# Docker Registry ## What it is The Registry is a stateless, highly scalable server side application that stores and lets you distribute Docker images. The Registry is open-source, under the permissive [Apache license](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_License). ## Why use it You should use the Registry if you want to: * tightly control where your images are being stored * fully own your images distribution pipeline * integrate images storage and distribution into your inhouse development workflow ## Alternatives Users looking for a zero maintenance, ready-to-go solution are encouraged to head-over to the [Docker Hub](https://hub.docker.com), which provides a free-to-use, hosted Registry, plus additional features (organization accounts, automated builds, and more). Users looking for a commercially supported version of the Registry should look into [Docker Hub Enterprise](https://docs.docker.com/docker-hub-enterprise/). ## Requirements The Registry is compatible with Docker engine **version 1.6.0 or higher**. If you really need to work with older Docker versions, you should look into the [old python registry](https://github.com/docker/docker-registry) ## TL;DR ``` # Start your registry docker run -d -p 5000:5000 registry:2 # Pull (or build) some image from the hub docker pull ubuntu # Tag the image so that it points to your registry docker tag ubuntu localhost:5000/myfirstimage # Push it docker push localhost:5000/myfirstimage # Pull it back docker pull localhost:5000/myfirstimage ``` ## Where to go next Simple as that? Yes. Continue on to read the [overview of the registry](introduction.md).