How to Copy Docker Images from One Host to Another without Using a Repository

Better Stack Team
Updated on August 1, 2022

There is an easy way to transfer Docker images from one host to another without using any repository.

Copy Docker images from one host to another

First, you need to save the docker image as a tar:

 
docker save -o <path-for-generated-tar-file.tar> <image-name>
  • <path-for-generated-tar-file> - This will be the location of the generated tar file with the image inside
  • <image-name> - This is the name of the image you want to save / copy / transfer

Then, transfer the tar file to the new system using one of the popular methods (cp, scp, rsync)

Lastly, load the image into Docker on the second host:

 
docker load -i <path-to-image-tar-file.tar>
  • <path-to-image-tar-file> - This is the location of the tar file containing the image
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