How to use docker scout push command to push images to Docker Scout

Introduction

In this lab, you will learn how to use the docker scout push command to push Docker images to Docker Scout. Docker Scout is a service that helps you understand and improve the security posture of your container images.

You will explore pushing an image to your default Docker Scout organization, pushing an image to a specific organization using the --org flag, pushing an image while generating Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs), and performing a dry run of the push operation to see what would happen without actually pushing the image.

Skills Graph

Push an image to Docker Scout

In this step, you will learn how to push a Docker image to Docker Scout. Docker Scout is a service that helps you understand and improve the security posture of your container images. Before pushing an image, you need to have a Docker image built or pulled locally.

First, let's pull a sample image that we will use for this step. We will use the hello-world image from Docker Hub.

docker pull hello-world

You should see output indicating that the image is being pulled and downloaded.

Using default tag: latest
latest: Pulling from library/hello-world
...
Status: Downloaded newer image for hello-world:latest
docker.io/library/hello-world:latest

Now that we have the image, we can push it to Docker Scout. To do this, we use the docker scout push command followed by the image name and tag.

docker scout push hello-world:latest

You should see output similar to this, indicating that the image is being pushed and analyzed by Docker Scout.

Analyzing image hello-world:latest...
...
Image hello-world:latest pushed to Docker Scout.

This command pushes the hello-world:latest image to your default Docker Scout organization. Docker Scout will then analyze the image for vulnerabilities and other security issues.

Push an image to a specific organization in Docker Scout

In this step, you will learn how to push a Docker image to a specific organization within Docker Scout. This is useful if you are part of multiple organizations or want to categorize your images under different organizational structures in Docker Scout.

To push an image to a specific organization, you use the --org flag followed by the organization name. Let's use the hello-world:latest image again and push it to a hypothetical organization named my-org. Note: Replace my-org with the actual organization name you intend to use if you have one. For the purpose of this lab, we will use my-org as an example.

docker scout push hello-world:latest --org my-org

You should see output similar to the previous step, but this time indicating that the image is being pushed to the specified organization.

Analyzing image hello-world:latest...
...
Image hello-world:latest pushed to Docker Scout organization my-org.

This command tells Docker Scout to associate the hello-world:latest image with the my-org organization. This helps in managing and viewing images within the context of a specific team or project.

Push an image and generate SBOMs

In this step, you will learn how to push a Docker image to Docker Scout and simultaneously generate a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) for the image. An SBOM is a formal list of ingredients that make up a software component. It's a crucial tool for understanding the security and licensing of your software.

To generate an SBOM while pushing an image, you use the --sbom flag with the docker scout push command. Let's use the hello-world:latest image again and push it while generating its SBOM.

docker scout push hello-world:latest --sbom

You should see output indicating that the image is being analyzed and an SBOM is being generated and pushed along with the image.

Analyzing image hello-world:latest...
Generating SBOM for hello-world:latest...
...
Image hello-world:latest pushed to Docker Scout with SBOM.

The --sbom flag instructs Docker Scout to create an SBOM for the image during the push process. This SBOM is then associated with the image in Docker Scout, providing detailed information about the components within your image.

Push an image with a dry run

In this step, you will learn how to perform a "dry run" when pushing a Docker image to Docker Scout. A dry run allows you to see what would happen if you were to push the image without actually performing the push operation. This is useful for testing the command and ensuring it's configured correctly before committing to the actual push.

To perform a dry run, you use the --dry-run flag with the docker scout push command. Let's use the hello-world:latest image again and perform a dry run of the push operation.

docker scout push hello-world:latest --dry-run

You should see output indicating that the command is simulating the push operation. It will show you the steps it would take, such as analyzing the image and potentially generating an SBOM, but it will not actually upload the image to Docker Scout.

Analyzing image hello-world:latest...
Dry run: Image hello-world:latest would be pushed to Docker Scout.

The --dry-run flag is a safe way to verify your docker scout push command and its options without affecting your Docker Scout repository.

Summary

In this lab, you learned how to use the docker scout push command to push Docker images to Docker Scout for security analysis. You started by pulling a sample image and then successfully pushed it to your default Docker Scout organization.

Furthermore, you explored how to push an image to a specific organization within Docker Scout using the --org flag, demonstrating the flexibility of the command for managing images across different organizational structures.