Sign in to Docker Desktop
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Docker recommends signing in with the Sign in option in the top-right corner of the Docker Dashboard.

In large enterprises where admin access is restricted, administrators can enforce sign-in.

Tip

Explore Docker's core subscriptions to see what else Docker can offer you.

Benefits of signing in

  • Access your Docker Hub repositories directly from Docker Desktop.

  • Increase your pull rate limit compared to anonymous users. See Usage and limits.

  • Enhance your organization’s security posture for containerized development with Hardened Desktop.

Note

Docker Desktop automatically signs you out after 90 days, or after 30 days of inactivity.

Signing in with Docker Desktop for Linux

Docker Desktop for Linux relies on pass to store credentials in GPG-encrypted files. Before signing in to Docker Desktop with your Docker ID, you must initialize pass. Docker Desktop displays a warning if pass is not configured.

  1. Generate a GPG key. You can initialize pass by using a gpg key. To generate a gpg key, run:

    $ gpg --generate-key

  2. Enter your name and email once prompted.

    Once confirmed, GPG creates a key pair. Look for the pub line that contains your GPG ID, for example:

    ...
pubrsa3072 2022-03-31 [SC] [expires: 2024-03-30]
 3ABCD1234EF56G78
uid          Molly <[email protected]>

  3. Copy the GPG ID and use it to initialize pass

    $ pass init <your_generated_gpg-id_public_key>

    You should see output similar to:

    mkdir: created directory '/home/molly/.password-store/'
Password store initialized for <generated_gpg-id_public_key>

Once you initialize pass, you can sign in and pull your private images. When Docker CLI or Docker Desktop use credentials, a user prompt may pop up for the password you set during the GPG key generation.

$ docker pull molly/privateimage
Using default tag: latest
latest: Pulling from molly/privateimage
3b9cc81c3203: Pull complete 
Digest: sha256:3c6b73ce467f04d4897d7a7439782721fd28ec9bf62ea2ad9e81a5fb7fb3ff96
Status: Downloaded newer image for molly/privateimage:latest
docker.io/molly/privateimage:latest

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