crane-index

Modify an image index

$ crane index

$ crane index [subcommand]

$ crane index [[-h|--help]]

`crane-index` does not have a standard synopsis as a standalone command.
If referring to the crane index subcommand group, typical usage patterns are:
crane index create [OPTIONS] MANIFEST...
crane index append [OPTIONS] INDEX MANIFEST...
crane index merge [OPTIONS] MANIFEST...
crane index delete [OPTIONS] INDEX MANIFEST...

Note
    These parameters apply to various crane index subcommands, not a standalone `crane-index` command.

`--help`
    Show help for the specific `crane index` subcommand.

`--platform=/`
    Specify the platform for the manifest being added or manipulated (e.g., `linux/amd64`). Used with `create` to indicate target platform, or with `append`/`merge` to associate a manifest with a specific platform.

`--type=`
    Specify the type of index or manifest to create (e.g., `oci`, `docker`).

`--tag=`
    Tag the resulting index after creation, append, or merge operations to a specific registry location (e.g., `myregistry/myimage:newindex`).

`--output=`
    Write the output (e.g., the resulting manifest digest or index content) to a specified file path instead of standard output.

`--insecure`
    Allow communication with registries over insecure (HTTP) connections or without certificate validation. Use with caution in production environments.

`--username=`
    Provide a username for authenticating with the container registry. Often used in conjunction with `--password` or `CRANE_PASSWORD` environment variable.

`--password=`
    Provide a password for authenticating with the container registry. It is generally safer to use the `CRANE_PASSWORD` environment variable to avoid exposing credentials in shell history.

`--json`
    Output results in JSON format, often for programmatic parsing.

`--repo=`
    For some subcommands, specifies the target repository for an operation.

`crane-index` is not a commonly recognized or standard standalone command within typical Linux distributions or popular command-line utilities. Its naming suggests a potential relation to crane, a powerful command-line tool for interacting with container registries (like Docker Hub, GCR, Quay.io) developed by Google as part of the `go-containerregistry` project.

It is highly probable that the query for `crane-index` refers to the `index` subcommand group of the crane tool. The `crane index` subcommand group provides operations for manipulating OCI (Open Container Initiative) image indexes, which are manifest lists that refer to multiple image manifests (e.g., for different architectures or OS types). These operations include:
Creating new image indexes.
Appending images or manifests to an existing index.
Merging multiple indexes or manifests into a single index.
Deleting specific manifests from an index or entire indexes.

The command `crane-index` is not a standard or widely distributed Linux utility. Information provided here assumes it refers to the `index` subcommand group of the crane tool. If you encountered `crane-index` in a specific context (e.g., a custom build system, a specific project), it might be a custom script or a niche application designed for a particular workflow.

OCI Image Indexes are crucial for supporting multi-platform images. Instead of creating separate image tags for different architectures (e.g., `myimage:latest-amd64`, `myimage:latest-arm64`), an index allows a single tag (`myimage:latest`) to point to a list of manifests, each for a different architecture. The crane index subcommands facilitate the creation and modification of these indexes, making crane a valuable tool for building and distributing multi-architecture container images effectively.

Since `crane-index` is likely a misnomer for `crane index`, users should install the crane tool. It can typically be installed by downloading pre-compiled binaries from its GitHub releases page (`github.com/google/go-containerregistry/releases`), or via package managers like Homebrew on macOS and Linux (`brew install crane`), or by compiling from source using Go (`go install github.com/google/go-containerregistry/cmd/crane@latest`). Ensure you have Go installed and configured if choosing the `go install` method.

There is no documented history for a standalone `crane-index` command. The crane tool, which includes the `index` subcommand group, was developed by Google as part of the `go-containerregistry` project. Its development began around 2018, focusing on efficient and reliable interaction with OCI registries, and it continues to be actively maintained, evolving with containerization standards.

crane(1)