--- stage: Package group: Container Registry info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/product/ux/technical-writing/#assignments --- # GitLab container registry administration **(FREE SELF)** With the GitLab container registry, every project can have its own space to store Docker images. For more details about the Distribution Registry: - [Configuration](https://distribution.github.io/distribution/about/configuration/) - [Storage drivers](https://distribution.github.io/distribution/storage-drivers/) - [Deploy a registry server](https://distribution.github.io/distribution/about/deploying/) This document is the administrator's guide. To learn how to use the GitLab Container Registry, see the [user documentation](../../user/packages/container_registry/index.md). ## Enable the container registry The process for enabling the container registry depends on the type of installation you use. ### Linux package installations If you installed GitLab by using the Linux package, the container registry may or may not be available by default. The container registry is automatically enabled and available on your GitLab domain, port 5050 if you're using the built-in [Let's Encrypt integration](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/ssl/index.html#enable-the-lets-encrypt-integration). Otherwise, the container registry is not enabled. To enable it: - You can configure it for your [GitLab domain](#configure-container-registry-under-an-existing-gitlab-domain), or - You can configure it for [a different domain](#configure-container-registry-under-its-own-domain). The container registry works under HTTPS by default. You can use HTTP but it's not recommended and is beyond the scope of this document. ### Self-compiled installations If you self-compiled your GitLab installation: 1. You must deploy a registry using the image corresponding to the version of GitLab you are installing (for example: `registry.gitlab.com/gitlab-org/build/cng/gitlab-container-registry:v3.15.0-gitlab`) 1. After the installation is complete, to enable it, you must configure the Registry's settings in `gitlab.yml`. 1. Use the sample NGINX configuration file from under [`lib/support/nginx/registry-ssl`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/blob/master/lib/support/nginx/registry-ssl) and edit it to match the `host`, `port`, and TLS certificate paths. The contents of `gitlab.yml` are: ```yaml registry: enabled: true host: registry.gitlab.example.com port: 5005 api_url: http://localhost:5000/ key: config/registry.key path: shared/registry issuer: gitlab-issuer ``` Where: | Parameter | Description | | --------- | ----------- | | `enabled` | `true` or `false`. Enables the Registry in GitLab. By default this is `false`. | | `host` | The host URL under which the Registry runs and users can use. | | `port` | The port the external Registry domain listens on. | | `api_url` | The internal API URL under which the Registry is exposed. It defaults to `http://localhost:5000`. Do not change this unless you are setting up an [external Docker registry](#use-an-external-container-registry-with-gitlab-as-an-auth-endpoint). | | `key` | The private key location that is a pair of Registry's `rootcertbundle`. | | `path` | This should be the same directory like specified in Registry's `rootdirectory`. This path needs to be readable by the GitLab user, the web-server user and the Registry user. | | `issuer` | This should be the same value as configured in Registry's `issuer`. | A Registry init file is not shipped with GitLab if you install it from source. Hence, [restarting GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#self-compiled-installations) does not restart the Registry should you modify its settings. Read the upstream documentation on how to achieve that. At the **absolute** minimum, make sure your Registry configuration has `container_registry` as the service and `https://gitlab.example.com/jwt/auth` as the realm: ```yaml auth: token: realm: https://gitlab.example.com/jwt/auth service: container_registry issuer: gitlab-issuer rootcertbundle: /root/certs/certbundle ``` WARNING: If `auth` is not set up, users can pull Docker images without authentication. ## Container registry domain configuration You can configure the Registry's external domain in either of these ways: - [Use the existing GitLab domain](#configure-container-registry-under-an-existing-gitlab-domain). The Registry listens on a port and reuses the TLS certificate from GitLab. - [Use a completely separate domain](#configure-container-registry-under-its-own-domain) with a new TLS certificate for that domain. Because the container registry requires a TLS certificate, cost may be a factor. Take this into consideration before configuring the container registry for the first time. ### Configure container registry under an existing GitLab domain If the container registry is configured to use the existing GitLab domain, you can expose the container registry on a port. This way you can reuse the existing GitLab TLS certificate. If the GitLab domain is `https://gitlab.example.com` and the port to the outside world is `5050`, to configure the container registry: - Edit `gitlab.rb` if you are using a Linux package installation. - Edit `gitlab.yml` if you are using a self-compiled installation. Ensure you choose a port different than the one that Registry listens to (`5000` by default), otherwise conflicts occur. NOTE: Host and container firewall rules must be configured to allow traffic in through the port listed under the `registry_external_url` line, rather than the port listed under `gitlab_rails['registry_port']` (default `5000`). ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) 1. Your `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` should contain the Registry URL as well as the path to the existing TLS certificate and key used by GitLab: ```ruby registry_external_url 'https://gitlab.example.com:5050' ``` The `registry_external_url` is listening on HTTPS under the existing GitLab URL, but on a different port. If your TLS certificate is not in `/etc/gitlab/ssl/gitlab.example.com.crt` and key not in `/etc/gitlab/ssl/gitlab.example.com.key` uncomment the lines below: ```ruby registry_nginx['ssl_certificate'] = "/path/to/certificate.pem" registry_nginx['ssl_certificate_key'] = "/path/to/certificate.key" ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. 1. Validate using: ```shell openssl s_client -showcerts -servername gitlab.example.com -connect gitlab.example.com:5050 > cacert.pem ``` If your certificate provider provides the CA Bundle certificates, append them to the TLS certificate file. An administrator may want the container registry listening on an arbitrary port such as `5678`. However, the registry and application server are behind an AWS application load balancer that only listens on ports `80` and `443`. The administrator may remove the port number for `registry_external_url`, so HTTP or HTTPS is assumed. Then, the rules apply that map the load balancer to the registry from ports `80` or `443` to the arbitrary port. This is important if users rely on the `docker login` example in the container registry. Here's an example: ```ruby registry_external_url 'https://registry-gitlab.example.com' registry_nginx['redirect_http_to_https'] = true registry_nginx['listen_port'] = 5678 ``` :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) 1. Open `/home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml`, find the `registry` entry and configure it with the following settings: ```yaml registry: enabled: true host: gitlab.example.com port: 5050 ``` 1. Save the file and [restart GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#self-compiled-installations) for the changes to take effect. 1. Make the relevant changes in NGINX as well (domain, port, TLS certificates path). ::EndTabs Users should now be able to sign in to the container registry with their GitLab credentials using: ```shell docker login gitlab.example.com:5050 ``` ### Configure container registry under its own domain When the Registry is configured to use its own domain, you need a TLS certificate for that specific domain (for example, `registry.example.com`). You might need a wildcard certificate if hosted under a subdomain of your existing GitLab domain. For example, `*.gitlab.example.com`, is a wildcard that matches `registry.gitlab.example.com`, and is distinct from `*.example.com`. As well as manually generated SSL certificates (explained here), certificates automatically generated by Let's Encrypt are also [supported in Linux package installations](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/settings/ssl/index.html). Let's assume that you want the container registry to be accessible at `https://registry.gitlab.example.com`. ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) 1. Place your TLS certificate and key in `/etc/gitlab/ssl/registry.gitlab.example.com.crt` and `/etc/gitlab/ssl/registry.gitlab.example.com.key` and make sure they have correct permissions: ```shell chmod 600 /etc/gitlab/ssl/registry.gitlab.example.com.* ``` 1. After the TLS certificate is in place, edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` with: ```ruby registry_external_url 'https://registry.gitlab.example.com' ``` The `registry_external_url` is listening on HTTPS. 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. If you have a [wildcard certificate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildcard_certificate), you must specify the path to the certificate in addition to the URL, in this case `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` looks like: ```ruby registry_nginx['ssl_certificate'] = "/etc/gitlab/ssl/certificate.pem" registry_nginx['ssl_certificate_key'] = "/etc/gitlab/ssl/certificate.key" ``` :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) 1. Open `/home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml`, find the `registry` entry and configure it with the following settings: ```yaml registry: enabled: true host: registry.gitlab.example.com ``` 1. Save the file and [restart GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#self-compiled-installations) for the changes to take effect. 