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Docker images play a pivotal role in the Docker ecosystem. In this article, we will cover an in-depth overview of Docker images, Docker hub and Docker images command. If you are looking for an in-depth course on Docker, do check the Docker course online.
As defined by Docker’s official documentation, “Docker provides the ability to package and run an application in a loosely isolated environment called a container. The isolation and security allow us to run many containers simultaneously on a given host. Containers are lightweight because they do not need the extra load of a hypervisor but run directly within the host machine’s kernel. This means we can run more containers on a hardware combination than virtual machines.”
Before we learn about containers, we need to first understand the ‘image’ term in Docker. If we look at the diagram above, the top layer of apps and libs/bins above the Docker daemon is encapsulated in the container. The app is packaged with libraries and binaries required by it. But how does Docker achieve this packaging?
Docker provides the facility to create a custom image on top of the Linux kernel with your app and its libraries. If we take this from an object-oriented programming point of view, an image is a class, where all the requirements are defined and declared. A container is an instance of the image. These images are stored somewhere in the cloud and pulled as needed.
Docker uses a set of keywords to carry out these activities related to image and the list below shows all Docker image commands with their descriptions.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| docker image build | Build an image from a Dockerfile |
| docker image history | Show the history of an image |
| docker image import | Import the contents from a tarball to create a filesystem image |
| docker image inspect | Display detailed information on one or more images |
| docker image load | Load an image from a tar archive or STDIN |
| docker image ls | List images |
| docker image prune | Remove unused images |
| docker image pull | Pull an image or a repository from a registry |
| docker image push | Push an image or a repository to a registry |
| docker image rm | Remove one or more images |
| docker image save | Save one or more images to a tar archive (streamed to STDOUT by default) |
| docker image tag | Create a tag TARGET_IMAGE that refers to SOURCE_IMAGE |
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Build an image from a Dockerfile Docker image build -t <image_name> .
Assuming a Dockerfile is in the current directory:
Docker image build -t myimage .The option -t allows you to tag the image. In this case, the image named myimage is tagged latest as no tag was specified. The tag can be specified as:
Docker image build -t myimage:first .
The period at the end of the command is essential. It references the application path. You can also use -f <file> if you didn’t name your build file “Dockerfile”, e.g., if an alternative file name was used:
Docker image build -f mybuildfile.txt -t myimage .
Tag a built image
Docker tag <image_name> [user/repository:tag]
Example: tag the myimage image with first in the Docker Hub myrepository repository and the username is myname:
Docker tag myimage myname/myrepository:first
You do not need to make the Docker Hub explicitly. Running this command will create a repository named myrepository itself.
Push tagged images to Docker Hub
Docker push [user/repository]
Example:
Docker push myname/myrepository
You can also push with tag:
Docker push myname/myrepository:first
Docker image ls -a
PRACTICE
Other Dockerfile instructions include LABEL, ENV, ONBUILD, HEALTHCHECK, CMD, and more.
Log into Docker Hub
Docker login
Or login to another registry:
Docker login <url> Docker login -u <id> -p <password> <url>
Search Docker Hub
Search the Docker Hub image repository:
Docker search [options] <keyword>
Example: find up to five Docker Hub images that reference php ordered by stars rating:
Docker search --limit 5 php
Pull a Docker Hub image
Download one or more images from Docker Hub:
Docker pull <image>
Example: pull the latest Node.js Long-Term-Support Alpine Linux image:
Docker pull node:lts-alpine
The below command is used to list the locally stored Docker images, d:
Docker image list
The below command is used to list Docker images along with the long image ID
$ Docker image list --no-trunc
The below command is used to list all the unused Docker images on your Docker host:
$ Docker image list --filter dangling=true
Below command is used to list only the image IDs of the unused Docker images on our Docker host,
$ Docker image list --quiet --filter dangling=true
Below command is used to list only image IDs on Docker, we have to use the “Docker images” command with the “–quiet” option to suppress all other columns.
