Docker is a platform that lets you develop, ship, and run applications in environments called containers. Containers allow you to run applications consistently with all dependencies across different environments. Integrating Docker with JFrog Artifactory provides a secure, private, and powerful registry for your Docker images, giving you fine-grained control over your development and distribution pipeline. For more information, see the Docker documentation.
Note
Both Artifactory and Docker use the term "repository", but each uses it in a different way:
Docker repository: A hosted collection of tagged images that creates the file system for a container.
Docker registry: A host that stores Docker repositories.
Artifactory repository: A hosted collection of Docker repositories, effectively a Docker registry that you can access transparently with the Docker client. An Artifactory repository for Docker images is also called a "Docker repository" in Artifactory documentation.
Artifactory does not limit the number of repositories you can create, so you can manage any number of Docker registries in Artifactory.
Using Artifactory as your Docker registry provides the following benefits:
Secure and Private Registries: Host your Docker images in a secure environment with granular access control.
Support for Docker Registry API: Artifactory supports the relevant Docker Registry API calls so that you can use the Docker client natively to access images through Artifactory.
Unlimited Docker Hub Access: Artifactory provides SaaS users with unlimited, high-performance, unauthenticated access to Docker Hub. To avoid usage-based rate limits and to pull images from private repositories, authentication is recommended.
OCI Support: Artifactory is OCI-compliant and supports OCI clients, enabling you to deploy and resolve OCI images in Docker registries.
Local, Remote, and Virtual Repositories: Manage internal images, proxy public images from Docker Hub, and aggregate multiple registries under a single URL.
CI/CD Integration: Seamlessly integrate with your continuous integration and delivery pipelines for automated builds, testing, and deployment.
High Availability and Redundancy: Ensure reliable access to your Docker images with Artifactory's support for high-availability configurations.