1. Make the relevant changes in NGINX as well (domain, port, TLS certificates path). ::EndTabs Users should now be able to sign in to the container registry using their GitLab credentials: ```shell docker login registry.gitlab.example.com ``` ## Disable container registry site-wide When you disable the Registry by following these steps, you do not remove any existing Docker images. Docker image removal is handled by the Registry application itself. ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) 1. Open `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` and set `registry['enable']` to `false`: ```ruby registry['enable'] = false ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) 1. Open `/home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml`, find the `registry` entry and set `enabled` to `false`: ```yaml registry: enabled: false ``` 1. Save the file and [restart GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#self-compiled-installations) for the changes to take effect. ::EndTabs ## Disable container registry for new projects site-wide If the container registry is enabled, then it should be available on all new projects. To disable this function and let the owners of a project to enable the container registry by themselves, follow the steps below. ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` and add the following line: ```ruby gitlab_rails['gitlab_default_projects_features_container_registry'] = false ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) 1. Open `/home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml`, find the `default_projects_features` entry and configure it so that `container_registry` is set to `false`: ```yaml ## Default project features settings default_projects_features: issues: true merge_requests: true wiki: true snippets: false builds: true container_registry: false ``` 1. Save the file and [restart GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#self-compiled-installations) for the changes to take effect. ::EndTabs ### Increase token duration In GitLab, tokens for the container registry expire every five minutes. To increase the token duration: 1. On the left sidebar, at the bottom, select **Admin Area**. 1. Select **Settings > CI/CD**. 1. Expand **Container Registry**. 1. For the **Authorization token duration (minutes)**, update the value. 1. Select **Save changes**. ## Configure storage for the container registry NOTE: For storage backends that support it, you can use object versioning to preserve, retrieve, and restore the non-current versions of every object stored in your buckets. However, this may result in higher storage usage and costs. Due to how the registry operates, image uploads are first stored in a temporary path and then transferred to a final location. For object storage backends, including S3 and GCS, this transfer is achieved with a copy followed by a delete. With object versioning enabled, these deleted temporary upload artifacts are kept as non-current versions, therefore increasing the storage bucket size. To ensure that non-current versions are deleted after a given amount of time, you should configure an object lifecycle policy with your storage provider. WARNING: Do not directly modify the files or objects stored by the container registry. Anything other than the registry writing or deleting these entries can lead to instance-wide data consistency and instability issues from which recovery may not be possible. You can configure the container registry to use various storage backends by configuring a storage driver. By default the GitLab container registry is configured to use the [file system driver](#use-file-system) configuration. The different supported drivers are: | Driver | Description | |--------------|--------------------------------------| | `filesystem` | Uses a path on the local file system | | `azure` | Microsoft Azure Blob Storage | | `gcs` | Google Cloud Storage | | `s3` | Amazon Simple Storage Service. Be sure to configure your storage bucket with the correct [S3 Permission Scopes](https://docs.docker.com/registry/storage-drivers/s3/#s3-permission-scopes). | Although most S3 compatible services (like [MinIO](https://min.io/)) should work with the container registry, we only guarantee support for AWS S3. Because we cannot assert the correctness of third-party S3 implementations, we can debug issues, but we cannot patch the registry unless an issue is reproducible against an AWS S3 bucket. WARNING: Support for the following drivers was [deprecated](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/container-registry/-/issues/1141) in GitLab 16.6, and is planned for removal in 17.0. This change is a breaking change. | Driver | Description | |---------|-------------| | `swift` | OpenStack Swift Object Storage | | `oss` | Aliyun OSS | ### Use file system If you want to store your images on the file system, you can change the storage path for the container registry, follow the steps below. This path is accessible to: - The user running the container registry daemon. - The user running GitLab. All GitLab, Registry, and web server users must have access to this directory. ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) The default location where images are stored in Linux package installations is `/var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/shared/registry`. To change it: 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```ruby gitlab_rails['registry_path'] = "/path/to/registry/storage" ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) The default location where images are stored in self-compiled installations is `/home/git/gitlab/shared/registry`. To change it: 1. Open `/home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml`, find the `registry` entry and change the `path` setting: ```yaml registry: path: shared/registry ``` 1. Save the file and [restart GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#self-compiled-installations) for the changes to take effect. ::EndTabs ### Use object storage If you want to store your images on object storage, you can change the storage driver for the container registry. [Read more about using object storage with GitLab](../object_storage.md). WARNING: GitLab does not back up Docker images that are not stored on the file system. Enable backups with your object storage provider if desired. #### Configure `s3` and `gcs` storage drivers for Linux package installations The following configuration steps are for the `s3` and `gcs` storage drivers. Other [storage drivers](#configure-storage-for-the-container-registry) are supported. To configure the `s3` storage driver for a Linux package installation: 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```ruby registry['storage'] = { 's3' => { 'accesskey' => 's3-access-key', 'secretkey' => 's3-secret-key-for-access-key', 'bucket' => 'your-s3-bucket', 'region' => 'your-s3-region', 'regionendpoint' => 'your-s3-regionendpoint' } } ``` To avoid using static credentials, use an [IAM role](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/iam-roles-for-amazon-ec2.html) and omit `accesskey` and `secretkey`. Make sure that your IAM profile follows [the permissions documented by Docker](https://docs.docker.com/registry/storage-drivers/s3/#s3-permission-scopes). ```ruby registry['storage'] = { 's3' => { 'bucket' => 'your-s3-bucket', 'region' => 'your-s3-region' } } ``` If using with an [AWS S3 VPC endpoint](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/vpc/latest/privatelink/vpc-endpoints-s3.html), then set `regionendpoint` to your VPC endpoint address and set `pathstyle` to false: ```ruby registry['storage'] = { 's3' => { 'accesskey' => 's3-access-key', 'secretkey' => 's3-secret-key-for-access-key', 'bucket' => 'your-s3-bucket', 'region' => 'your-s3-region', 'regionendpoint' => 'your-s3-vpc-endpoint', 'pathstyle' => false } } ``` - `regionendpoint` is only required when configuring an S3 compatible service such as MinIO, or when using an AWS S3 VPC Endpoint. - `your-s3-bucket` should be the name of a bucket that exists, and can't include subdirectories. - `pathstyle` should be set to true to use `host/bucket_name/object` style paths instead of `bucket_name.host/object`. [Set to false for AWS S3](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/amazon-s3-path-deprecation-plan-the-rest-of-the-story/). You can set a rate limit on connections to S3 to avoid 503 errors from the S3 API. To do this, set `maxrequestspersecond` to a number within the [S3 request rate threshold](https://repost.aws/knowledge-center/http-5xx-errors-s3): ```ruby registry['storage'] = { 's3' => { 'accesskey' => 's3-access-key', 'secretkey' => 's3-secret-key-for-access-key', 'bucket' => 'your-s3-bucket', 'region' => 'your-s3-region', 'regionendpoint' => 'your-s3-regionendpoint', 'maxrequestspersecond' => 100 } } ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. To configure the `gcs` storage driver for a Linux package installation: 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```ruby registry['storage'] = { 'gcs' => { 'bucket' => 'BUCKET_NAME', 'keyfile' => 'PATH/TO/KEYFILE', # If you have the bucket shared with other apps beyond the registry, uncomment the following: # 'rootdirectory' => '/gcs/object/name/prefix' } } ``` GitLab supports all available parameters. 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. #### Self-compiled installations Configuring the storage driver is done in the registry configuration YAML file created when you deployed your Docker registry. `s3` storage driver example: ```yaml storage: s3: accesskey: 's3-access-key' # Not needed if IAM role used secretkey: 's3-secret-key-for-access-key' # Not needed if IAM role used bucket: 'your-s3-bucket' region: 'your-s3-region' regionendpoint: 'your-s3-regionendpoint' cache: blobdescriptor: inmemory delete: enabled: true ``` `your-s3-bucket` should be the name of a bucket that exists, and can't include subdirectories. #### Migrate to object storage without downtime WARNING: Using [AWS DataSync](https://aws.amazon.com/datasync/) to copy the registry data to or between S3 buckets creates invalid metadata objects in the bucket. For additional details, see [Tags with an empty name](#tags-with-an-empty-name). To move data to and between S3 buckets, the AWS CLI `sync` operation is recommended. To migrate storage without stopping the container registry, set the container registry to read-only mode. On large instances, this may require the container registry to be in read-only mode for a while. During this time, you can pull from the container registry, but you cannot push. 1. Optional: To reduce the amount of data to be migrated, run the [garbage collection tool without downtime](#performing-garbage-collection-without-downtime). 