DOCKER(1) Docker User Manuals DOCKER(1)
NAME
docker-image-import - Import the contents from a tarball to create a
filesystem image
SYNOPSIS
docker image import [OPTIONS] file|URL|- [REPOSITORY[:TAG]]
DESCRIPTION
Create a new filesystem image from the contents of a tarball (.tar,
.tar.gz, .tgz, .bzip, .tar.xz, .txz) into it, then optionally tag it.
EXAMPLES
Import from a remote location
# docker image import http://example.com/exampleimage.tgz example/imagerepo
Import from a local file
Import to docker via pipe and stdin:
# cat exampleimage.tgz | docker image import - example/imagelocal
Import with a commit message.
# cat exampleimage.tgz | docker image import --message "New image imported from tarball" - exampleimagelocal:new
Import to a Docker image from a local file.
# docker image import /path/to/exampleimage.tgz
Import from a local file and tag
Import to docker via pipe and stdin:
# cat exampleimageV2.tgz | docker image import - example/imagelocal:V-2.0
Import from a local directory
# tar -c . | docker image import - exampleimagedir
Apply specified Dockerfile instructions while importing the image
This example sets the docker image ENV variable DEBUG to true by de-
fault.
# tar -c . | docker image import -c="ENV DEBUG=true" - exampleimagedir
When the daemon supports multiple operating systems
If the daemon supports multiple operating systems, and the image being
imported does not match the default operating system, it may be neces-
sary to add --platform. This would be necessary when importing a Linux
image into a Windows daemon.
# docker image import --platform=linux .\linuximage.tar
See also
docker-export(1) to export the contents of a filesystem as a tar ar-
chive to STDOUT.
OPTIONS
-c, --change= Apply Dockerfile instruction to the created image
-m, --message="" Set commit message for imported image
--platform="" Set platform if server is multi-platform capable
SEE ALSO
docker-image(1)
Docker Community Apr 2026 DOCKER(1)
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