available, nil is
+// returned. Make sure to check Available before calling.
+func (a Algorithm) Hash() hash.Hash {
+	if !a.Available() {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	return algorithms[a].New()
+}
+
+// TODO(stevvooe): Allow resolution of verifiers using the digest type and
+// this registration system.
 
 // Digester calculates the digest of written data. Writes should go directly
 // to the return value of Hash, while calling Digest will return the current
@@ -10,24 +80,9 @@ type Digester interface {
 	Digest() Digest
 }
 
-// NewDigester create a new Digester with the given hashing algorithm and
-// instance of that algo's hasher.
-func NewDigester(alg string, h hash.Hash) Digester {
-	return &digester{
-		alg:  alg,
-		hash: h,
-	}
-}
-
-// NewCanonicalDigester is a convenience function to create a new Digester with
-// our default settings.
-func NewCanonicalDigester() Digester {
-	return NewDigester(CanonicalAlgorithm, CanonicalHash.New())
-}
-
 // digester provides a simple digester definition that embeds a hasher.
 type digester struct {
-	alg  string
+	alg  Algorithm
 	hash hash.Hash
 }
 
@@ -36,5 +91,5 @@ func (d *digester) Hash() hash.Hash {
 }
 
 func (d *digester) Digest() Digest {
-	return NewDigest(d.alg, d.Hash())
+	return NewDigest(d.alg, d.hash)
 }
diff --git a/digest/digester_resumable_test.go b/digest/digester_resumable_test.go
index 114268aa..6ba21c80 100644
--- a/digest/digester_resumable_test.go
+++ b/digest/digester_resumable_test.go
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ import (
 // is exposed through the digester type, which is just a hash plus a Digest
 // method.
 func TestResumableDetection(t *testing.T) {
-	d := NewCanonicalDigester()
+	d := Canonical.New()
 
 	if _, ok := d.Hash().(resumable.Hash); !ok {
-		t.Fatalf("expected digester to implement resumable: %#v, %v", d, d.Hash())
+		t.Fatalf("expected digester to implement resumable.Hash: %#v, %v", d, d.Hash())
 	}
 }
diff --git a/digest/set.go b/digest/set.go
index 7a9a0380..271d35db 100644
--- a/digest/set.go
+++ b/digest/set.go
@@ -42,17 +42,17 @@ func NewSet() *Set {
 // values or short values. This function does not test equality,
 // rather whether the second value could match against the first
 // value.
-func checkShortMatch(alg, hex, shortAlg, shortHex string) bool {
+func checkShortMatch(alg Algorithm, hex, shortAlg, shortHex string) bool {
 	if len(hex) == len(shortHex) {
 		if hex != shortHex {
 			return false
 		}
-		if len(shortAlg) > 0 && alg != shortAlg {
+		if len(shortAlg) > 0 && string(alg) != shortAlg {
 			return false
 		}
 	} else if !strings.HasPrefix(hex, shortHex) {
 		return false
-	} else if len(shortAlg) > 0 && alg != shortAlg {
+	} else if len(shortAlg) > 0 && string(alg) != shortAlg {
 		return false
 	}
 	return true
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ func (dst *Set) Lookup(d string) (Digest, error) {
 	}
 	var (
 		searchFunc func(int) bool
-		alg        string
+		alg        Algorithm
 		hex        string
 	)
 	dgst, err := ParseDigest(d)
@@ -88,13 +88,13 @@ func (dst *Set) Lookup(d string) (Digest, error) {
 		}
 	}
 	idx := sort.Search(len(dst.entries), searchFunc)
-	if idx == len(dst.entries) || !checkShortMatch(dst.entries[idx].alg, dst.entries[idx].val, alg, hex) {
+	if idx == len(dst.entries) || !checkShortMatch(dst.entries[idx].alg, dst.entries[idx].val, string(alg), hex) {
 		return "", ErrDigestNotFound
 	}
 	if dst.entries[idx].alg == alg && dst.entries[idx].val == hex {
 		return dst.entries[idx].digest, nil
 	}
-	if idx+1 < len(dst.entries) && checkShortMatch(dst.entries[idx+1].alg, dst.entries[idx+1].val, alg, hex) {
+	if idx+1 < len(dst.entries) && checkShortMatch(dst.entries[idx+1].alg, dst.entries[idx+1].val, string(alg), hex) {
 		return "", ErrDigestAmbiguous
 	}
 
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ func ShortCodeTable(dst *Set, length int) map[Digest]string {
 }
 
 type digestEntry struct {
-	alg    string
+	alg    Algorithm
 	val    string
 	digest Digest
 }
diff --git a/digest/verifiers.go b/digest/verifiers.go
index 11d9d7ae..f8c75b53 100644
--- a/digest/verifiers.go
+++ b/digest/verifiers.go
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 package digest
 
 import (
-	"crypto/sha256"
-	"crypto/sha512"
 	"hash"
 	"io"
 	"io/ioutil"
@@ -33,7 +31,7 @@ func NewDigestVerifier(d Digest) (Verifier, error) {
 	switch alg {
 	case "sha256", "sha384", "sha512":
 		return hashVerifier{
-			hash:   newHash(alg),
+			hash:   alg.Hash(),
 			digest: d,
 		}, nil
 	default:
@@ -95,19 +93,6 @@ func (lv *lengthVerifier) Verified() bool {
 	return lv.expected == lv.len
 }
 
