Introduction
When promoting a multi-architecture Docker image using jf rt docker-promote or the Docker Promote API, users who build images with docker manifest create may find that architecture-specific tags (e.g., image:1.0-linux-amd64, image:1.0-linux-arm64v8) are no longer preserved or renamed on child submanifests after promotion. Instead, child manifests are promoted as digests only, breaking automation, AQL queries, Release Bundle creation, or Edge distribution workflows that depend on those explicit tags.
This behavior changed in Artifactory 7.111.0 as part of internal fix RTDEV-55450.
This article explains why the change was made, which workflows are affected, and how to restore the previous behavior using a system property.
Why This Changed
In Artifactory 7.111.0, the default behavior for multi-arch image promotion was updated so that child submanifests are not renamed when a manifest list is promoted to a new tag. This change was intentional for the docker buildx workflow, where child manifests are digest-referenced and renaming them was causing unintended side effects.
However, this change broke the docker manifest create workflow, where child manifests are explicitly tagged with architecture suffixes (e.g., image:1.0.1-linux-amd64). In that workflow, renaming is expected behavior.
Step-by-Step Resolution
1. Confirm the symptom. After promotion, check whether architecture-specific tags (image:<tag>-linux-amd64, etc.) are present in the target repository. If only a digest-referenced manifest list exists with no tagged children, the rename behavior is disabled.
2. Enable the rename system property. On your self-hosted Artifactory instance, add the following line to $JFROG_HOME/artifactory/var/etc/artifactory/artifactory.system.properties:
artifactory.docker.manifest.list.promoter.rename.enabled=true
For JFrog Cloud customers, contact JFrog Support to have this system property applied.
3. Restart Artifactory (or the affected node) for the property to take effect.
4. Re-run the promotion. After the restart, promote the image again. Child submanifests will now be renamed using the same tag substitution as the manifest list (e.g., image:1.0.1-linux-amd64 → image:1.0-linux-amd64).
5. Verify. Confirm that architecture-specific tags are present in the target repository and that any AQL queries, Release Bundles, or Edge distribution workflows referencing those tags succeed.
Note:
This property is global — it applies to all multi-arch image promotions, not just those built with docker manifest create. If your environment also uses docker buildx images, test both promotion paths after enabling this flag to confirm expected behavior for each.
Conclusion
The artifactory.docker.manifest.list.promoter.rename.enabled=true system property restores the pre-7.111.0 promotion behavior for environments that rely on explicit architecture-specific tags on child submanifests. If you use docker manifest create to build multi-arch images and depend on those tags being preserved or renamed during promotion, this property is required after upgrading to Artifactory 7.111.0 or later.