Configure registry.json to enforce sign-in

By default, members of your organization can use Docker Desktop on their machines without signing in to any Docker account. To ensure that a user signs in to a Docker account that is a member of your organization and that the organization’s settings apply to the user’s session, you can use a registry.json file.

The registry.json file is a configuration file that allows administrators to specify the Docker organization the user must belong to and ensure that the organization’s settings apply to the user’s session. The Docker Desktop installer can create this file on the users’ machines as part of the installation process.

After a registry.json file is configured on a user’s machine, Docker Desktop prompts the user to sign in. If a user doesn’t sign in, or tries to sign in using a different organization, other than the organization listed in the registry.json file, they will be denied access to Docker Desktop.

Deploying a registry.json file and forcing users to authenticate is not required, but offers the following benefits:

• Allows administrators to configure features such as Image Access Management which allows team members to:
  • Only have access to Trusted Content on Docker Hub
  • Pull only from the specified categories of images
• Authenticated users get a higher pull rate limit compared to anonymous users. For example, if you are authenticated, you get 200 pulls per 6 hour period, compared to 100 pulls per 6 hour period per IP address for anonymous users. For more information, see Download rate limit.
• Blocks users from accessing Docker Desktop until they are added to a specific organization.

Create a registry.json file

Before creating a registry.json file, ensure that the user is a member of at least one organization in Docker Hub. If the registry.json file matches at least one organization the user is a member of, they can sign in to Docker Desktop and access all their organizations.

Based on the user’s operating system, you must create a registry.json file at the following location and make sure the file can’t be edited by the user:

The registry.json file must contain the following contents, where myorg is replaced with your organization’s name. The file contents are case-sensitive and you must use lowercase letters for your organization’s name.

{
  "allowedOrgs": ["myorg"]
}

In Docker Hub, you can download the registry.json file for your organization or copy the specific commands to create the file for your organization. To download the file or copy the commands from Docker Hub:

1. Log in to Docker Hub as an organization owner.
2. Go to Organizations > Your Organization > Settings.
3. Select Enforce Sign-in and continue with the on-screen instructions for Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Alternatively, you can use the following methods to create a registry.json file based on the user’s operating system.

• Windows
• Mac
• Linux

PS> Start-Process '.\Docker Desktop Installer.exe' -Wait 'install --allowed-org=myorg'

C:\Users\Admin> "Docker Desktop Installer.exe" install --allowed-org=myorg

PS>  Set-Content /ProgramData/DockerDesktop/registry.json '{"allowedOrgs":["myorg"]}'

PS C:\ProgramData\DockerDesktop> Get-Acl .\registry.json


    Directory: C:\ProgramData\DockerDesktop


Path          Owner                  Access
----          -----                  ------
registry.json BUILTIN\Administrators NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM Allow  FullControl...

$ sudo hdiutil attach Docker.dmg
$ sudo /Volumes/Docker/Docker.app/Contents/MacOS/install --allowed-org=myorg
$ sudo hdiutil detach /Volumes/Docker

$ sudo mkdir -p "/Library/Application Support/com.docker.docker"
$ echo '{"allowedOrgs":["myorg"]}' | sudo tee "/Library/Application Support/com.docker.docker/registry.json"

$ sudo cat "/Library/Application Support/com.docker.docker/registry.json"
{"allowedOrgs":["myorg"]}

$ sudo ls -l "/Library/Application Support/com.docker.docker/registry.json"
-rw-r--r--  1 root  admin  26 Jul 27 22:01 /Library/Application Support/com.docker.docker/registry.json

$ sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/docker-desktop/registry
$ echo '{"allowedOrgs":["myorg"]}' | sudo tee /usr/share/docker-desktop/registry/registry.json

$ sudo cat /usr/share/docker-desktop/registry/registry.json
{"allowedOrgs":["myorg"]}

$ sudo ls -l /usr/share/docker-desktop/registry/registry.json
-rw-r--r--  1 root  root  26 Jul 27 22:01 /usr/share/docker-desktop/registry/registry.json

Deploy registry.json to multiple devices

The previous instructions explain how to create and deploy a registry.json file to a single device. To automatically deploy the registry.json to multiple devices, you must use a third-party solution, such as a mobile device management solution. You can use the previous instructions along with your third-party solution to remotely deploy the registry.json file, or remotely install Docker Desktop with the registry.json file. For more details, see the documentation of your third-party solution.

Verify the changes

After you’ve created the registry.json file and deployed it onto the users’ machines, you can verify whether the changes have taken effect by asking users to start Docker Desktop.

If the configuration is successful, Docker Desktop prompts the user to authenticate using the organization credentials on start. If the user fails to authenticate, they will see an error message, and they will be denied access to Docker Desktop.