Docker has decided to sunset free organizations on Docker Hub. This has created some feelings of unrest in the open source community at large. There is a program for open source projects.
This got me wondering, why is Docker Hub the go to location for container images? Why don’t more projects use GitHub Container Registry, Quay, or one of the many other registries? The answer is simple and can be found in their open source organization guide:
increased visibility makes it easier for your project to be discovered
Docker Hub has the “root namespace” so to speak. docker search works against Docker Hub and doesn’t include the other registries. In fact, there is no OCI specification for search. Tools have no common API to use.
There is a discover-ability problem. How do people discover distributed container images around the Internet?
This is where Artifact Hub, a CNCF project, comes in.
Artifact Hub allows you to search for cloud native artifacts that are distributed around the Internet. One type of artifact is container images.
Two Ways To Search
There are 2 ways to search for images:
- Using the website (here’s a quick link to container image specific search).
- Though the API. An API that other tools can build upon.
Adding Container Images
There is a guide on adding container images. It includes specific directions.
Why Aren’t There More Images?
If you look at it now you won’t see the thousands and thousands images you find in Docker Hub today. The model on Artifact Hub is opt-in so it doesn’t include every image on the interwebs.
Ideas For Improvement
If you have ideas for improvement or want to contribute a change? Artifact Hub is an open source CNCF project. Contributions are welcome and you can learn more at https://github.com/artifacthub/.