DOCKER
Section: Docker User Manuals (1)
Updated: Jun 2025
Index
Return to Main Contents
NAME
docke-imag-ls- List images
SYNOPSIS
docker image ls [OPTIONS] [REPOSITORY[:TAG]]
DESCRIPTION
This command lists the images stored in the local Docker repository.
By default, intermediate images, used during builds, are not listed. Some of the
output, e.g., image ID, is truncated, for space reasons. However the truncated
image ID, and often the first few characters, are enough to be used in other
Docker commands that use the image ID. The output includes repository, tag, image
ID, date created and the virtual size.
The title REPOSITORY for the first title may seem confusing. It is essentially
the image name. However, because you can tag a specific image, and multiple tags
(image instances) can be associated with a single name, the name is really a
repository for all tagged images of the same name. For example consider an image
called ubuntu. It may be tagged with 24.04 or 22.04, etc. to manage different
versions.
Filters
Filters the output based on these conditions:
- *
-
dangling=(true|false)- find unused images
- *
-
label= or label==
- *
-
before=([:tag]||image@digest
[la]mailto:image@digest[ra])
- *
-
since=([:tag]||image@digest
[la]mailto:image@digest[ra])
- *
-
reference=(pattern of an image reference)
Format
Format the output using the given Go template.
Valid placeholders:
.ID - Image ID
.Repository - Image repository
.Tag - Image tag
.Digest - Image digest
.CreatedSince - Elapsed time since the image was created
.CreatedAt - Time when the image was created
.Size - Image disk size
EXAMPLES
Listing the images
To list the images in a local repository (not the registry) run:
docker image ls
The list will contain the image repository name, a tag for the image, and an
image ID, when it was created and its virtual size. Columns: REPOSITORY, TAG,
IMAGE ID, CREATED, and SIZE.
The docker image ls command takes an optional [REPOSITORY[:TAG]] argument
that restricts the list to images that match the argument. If you specify
REPOSITORY but no TAG, the docker image ls command lists all images in the
given repository.
docker image ls java
The [REPOSITORY[:TAG]] value must be an "exact match". This means that, for example,
docker image ls jav does not match the image java.
If both REPOSITORY and TAG are provided, only images matching that
repository and tag are listed. To find all local images in the "java"
repository with tag "8" you can use:
docker image ls java:8
To get a verbose list of images which contains all the intermediate images
used in builds use -a:
docker image ls-a
Previously, the docker image ls command supported the-tree and-dot arguments,
which displayed different visualizations of the image data. Docker core removed
this functionality in the 1.7 version. If you liked this functionality, you can
still find it in the thir-party dockviz tool: https://github.com/justone/dockviz.
Listing images in a desired format
When using the-format option, the image command will either output the data
exactly as the template declares or, when using the
table directive, will
include column headers as well. You can use special characters like
t for
inserting tab spacing between columns. The
json directive outputs objects
in JSON format.
The following example uses a template without headers and outputs the ID and
Repository entries separated by a colon for all images:
docker image ls-format "{{.ID}}: {{.Repository}}"
77af4d6b9913: <none>
b6fa739cedf5: committ
78a85c484bad: ipbabble
30557a29d5ab: docker
5ed6274db6ce: <none>
746b819f315e: postgres
746b819f315e: postgres
746b819f315e: postgres
746b819f315e: postgres
To list all images with their repository and tag in a table format you can use:
docker image ls-format "table {{.ID}}t{{.Repository}}t{{.Tag}}"
IMAGE ID REPOSITORY TAG
77af4d6b9913 <none> <none>
b6fa739cedf5 committ latest
78a85c484bad ipbabble <none>
30557a29d5ab docker latest
5ed6274db6ce <none> <none>
746b819f315e postgres 9
746b819f315e postgres 9.3
746b819f315e postgres 9.3.5
746b819f315e postgres latest
Valid template placeholders are listed above.
To list all images in JSON format you can use:
docker image ls-format json
{"Containers":"N/A","CreatedAt":"202-0-18 11:29:06 +0100 CET","CreatedSince":"24 hours ago","Digest":"u003cnoneu003e","ID":"fbcf509fa16f","Repository":"docker","SharedSize":"N/A","Size":"235MB","Tag":"stabl-dind","UniqueSize":"N/A","VirtualSize":"235.5MB"}
{"Containers":"N/A","CreatedAt":"202-0-18 11:24:48 +0100 CET","CreatedSince":"24 hours ago","Digest":"u003cnoneu003e","ID":"08656a69ab2b","Repository":"docke-cl-e2e","SharedSize":"N/A","Size":"1.21GB","Tag":"latest","UniqueSize":"N/A","VirtualSize":"1.207GB"}
{"Containers":"N/A","CreatedAt":"202-0-18 10:43:44 +0100 CET","CreatedSince":"24 hours ago","Digest":"u003cnoneu003e","ID":"abca5c07c1ba","Repository":"docke-cl-dev","SharedSize":"N/A","Size":"608MB","Tag":"latest","UniqueSize":"N/A","VirtualSize":"607.8MB"}
Listing only the shortened image IDs
Listing just the shortened image IDs. This can be useful for some automated
tools.
docker image ls-q
OPTIONS
-a,
-all[=false]
Show all images (default hides intermediate images)
-digests[=false]
Show digests
-f, -filter=
Filter output based on conditions provided
-format=""
Format output using a custom template:
'table': Print output in table format with column headers (default)
'table TEMPLATE': Print output in table format using the given Go template
'json': Print in JSON format
'TEMPLATE': Print output using the given Go template.
Refer to https://docs.docker.com/go/formatting/ for more information about formatting output with templates
-n-trunc[=false]
Don't truncate output
-q, -quiet[=false]
Only show image IDs
-tree[=false]
List mult-platform images as a tree (EXPERIMENTAL)
SEE ALSO
docke-image(1)
Index
- NAME
-
- SYNOPSIS
-
- DESCRIPTION
-
- Filters
-
- Format
-
- EXAMPLES
-
- Listing the images
-
- Listing images in a desired format
-
- Listing only the shortened image IDs
-
- OPTIONS
-
- SEE ALSO
-
|
|
- Running on 
-
:
