Docker images are the most prominent building blocks used for deriving real-world Docker containers that can be exposed as a service over any network. Developers can find and check images for their unique capabilities, and use them accordingly for their own purposes in bringing up highly usable, publicly discoverable, network-accessible, and cognitively composable containers. All crafted images need to be put in a public registry repository. In this chapter, we clearly explained how to publish images in a repository. We also talked about trusted repositories and their distinct characteristics. Finally, we demonstrated how the REST API for the repository can be leveraged to push in and play around with Docker images and user management, programmatically.

Docker images need to be stored in a public, controlled, and network-accessible location to be readily found and leveraged by worldwide software engineers and system administrators. Docker Hub is being touted as the best-in-class method to centrally aggregate, curate, and manage Docker images, originating from Docker enthusiasts (internal as well as external). However, enterprises cannot afford to keep their Docker images in a public domain, and hence the next chapter is dedicated to explaining the steps needed for image deployment and management in private IT infrastructures.