-func newHash(name string) hash.Hash {
-	switch name {
-	case "sha256":
-		return sha256.New()
-	case "sha384":
-		return sha512.New384()
-	case "sha512":
-		return sha512.New()
-	default:
-		panic("unsupport algorithm: " + name)
-	}
-}
-
 type hashVerifier struct {
 	digest Digest
 	hash   hash.Hash
diff --git a/registry/client/repository.go b/registry/client/repository.go
index cd93cd1a..a806aea4 100644
--- a/registry/client/repository.go
+++ b/registry/client/repository.go
@@ -321,7 +321,7 @@ func (bs *blobs) Put(ctx context.Context, mediaType string, p []byte) (distribut
 	if err != nil {
 		return distribution.Descriptor{}, err
 	}
-	dgstr := digest.NewCanonicalDigester()
+	dgstr := digest.Canonical.New()
 	n, err := io.Copy(writer, io.TeeReader(bytes.NewReader(p), dgstr.Hash()))
 	if err != nil {
 		return distribution.Descriptor{}, err
diff --git a/registry/handlers/api_test.go b/registry/handlers/api_test.go
index 1a41cfb8..5132f72e 100644
--- a/registry/handlers/api_test.go
+++ b/registry/handlers/api_test.go
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ func TestBlobAPI(t *testing.T) {
 	// Now, push just a chunk
 	layerFile.Seek(0, 0)
 
-	canonicalDigester := digest.NewCanonicalDigester()
+	canonicalDigester := digest.Canonical.New()
 	if _, err := io.Copy(canonicalDigester.Hash(), layerFile); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("error copying to digest: %v", err)
 	}
@@ -637,7 +637,7 @@ func doPushLayer(t *testing.T, ub *v2.URLBuilder, name string, dgst digest.Diges
 
 // pushLayer pushes the layer content returning the url on success.
 func pushLayer(t *testing.T, ub *v2.URLBuilder, name string, dgst digest.Digest, uploadURLBase string, body io.Reader) string {
-	digester := digest.NewCanonicalDigester()
+	digester := digest.Canonical.New()
 
 	resp, err := doPushLayer(t, ub, name, dgst, uploadURLBase, io.TeeReader(body, digester.Hash()))
 	if err != nil {
@@ -702,7 +702,7 @@ func doPushChunk(t *testing.T, uploadURLBase string, body io.Reader) (*http.Resp
 
 	uploadURL := u.String()
 
-	digester := digest.NewCanonicalDigester()
+	digester := digest.Canonical.New()
 
 	req, err := http.NewRequest("PATCH", uploadURL, io.TeeReader(body, digester.Hash()))
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/registry/storage/blobwriter.go b/registry/storage/blobwriter.go
index 40841a5e..6a37e81d 100644
--- a/registry/storage/blobwriter.go
+++ b/registry/storage/blobwriter.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package storage
 
 import (
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"time"
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 var (
-	errResumableDigestNotAvailable = fmt.Errorf("resumable digest not available")
+	errResumableDigestNotAvailable = errors.New("resumable digest not available")
 )
 
 // layerWriter is used to control the various aspects of resumable
@@ -197,7 +198,7 @@ func (bw *blobWriter) validateBlob(ctx context.Context, desc distribution.Descri
 		// the same, we don't need to read the data from the backend. This is
 		// because we've written the entire file in the lifecycle of the
 		// current instance.
-		if bw.written == bw.size && digest.CanonicalAlgorithm == desc.Digest.Algorithm() {
+		if bw.written == bw.size && digest.Canonical == desc.Digest.Algorithm() {
 			canonical = bw.digester.Digest()
 			verified = desc.Digest == canonical
 		}
@@ -206,7 +207,7 @@ func (bw *blobWriter) validateBlob(ctx context.Context, desc distribution.Descri
 		// paths. We may be able to make the size-based check a stronger
 		// guarantee, so this may be defensive.
 		if !verified {
-			digester := digest.NewCanonicalDigester()
+			digester := digest.Canonical.New()
 
 			digestVerifier, err := digest.NewDigestVerifier(desc.Digest)
 			if err != nil {
diff --git a/registry/storage/linkedblobstore.go b/registry/storage/linkedblobstore.go
index ceb53fa8..cb06e354 100644
--- a/registry/storage/linkedblobstore.go
+++ b/registry/storage/linkedblobstore.go
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ func (lbs *linkedBlobStore) newBlobUpload(ctx context.Context, uuid, path string
 		blobStore:          lbs,
 		id:                 uuid,
 		startedAt:          startedAt,
-		digester:           digest.NewCanonicalDigester(),
+		digester:           digest.Canonical.New(),
 		bufferedFileWriter: *fw,
 	}
 
diff --git a/registry/storage/paths.go b/registry/storage/paths.go
index 9e150d3b..35debddf 100644
--- a/registry/storage/paths.go
+++ b/registry/storage/paths.go
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ func (pm *pathMapper) path(spec pathSpec) (string, error) {
 		if v.list {
 			offset = "" // Limit to the prefix for listing offsets.
 		}
-		return path.Join(append(repoPrefix, v.name, "_uploads", v.id, "hashstates", v.alg, offset)...), nil
+		return path.Join(append(repoPrefix, v.name, "_uploads", v.id, "hashstates", string(v.alg), offset)...), nil
 	case repositoriesRootPathSpec:
 		return path.Join(repoPrefix...), nil
 	default:
@@ -447,7 +447,7 @@ func (uploadStartedAtPathSpec) pathSpec() {}
 type uploadHashStatePathSpec struct {
 	name   string
 	id     string
-	alg    string
+	alg    digest.Algorithm
 	offset int64
 	list   bool
 }
@@ -479,7 +479,7 @@ func digestPathComponents(dgst digest.Digest, multilevel bool) ([]string, error)
 		return nil, err
 	}
 
-	algorithm := blobAlgorithmReplacer.Replace(dgst.Algorithm())
+	algorithm := blobAlgorithmReplacer.Replace(string(dgst.Algorithm()))
 	hex := dgst.Hex()
 	prefix := []string{algorithm}