1. This example uses the `aws` CLI. If you haven't configured the CLI before, you have to configure your credentials by running `sudo aws configure`. Because a non-administrator user likely can't access the container registry folder, ensure you use `sudo`. To check your credential configuration, run [`ls`](https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/documentation/api/latest/reference/s3/ls.html) to list all buckets. ```shell sudo aws --endpoint-url https://your-object-storage-backend.com s3 ls ``` If you are using AWS as your back end, you do not need the [`--endpoint-url`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/#options). 1. Copy initial data to your S3 bucket, for example with the `aws` CLI [`cp`](https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/documentation/api/latest/reference/s3/cp.html) or [`sync`](https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/documentation/api/latest/reference/s3/sync.html) command. Make sure to keep the `docker` folder as the top-level folder inside the bucket. ```shell sudo aws --endpoint-url https://your-object-storage-backend.com s3 sync registry s3://mybucket ``` NOTE: If you have a lot of data, you may be able to improve performance by [running parallel sync operations](https://repost.aws/knowledge-center/s3-improve-transfer-sync-command). 1. To perform the final data sync, [put the container registry in `read-only` mode](#performing-garbage-collection-without-downtime) and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation). 1. Sync any changes dating from after the initial data load to your S3 bucket, and delete files that exist in the destination bucket but not in the source: ```shell sudo aws --endpoint-url https://your-object-storage-backend.com s3 sync registry s3://mybucket --delete --dryrun ``` After verifying the command performs as expected, remove the [`--dryrun`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/s3/sync.html) flag and run the command. WARNING: The [`--delete`](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/reference/s3/sync.html) flag deletes files that exist in the destination but not in the source. If you swap the source and destination, all data in the Registry is deleted. 1. Verify all container registry files have been uploaded to object storage by looking at the file count returned by these two commands: ```shell sudo find registry -type f | wc -l ``` ```shell sudo aws --endpoint-url https://your-object-storage-backend.com s3 ls s3://mybucket --recursive | wc -l ``` The output of these commands should match, except for the content in the `_uploads` directories and sub-directories. 1. Configure your registry to [use the S3 bucket for storage](#use-object-storage). 1. For the changes to take effect, set the Registry back to `read-write` mode and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation). #### Moving to Azure Object Storage > The default configuration for the storage driver is scheduled to be [changed](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/container-registry/-/issues/854) in GitLab 16.0. When moving from an existing file system or another object storage provider to Azure Object Storage, you must configure the registry to use the standard root directory. Configure it by setting [`trimlegacyrootprefix: true`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/container-registry/-/blob/master/docs/upstream-differences.md#azure-storage-driver) in the Azure storage driver section of the registry configuration. Without this configuration, the Azure storage driver uses `//` instead of `/` as the first section of the root path, rendering the migrated images inaccessible. ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) ```ruby registry['storage'] = { 'azure' => { 'accountname' => 'accountname', 'accountkey' => 'base64encodedaccountkey', 'container' => 'containername', 'rootdirectory' => '/azure/virtual/container', 'trimlegacyrootprefix' => true } } ``` :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) ```yaml storage: azure: accountname: accountname accountkey: base64encodedaccountkey container: containername rootdirectory: /azure/virtual/container trimlegacyrootprefix: true ``` ::EndTabs By default, Azure Storage Driver uses the `core.windows.net` realm. You can set another value for `realm` in the `azure` section (for example, `core.usgovcloudapi.net` for Azure Government Cloud). ### Disable redirect for storage driver By default, users accessing a registry configured with a remote backend are redirected to the default backend for the storage driver. For example, registries can be configured using the `s3` storage driver, which redirects requests to a remote S3 bucket to alleviate load on the GitLab server. However, this behavior is undesirable for registries used by internal hosts that usually can't access public servers. To disable redirects and [proxy download](../object_storage.md#proxy-download), set the `disable` flag to true as follows. This makes all traffic always go through the Registry service. This results in improved security (less surface attack as the storage backend is not publicly accessible), but worse performance (all traffic is redirected via the service). ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```ruby registry['storage'] = { 's3' => { 'accesskey' => 's3-access-key', 'secretkey' => 's3-secret-key-for-access-key', 'bucket' => 'your-s3-bucket', 'region' => 'your-s3-region', 'regionendpoint' => 'your-s3-regionendpoint' }, 'redirect' => { 'disable' => true } } ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) 1. Add the `redirect` flag to your registry configuration YAML file: ```yaml storage: s3: accesskey: 'AKIAKIAKI' secretkey: 'secret123' bucket: 'gitlab-registry-bucket-AKIAKIAKI' region: 'your-s3-region' regionendpoint: 'your-s3-regionendpoint' redirect: disable: true cache: blobdescriptor: inmemory delete: enabled: true ``` 1. Save the file and [restart GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#self-compiled-installations) for the changes to take effect. ::EndTabs #### Encrypted S3 buckets You can use server-side encryption with AWS KMS for S3 buckets that have [SSE-S3 or SSE-KMS encryption enabled by default](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/kms/latest/developerguide/services-s3.html). Customer master keys (CMKs) and SSE-C encryption aren't supported because this requires sending the encryption keys in every request. For SSE-S3, you must enable the `encrypt` option in the registry settings. How you do this depends on how you installed GitLab. Follow the instructions here that match your installation method. ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```ruby registry['storage'] = { 's3' => { 'accesskey' => 's3-access-key', 'secretkey' => 's3-secret-key-for-access-key', 'bucket' => 'your-s3-bucket', 'region' => 'your-s3-region', 'regionendpoint' => 'your-s3-regionendpoint', 'encrypt' => true } } ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) 1. Edit your registry configuration YAML file: ```yaml storage: s3: accesskey: 'AKIAKIAKI' secretkey: 'secret123' bucket: 'gitlab-registry-bucket-AKIAKIAKI' region: 'your-s3-region' regionendpoint: 'your-s3-regionendpoint' encrypt: true ``` 1. Save the file and [restart GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#self-compiled-installations) for the changes to take effect. ::EndTabs ### Storage limitations There is no storage limitation, which means a user can upload an infinite amount of Docker images with arbitrary sizes. This setting should be configurable in future releases. ## Change the registry's internal port The Registry server listens on localhost at port `5000` by default, which is the address for which the Registry server should accept connections. In the examples below we set the Registry's port to `5010`. ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) 1. Open `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` and set `registry['registry_http_addr']`: ```ruby registry['registry_http_addr'] = "localhost:5010" ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) 1. Open the configuration file of your Registry server and edit the [`http:addr`](https://docs.docker.com/registry/configuration/#http) value: ```yaml http: addr: localhost:5010 ``` 1. Save the file and restart the Registry server. ::EndTabs ## Disable container registry per project If Registry is enabled in your GitLab instance, but you don't need it for your project, you can [disable it from your project's settings](../../user/project/settings/project_features_permissions.md#configure-project-features-and-permissions). ## Use an external container registry with GitLab as an auth endpoint WARNING: Using external container registries in GitLab is [deprecated](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/376217) in GitLab 15.8 and the end of support is scheduled for GitLab 16.0. If you need to use external container registries instead of the GitLab container registry, tell us about your use cases in [feedback issue 958](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/container-registry/-/issues/958). If you use an external container registry, some features associated with the container registry may be unavailable or have [inherent risks](../../user/packages/container_registry/reduce_container_registry_storage.md#use-with-external-container-registries). For the integration to work, the external registry must be configured to use a JSON Web Token to authenticate with GitLab. The [external registry's runtime configuration](https://docs.docker.com/registry/configuration/#token) **must** have the following entries: ```yaml auth: token: realm: https://gitlab.example.com/jwt/auth service: container_registry issuer: gitlab-issuer rootcertbundle: /root/certs/certbundle ``` Without these entries, the registry logins cannot authenticate with GitLab. GitLab also remains unaware of [nested image names](../../user/packages/container_registry/index.md#naming-convention-for-your-container-images) under the project hierarchy, like `registry.example.com/group/project/image-name:tag` or `registry.example.com/group/project/my/image-name:tag`, and only recognizes `registry.example.com/group/project:tag`. ### Linux package installations You can use GitLab as an auth endpoint with an external container registry. 