page_title: Working with Docker Images
page_description: How to work with Docker images.
page_keywords: documentation, docs, the docker guide, docker guide, docker, docker platform, virtualization framework, docker.io, Docker images, Docker image, image management, Docker repos, Docker repositories, docker, docker tag, docker tags, Docker Hub, collaboration

# Working with Docker Images

In the [introduction](/introduction/) we've discovered that Docker
images are the basis of containers. In the
[previous](/userguide/dockerizing/) [sections](/userguide/usingdocker/)
we've used Docker images that already exist, for example the `ubuntu`
image and the `training/webapp` image.

We've also discovered that Docker stores downloaded images on the Docker
host. If an image isn't already present on the host then it'll be
downloaded from a registry: by default the
[Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com) public registry.

In this section we're going to explore Docker images a bit more
including:

* Managing and working with images locally on your Docker host;
* Creating basic images;
* Uploading images to [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com).

## Listing images on the host

Let's start with listing the images we have locally on our host. You can
do this using the `docker images` command like so:

    $ sudo docker images
    REPOSITORY       TAG      IMAGE ID      CREATED      VIRTUAL SIZE
    training/webapp  latest   fc77f57ad303  3 weeks ago  280.5 MB
    ubuntu           13.10    5e019ab7bf6d  4 weeks ago  180 MB
    ubuntu           saucy    5e019ab7bf6d  4 weeks ago  180 MB
    ubuntu           12.04    74fe38d11401  4 weeks ago  209.6 MB
    ubuntu           precise  74fe38d11401  4 weeks ago  209.6 MB
    ubuntu           12.10    a7cf8ae4e998  4 weeks ago  171.3 MB
    ubuntu           quantal  a7cf8ae4e998  4 weeks ago  171.3 MB
    ubuntu           14.04    99ec81b80c55  4 weeks ago  266 MB
    ubuntu           latest   99ec81b80c55  4 weeks ago  266 MB
    ubuntu           trusty   99ec81b80c55  4 weeks ago  266 MB
    ubuntu           13.04    316b678ddf48  4 weeks ago  169.4 MB
    ubuntu           raring   316b678ddf48  4 weeks ago  169.4 MB
    ubuntu           10.04    3db9c44f4520  4 weeks ago  183 MB
    ubuntu           lucid    3db9c44f4520  4 weeks ago  183 MB

We can see the images we've previously used in our [user guide](/userguide/).
Each has been downloaded from [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com) when we
launched a container using that image.

We can see three crucial pieces of information about our images in the listing.

* What repository they came from, for example `ubuntu`.
* The tags for each image, for example `14.04`.
* The image ID of each image.

A repository potentially holds multiple variants of an image. In the case of
our `ubuntu` image we can see multiple variants covering Ubuntu 10.04, 12.04,
12.10, 13.04, 13.10 and 14.04. Each variant is identified by a tag and you can
refer to a tagged image like so:

    ubuntu:14.04

So when we run a container we refer to a tagged image like so:

    $ sudo docker run -t -i ubuntu:14.04 /bin/bash

If instead we wanted to build an Ubuntu 12.04 image we'd use:

    $ sudo docker run -t -i ubuntu:12.04 /bin/bash

If you don't specify a variant, for example you just use `ubuntu`, then Docker
will default to using the `ubuntu:latest` image.

> **Tip:** 
> We recommend you always use a specific tagged image, for example
> `ubuntu:12.04`. That way you always know exactly what variant of an image is
> being used.

## Getting a new image

So how do we get new images? Well Docker will automatically download any image
we use that isn't already present on the Docker host. But this can potentially
add some time to the launch of a container. If we want to pre-load an image we
can download it using the `docker pull` command. Let's say we'd like to
download the `centos` image.

    $ sudo docker pull centos
    Pulling repository centos
    b7de3133ff98: Pulling dependent layers
    5cc9e91966f7: Pulling fs layer
    511136ea3c5a: Download complete
    ef52fb1fe610: Download complete
    . . .

