Managing Docker images as a tar file

As an alternative to managing Docker images using a Docker Registry, you can also manage it as a tar file.

Managing Docker images as tar files allows you to:

1. Save docker images as a file
2. Load images from a file
3. Share images without a registry: Share the tar file instead of pushing to a registry
4. Backup images: Regularly save images to tar files for safekeeping
5. Migrate images: Move images between systems by loading the tar file

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Docker Commands:

Save an image to a tar file:

docker save -o image.tar image_name

Save an image to a tar file using pigz compression:

docker save my_image | pigz > my_image.tar.gz

pigz is a parallel implementation of gzip that can significantly speed up compression.

Load an image from a tar file:

docker load -i image.tar

Load an image from a tar file using pigz decompression:

pigz -dc my_image.tar.gz | docker load

Import a tar file as a new image:

docker import image.tar new_image_name

Import an image from a tar file using pigz decompression:

pigz -dc image_name.tar.gz | docker import - image_name