Docker Registry

This page contains information about hosting your own registry using the open source Docker Registry. For information about Docker Hub, which offers a hosted registry with additional features such as teams, organizations, web hooks, automated builds, etc, see Docker Hub.

What it is

The Registry is a stateless, highly scalable server side application that stores and lets you distribute Docker images. The Registry is open-source, under the permissive Apache license. You can find the source code on GitHub.

Why use it

You should use the Registry if you want to:

tightly control where your images are being stored
fully own your images distribution pipeline
integrate image storage and distribution tightly into your in-house development workflow

Alternatives

Users looking for a zero maintenance, ready-to-go solution are encouraged to head-over to the Docker Hub, which provides a free-to-use, hosted Registry, plus additional features (organization accounts, automated builds, and more).

Requirements

The Registry is compatible with Docker engine version 1.6.0 or higher.

Basic commands

Start your registry

docker run -d -p 5000:5000 --name registry registry:2

Pull (or build) some image from the hub

docker pull ubuntu

Tag the image so that it points to your registry

docker image tag ubuntu localhost:5000/myfirstimage

Push it

docker push localhost:5000/myfirstimage

Pull it back

docker pull localhost:5000/myfirstimage

Now stop your registry and remove all data

docker container stop registry && docker container rm -v registry

You should now read the detailed introduction about the registry, or jump directly to deployment instructions.