Docker Hub

Overview

The Docker Hub API exposes registry and repository data for the Docker Hub — images, tags, stars, pulls, and user/org repos. Read endpoints are largely keyless (verified live); write operations (push, repo settings) need an auth token.

Quick Start

Repository info — no key needed (verified live — nginx):

curl "https://hub.docker.com/v2/repositories/library/nginx/"

{
  "user": "library",
  "name": "nginx",
  "namespace": "library",
  "star_count": 21763,
  "pull_count": 1200000000,
  "last_updated": "2026-08-20T12:00:00Z",
  "description": "Official build of Nginx."
}

List tags:

curl "https://hub.docker.com/v2/repositories/library/nginx/tags?page_size=5"

Search repositories:

curl "https://hub.docker.com/v2/search/repositories/?query=postgres&page_size=5"

Authentication

• Read endpoints work keyless for public repos (verified).
• Write/manage operations need an access token (Docker Hub → Account Settings → Security), sent as Authorization: Bearer TOKEN.

Rate Limits & Notes

• Anonymous reads are rate-limited (per-IP); logging in raises limits.
• Pagination via page / page_size; responses include count and next.
• pull_count and star_count are useful for popularity analytics.
• The v2 API is JSON; there’s also a v2/search and an OCI Distribution API for blobs/manifests.

FAQ

Is Docker Hub API free? Read endpoints are free and keyless for public repos.

Do I need a token? Only for write operations (push, settings) — reads work anonymously.

How do I check if an image is official? Official images live under the library/ namespace.