We can see that each layer of the image has been pulled down and now we
can run a container from this image and we won't have to wait to
download the image.

    $ sudo docker run -t -i centos /bin/bash
    bash-4.1#

## Finding images

One of the features of Docker is that a lot of people have created Docker
images for a variety of purposes. Many of these have been uploaded to
[Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com). We can search these images on the
[Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com) website.

![indexsearch](/userguide/search.png)

We can also search for images on the command line using the `docker search`
command. Let's say our team wants an image with Ruby and Sinatra installed on
which to do our web application development. We can search for a suitable image
by using the `docker search` command to find all the images that contain the
term `sinatra`.

    $ sudo docker search sinatra
    NAME                                   DESCRIPTION                                     STARS     OFFICIAL   AUTOMATED
    training/sinatra                       Sinatra training image                          0                    [OK]
    marceldegraaf/sinatra                  Sinatra test app                                0
    mattwarren/docker-sinatra-demo                                                         0                    [OK]
    luisbebop/docker-sinatra-hello-world                                                   0                    [OK]
    bmorearty/handson-sinatra              handson-ruby + Sinatra for Hands on with D...   0
    subwiz/sinatra                                                                         0
    bmorearty/sinatra                                                                      0
    . . .

We can see we've returned a lot of images that use the term `sinatra`. We've
returned a list of image names, descriptions, Stars (which measure the social
popularity of images - if a user likes an image then they can "star" it), and
the Official and Automated build statuses. Official repositories are built and
maintained by the [Stackbrew](https://github.com/dotcloud/stackbrew) project,
and Automated repositories are [Automated Builds](
/userguide/dockerrepos/#automated-builds) that allow you to validate the source
and content of an image.

We've reviewed the images available to use and we decided to use the
`training/sinatra` image. So far we've seen two types of images repositories,
images like `ubuntu`, which are called base or root images. These base images
are provided by Docker Inc and are built, validated and supported. These can be
identified by their single word names.

We've also seen user images, for example the `training/sinatra` image we've
chosen. A user image belongs to a member of the Docker community and is built
and maintained by them.  You can identify user images as they are always
prefixed with the user name, here `training`, of the user that created them.

## Pulling our image

We've identified a suitable image, `training/sinatra`, and now we can download it using the `docker pull` command.

    $ sudo docker pull training/sinatra

The team can now use this image by run their own containers.

    $ sudo docker run -t -i training/sinatra /bin/bash
    root@a8cb6ce02d85:/#

## Creating our own images

The team has found the `training/sinatra` image pretty useful but it's not quite what
they need and we need to make some changes to it. There are two ways we can
update and create images.

1. We can update a container created from an image and commit the results to an image.
2. We can use a `Dockerfile` to specify instructions to create an image.

### Updating and committing an image

To update an image we first need to create a container from the image
we'd like to update.

    $ sudo docker run -t -i training/sinatra /bin/bash
    root@0b2616b0e5a8:/#

> **Note:** 
> Take note of the container ID that has been created, `0b2616b0e5a8`, as we'll
> need it in a moment.

Inside our running container let's add the `json` gem.

    root@0b2616b0e5a8:/# gem install json

Once this has completed let's exit our container using the `exit`
command.

Now we have a container with the change we want to make. We can then
commit a copy of this container to an image using the `docker commit`
command.

    $ sudo docker commit -m="Added json gem" -a="Kate Smith" \
    0b2616b0e5a8 ouruser/sinatra:v2
    4f177bd27a9ff0f6dc2a830403925b5360bfe0b93d476f7fc3231110e7f71b1c

Here we've used the `docker commit` command. We've specified two flags: `-m`
and `-a`. The `-m` flag allows us to specify a commit message, much like you
would with a commit on a version control system. The `-a` flag allows us to
specify an author for our update.

