This command lists the images stored in the local Docker repository.

By default, intermediate images, used during builds, are not listed. Some of the
output, e.g., image ID, is truncated, for space reasons. However the truncated
image ID, and often the first few characters, are enough to be used in other
Docker commands that use the image ID. The output includes repository, tag, image
ID, date created and the virtual size.

The title REPOSITORY for the first title may seem confusing. It is essentially
the image name. However, because you can tag a specific image, and multiple tags
(image instances) can be associated with a single name, the name is really a
repository for all tagged images of the same name. For example consider an image
called ubuntu. It may be tagged with 20.04 or 22.04, etc. to manage different
versions.

## Filters

Filters the output based on these conditions:

   - dangling=(true|false) - find unused images
   - label=<key> or label=<key>=<value>
   - before=(<image-name>[:tag]|<image-id>|<image@digest>)
   - since=(<image-name>[:tag]|<image-id>|<image@digest>)
   - reference=(pattern of an image reference)

## Format

   Pretty-print images using a Go template.
   Valid placeholders:
      .ID - Image ID
      .Repository - Image repository
      .Tag - Image tag
      .Digest - Image digest
      .CreatedSince - Elapsed time since the image was created
      .CreatedAt - Time when the image was created
      .Size - Image disk size

# EXAMPLES

## Listing the images

To list the images in a local repository (not the registry) run:

    docker image ls

The list will contain the image repository name, a tag for the image, and an
image ID, when it was created and its virtual size. Columns: REPOSITORY, TAG,
IMAGE ID, CREATED, and SIZE.

The `docker image ls` command takes an optional `[REPOSITORY[:TAG]]` argument
that restricts the list to images that match the argument. If you specify
`REPOSITORY` but no `TAG`, the `docker image ls` command lists all images in the
given repository.

    docker image ls java

The `[REPOSITORY[:TAG]]` value must be an "exact match". This means that, for example,
`docker image ls jav` does not match the image `java`.

If both `REPOSITORY` and `TAG` are provided, only images matching that
repository and tag are listed.  To find all local images in the "java"
repository with tag "8" you can use:

    docker image ls java:8

To get a verbose list of images which contains all the intermediate images
used in builds use **-a**:

    docker image ls -a

Previously, the docker image ls command supported the --tree and --dot arguments,
which displayed different visualizations of the image data. Docker core removed
this functionality in the 1.7 version. If you liked this functionality, you can
still find it in the third-party dockviz tool: https://github.com/justone/dockviz.

## Listing images in a desired format

When using the --format option, the image command will either output the data 
exactly as the template declares or, when using the `table` directive, will 
include column headers as well. You can use special characters like `\t` for
inserting tab spacing between columns. 

The following example uses a template without headers and outputs the ID and 
Repository entries separated by a colon for all images:

    docker images --format "{{.ID}}: {{.Repository}}"
    77af4d6b9913: <none>
    b6fa739cedf5: committ
    78a85c484bad: ipbabble
    30557a29d5ab: docker
    5ed6274db6ce: <none>
    746b819f315e: postgres
    746b819f315e: postgres
    746b819f315e: postgres
    746b819f315e: postgres

To list all images with their repository and tag in a table format you can use:

    docker images --format "table {{.ID}}\t{{.Repository}}\t{{.Tag}}"
    IMAGE ID            REPOSITORY                TAG
    77af4d6b9913        <none>                    <none>
    b6fa739cedf5        committ                   latest
    78a85c484bad        ipbabble                  <none>
    30557a29d5ab        docker                    latest
    5ed6274db6ce        <none>                    <none>
    746b819f315e        postgres                  9
    746b819f315e        postgres                  9.3
    746b819f315e        postgres                  9.3.5
    746b819f315e        postgres                  latest

Valid template placeholders are listed above.

## Listing only the shortened image IDs

Listing just the shortened image IDs. This can be useful for some automated
tools.

    docker image ls -q
