podman-images

List all Podman images

$ podman images

$ podman images --all

$ podman images --quiet

$ podman images --filter dangling=true

$ podman images "[*image|image*]"

podman images [options] [repository[:tag]]

-a, --all
    Show all images, including intermediate images created during multi-stage builds or as parent layers. By default, only top-level images are shown.

--digests
    Show image digests (e.g., sha256:...). This provides a unique identifier for the image content.

-f, --filter filter
    Filter output based on conditions. Common filters include dangling=true/false, label=<key>[=<value>], before=<image>, since=<image>, reference=<pattern>, size=<bytes>.

--format format
    Pretty-print images using a Go template. Available placeholders include .ID, .Repository, .Tag, .Digest, .Created, .CreatedAt, .Size, .Containers, .VirtualSize, .Labels.

--json
    Output all image information in JSON format, useful for programmatic parsing.

--no-trunc
    Do not truncate output. By default, long image IDs and other fields may be shortened.

-q, --quiet
    Only show numeric IDs of images, useful for scripting purposes like removing all dangling images.

--sort sort_order
    Sort output based on a specific field. Possible values include created, size, id, repository, tag.

The podman-images command is used to display a list of all images stored in the local Podman image store. It provides essential details for each image, including its ID, repository, tag, size, and creation date. This command is crucial for managing your local image inventory, helping users understand which images are available for running containers, building new ones, or for cleanup operations.

Users can easily filter the output, show only image IDs for scripting, or format the display using Go templates for custom reporting. It interacts directly with Podman's local storage backend, which can be configured for rootless or rootful operations, affecting where images are stored and how they are managed on the system.

The SIZE column typically represents the virtual size of the image, which is the sum of the sizes of all its unique layers. It does not necessarily reflect the exact disk space consumed, especially when layers are shared among multiple images.

Images with <none> in their REPOSITORY or TAG fields are often 'dangling' images (not associated with any tag or repository) or intermediate layers from a build process. While not always problematic, they can indicate unused disk space and may be candidates for removal.

List all images (including intermediate):

podman images -a

podman images -q

podman images fedora

podman images -f 'dangling=true'

podman images --format '{{.ID}}	{{.Size}}'

Podman emerged as a daemonless alternative to Docker, adhering to OCI (Open Container Initiative) standards. The podman-images command was developed as a direct counterpart to docker images, providing a familiar and compatible interface for listing and managing container images. Its evolution is closely tied to the broader Podman project, aiming to offer robust container management capabilities without relying on a central daemon process.

podman(1), podman-rmi(1), podman-pull(1), podman-push(1), podman-build(1), podman-inspect(1)