We've also specified the container we want to create this new image from,
`0b2616b0e5a8` (the ID we recorded earlier) and we've specified a target for
the image:

    ouruser/sinatra:v2

Let's break this target down. It consists of a new user, `ouruser`, that we're
writing this image to. We've also specified the name of the image, here we're
keeping the original image name `sinatra`. Finally we're specifying a tag for
the image: `v2`.

We can then look at our new `ouruser/sinatra` image using the `docker images`
command.

    $ sudo docker images
    REPOSITORY          TAG     IMAGE ID       CREATED       VIRTUAL SIZE
    training/sinatra    latest  5bc342fa0b91   10 hours ago  446.7 MB
    ouruser/sinatra     v2      3c59e02ddd1a   10 hours ago  446.7 MB
    ouruser/sinatra     latest  5db5f8471261   10 hours ago  446.7 MB

To use our new image to create a container we can then:

    $ sudo docker run -t -i ouruser/sinatra:v2 /bin/bash
    root@78e82f680994:/#

### Building an image from a `Dockerfile`

Using the `docker commit` command is a pretty simple way of extending an image
but it's a bit cumbersome and it's not easy to share a development process for
images amongst a team. Instead we can use a new command, `docker build`, to
build new images from scratch.

To do this we create a `Dockerfile` that contains a set of instructions that
tell Docker how to build our image.

Let's create a directory and a `Dockerfile` first.

    $ mkdir sinatra
    $ cd sinatra
    $ touch Dockerfile

Each instruction creates a new layer of the image. Let's look at a simple
example now for building our own Sinatra image for our development team.

    # This is a comment
    FROM ubuntu:14.04
    MAINTAINER Kate Smith <ksmith@example.com>
    RUN apt-get -qq update
    RUN apt-get -qqy install ruby ruby-dev
    RUN gem install sinatra

Let's look at what our `Dockerfile` does. Each instruction prefixes a statement and is capitalized.

    INSTRUCTION statement

> **Note:**
> We use `#` to indicate a comment

The first instruction `FROM` tells Docker what the source of our image is, in
this case we're basing our new image on an Ubuntu 14.04 image.

Next we use the `MAINTAINER` instruction to specify who maintains our new image.

Lastly, we've specified three `RUN` instructions. A `RUN` instruction executes
a command inside the image, for example installing a package. Here we're
updating our APT cache, installing Ruby and RubyGems and then installing the
Sinatra gem.

> **Note:** 
> There are [a lot more instructions available to us in a Dockerfile](/reference/builder).

Now let's take our `Dockerfile` and use the `docker build` command to build an image.

    $ sudo docker build -t="ouruser/sinatra:v2" .
    Uploading context  2.56 kB
    Uploading context
    Step 0 : FROM ubuntu:14.04
     ---> 99ec81b80c55
    Step 1 : MAINTAINER Kate Smith <ksmith@example.com>
     ---> Running in 7c5664a8a0c1
     ---> 2fa8ca4e2a13
    Removing intermediate container 7c5664a8a0c1
    Step 2 : RUN apt-get -qq update
     ---> Running in b07cc3fb4256
     ---> 50d21070ec0c
    Removing intermediate container b07cc3fb4256
    Step 3 : RUN apt-get -qqy install ruby ruby-dev
     ---> Running in a5b038dd127e
    Selecting previously unselected package libasan0:amd64.
    (Reading database ... 11518 files and directories currently installed.)
    Preparing to unpack .../libasan0_4.8.2-19ubuntu1_amd64.deb ...
    . . .
    Setting up ruby (1:1.9.3.4) ...
    Setting up ruby1.9.1 (1.9.3.484-2ubuntu1) ...
    Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.19-0ubuntu6) ...
     ---> 2acb20f17878
    Removing intermediate container a5b038dd127e
    Step 4 : RUN gem install sinatra
     ---> Running in 5e9d0065c1f7
    . . .
    Successfully installed rack-protection-1.5.3
    Successfully installed sinatra-1.4.5
    4 gems installed
     ---> 324104cde6ad
    Removing intermediate container 5e9d0065c1f7
    Successfully built 324104cde6ad

We've specified our `docker build` command and used the `-t` flag to identify
our new image as belonging to the user `ouruser`, the repository name `sinatra`
and given it the tag `v2`.