$ Docker images --quiet $ Docker images -q
A Docker image is made up of a collection of files that bundle together all the essentials – such as installations, application code, and dependencies – required to configure a fully operational container environment. You can create a Docker image by using one of two methods:
Docker and Kubernetes go hand in hand and are the most sought-out tech stack in DevOps space. If you are looking to enhance your Docker and Kubernetes, do check Kubernetes and Docker training.
We store images in centralized places called image registries. This makes it easy to share and access them.
The most common registry is Docker Hub. Other registries exist, including 3rd party registries and secure on-premises registries. However, the Docker client is opinionated and defaults to using Docker Hub. We will be using Docker Hub for henceforth.
The output of the following command is snipped, but you can see that Docker is configured to use https://index.Docker.io/v1/ as its default registry when pushing and pulling images (this redirects to v2).
Docker Hub has the concept of official repositories and unofficial repositories.
As the name suggests, official repositories are the home to images that have been vetted and curated by Docker, Inc. This means they should contain up-to-date and high-quality code that is secure, well-documented, and in line with best practices.
Unofficial repositories can be like the wild west. You should not assume they are safe, well-documented, or built according to the best practices. That is not saying everything in unofficial repositories is bad. You just need to be very careful before trusting the code. To be honest, you should always be careful when trusting software from the internet, even images from official repositories.
Prerequisite: ensure Docker is installed in your local system.
A Docker image is created using the Dockerfile and Docker command utilities.
The Dockerfile file contains a set of instructions for the Docker to create the container.
Let us create a basic image for a container that displays a “hello knowledgehut” message when it is run.
FROM debian:11 CMD ["echo", "hello knowledgehut "]
To create an image from theDockerfile file, we need to run the build command.
Docker build -t hello_KH
The Docker build command just created an image named hello_KH. The image is stored locally in the system, 1
Docker run --rm hello
A Dockerfile is the starting point for creating a container image. It describes an application and tells Docker how to build it into an image.
The directory containing the application and dependencies is referred to as the build context. It is a common practice to keep your Dockerfile in the root directory of the build context. It is also important that Dockerfile starts with a capital “D” and is one word. “dockerfile” and “Docker file” are not valid.
Do not underestimate the impact of the Dockerfile as a form of documentation. It is a great document to bridge the gap between development and operation. It also has the power to speed up the onboarding of new developers, etc. The file accurately describes the application and its dependencies in an easy-to-read format. You should treat it like you would treat source code and check it into a version control system.
Container: A container is an instance of an image, which simulates the required environment with the use of the Linux kernel packaged in it. In the diagram, we can see app B is enclosed in one container. Similarly, we can enclose the other two apps as well.
We might ask, how a container provides the required environment with isolation if it shares the OS kernel. Well, that is done with the help of images.
Let us take an example here. If your app only needs Python 3.5 from the system, it is only needed in your production environment as a dependency. Everything else will be an extra overhead. Docker provides the template built on the Linux kernel with only the needed dependencies, and nothing is installed in that template. That template is called an image.
If we fetch a Python 3.5 image from Docker and run an instance of it, we can do whatever we were able to do in the host machine using a command line interface. The container can be deleted, and a new container can be created from an existing image in case of any mistake. This way, your main environment remains intact in the form of an image, and we can play around with the dependencies packaged in the image using containers.
Docker provides a great means of managing fundamental system components, such as the operating system and the application server. Moreover, Docker makes it easier to create replica environments for your applications. Finally, you can package up to two million lines of application code into a single Docker image—so it is an increasingly popular tool in the DevOps toolkit.
Docker images command used to give detailed descriptions images in the system.
With Docker images. command you can view and manipulate the images in the system.
With Docker run <image_name> command you can view the images in the system.
By modifying the Docker environment variables
For example:
Setting below environments to ensure the Docker image runs locally
set userprofile = <USER_PROFILE_PATH> # set your user proile set Docker_cert_path = <DOCKER_CERT_PATH> # set Docker certification path set Docker_host= <IP_ADDRESS> # use your ip and start it set Docker_machine_name = <DOCKER_MACHINE_NAME> # set Docker machine name set Docker_tls_verify= 1 # verify TLS connection
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