We've also specified the location of our `Dockerfile` using the `.` to
indicate a `Dockerfile` in the current directory.

> **Note:**
> You can also specify a path to a `Dockerfile`.

Now we can see the build process at work. The first thing Docker does is
upload the build context: basically the contents of the directory you're
building in. This is done because the Docker daemon does the actual
build of the image and it needs the local context to do it.

Next we can see each instruction in the `Dockerfile` being executed
step-by-step. We can see that each step creates a new container, runs
the instruction inside that container and then commits that change -
just like the `docker commit` work flow we saw earlier. When all the
instructions have executed we're left with the `324104cde6ad` image
(also helpfully tagged as `ouruser/sinatra:v2`) and all intermediate
containers will get removed to clean things up.

We can then create a container from our new image.

    $ sudo docker run -t -i ouruser/sinatra:v2 /bin/bash
    root@8196968dac35:/#

> **Note:** 
> This is just the briefest introduction to creating images. We've
> skipped a whole bunch of other instructions that you can use. We'll see more of
> those instructions in later sections of the Guide or you can refer to the
> [`Dockerfile`](/reference/builder/) reference for a
> detailed description and examples of every instruction.

## Setting tags on an image

You can also add a tag to an existing image after you commit or build it. We
can do this using the `docker tag` command. Let's add a new tag to our
`ouruser/sinatra` image.

    $ sudo docker tag 5db5f8471261 ouruser/sinatra:devel

The `docker tag` command takes the ID of the image, here `5db5f8471261`, and our
user name, the repository name and the new tag.

Let's see our new tag using the `docker images` command.

    $ sudo docker images ouruser/sinatra
    REPOSITORY          TAG     IMAGE ID      CREATED        VIRTUAL SIZE
    ouruser/sinatra     latest  5db5f8471261  11 hours ago   446.7 MB
    ouruser/sinatra     devel   5db5f8471261  11 hours ago   446.7 MB
    ouruser/sinatra     v2      5db5f8471261  11 hours ago   446.7 MB

## Push an image to Docker Hub

Once you've built or created a new image you can push it to [Docker
Hub](https://hub.docker.com) using the `docker push` command. This
allows you to share it with others, either publicly, or push it into [a
private repository](https://registry.hub.docker.com/plans/).

    $ sudo docker push ouruser/sinatra
    The push refers to a repository [ouruser/sinatra] (len: 1)
    Sending image list
    Pushing repository ouruser/sinatra (3 tags)
    . . .

## Remove an image from the host

You can also remove images on your Docker host in a way [similar to
containers](
/userguide/usingdocker) using the `docker rmi` command.

Let's delete the `training/sinatra` image as we don't need it anymore.

    $ sudo docker rmi training/sinatra
    Untagged: training/sinatra:latest
    Deleted: 5bc342fa0b91cabf65246837015197eecfa24b2213ed6a51a8974ae250fedd8d
    Deleted: ed0fffdcdae5eb2c3a55549857a8be7fc8bc4241fb19ad714364cbfd7a56b22f
    Deleted: 5c58979d73ae448df5af1d8142436d81116187a7633082650549c52c3a2418f0

> **Note:** In order to remove an image from the host, please make sure
> that there are no containers actively based on it.

# Next steps

Until now we've seen how to build individual applications inside Docker
containers. Now learn how to build whole application stacks with Docker
by linking together multiple Docker containers.

Go to [Linking Containers Together](/userguide/dockerlinks).