1. Open `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` and set necessary configurations: ```ruby gitlab_rails['registry_enabled'] = true gitlab_rails['registry_api_url'] = "https://:5000" gitlab_rails['registry_issuer'] = "gitlab-issuer" ``` - `gitlab_rails['registry_enabled'] = true` is needed to enable GitLab container registry features and authentication endpoint. The GitLab bundled container registry service does not start, even with this enabled. - `gitlab_rails['registry_api_url'] = "http://:5000"` must be changed to match the host where Registry is installed. It must also specify `https` if the external registry is configured to use TLS. 1. A certificate-key pair is required for GitLab and the external container registry to communicate securely. You need to create a certificate-key pair, configuring the external container registry with the public certificate (`rootcertbundle`) and configuring GitLab with the private key. To do that, add the following to `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```ruby # registry['internal_key'] should contain the contents of the custom key # file. Line breaks in the key file should be marked using `\n` character # Example: registry['internal_key'] = "---BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY---\nMIIEpQIBAA\n" # Optionally define a custom file for a Linux package installation to write the contents # of registry['internal_key'] to. gitlab_rails['registry_key_path'] = "/custom/path/to/registry-key.key" ``` Each time reconfigure is executed, the file specified at `registry_key_path` gets populated with the content specified by `internal_key`. If no file is specified, Linux package installations default it to `/var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/etc/gitlab-registry.key` and populates it. 1. To change the container registry URL displayed in the GitLab Container Registry pages, set the following configurations: ```ruby gitlab_rails['registry_host'] = "registry.gitlab.example.com" gitlab_rails['registry_port'] = "5005" ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. ### Self-compiled installations 1. Open `/home/git/gitlab/config/gitlab.yml`, and edit the configuration settings under `registry`: ```yaml ## Container registry registry: enabled: true host: "registry.gitlab.example.com" port: "5005" api_url: "https://:5000" path: /var/lib/registry key: /path/to/keyfile issuer: gitlab-issuer ``` [Read more](#enable-the-container-registry) about what these parameters mean. 1. Save the file and [restart GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#self-compiled-installations) for the changes to take effect. ## Configure container registry notifications You can configure the container registry to send webhook notifications in response to events happening in the registry. Read more about the container registry notifications configuration options in the [Docker Registry notifications documentation](https://docs.docker.com/registry/notifications/). You can configure multiple endpoints for the container registry. ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) To configure a notification endpoint for a Linux package installation: 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```ruby registry['notifications'] = [ { 'name' => 'test_endpoint', 'url' => 'https://gitlab.example.com/notify', 'timeout' => '500ms', 'threshold' => 5, 'backoff' => '1s', 'headers' => { "Authorization" => ["AUTHORIZATION_EXAMPLE_TOKEN"] } } ] ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) Configuring the notification endpoint is done in your registry configuration YAML file created when you deployed your Docker registry. Example: ```yaml notifications: endpoints: - name: alistener disabled: false url: https://my.listener.com/event headers: timeout: 500 threshold: 5 backoff: 1000 ``` ::EndTabs ## Run the Cleanup policy now WARNING: If you're using a distributed architecture and Sidekiq is running on a different node, the cleanup policies don't work. To fix this: 1. Configure the `gitlab.rb` file on the Sidekiq nodes to point to the correct registry URL. 1. Copy the `registry.key` file to each Sidekiq node. For more information, see the [Sidekiq configuration](../sidekiq/index.md) page. To reduce the amount of [Container Registry disk space used by a given project](#registry-disk-space-usage-by-project), administrators can setup cleanup policies and [run garbage collection](#container-registry-garbage-collection). ### Registry Disk Space Usage by Project To find the disk space used by each project, run the following in the [GitLab Rails console](../operations/rails_console.md#starting-a-rails-console-session): ```ruby projects_and_size = [["project_id", "creator_id", "registry_size_bytes", "project path"]] # You need to specify the projects that you want to look through. You can get these in any manner. projects = Project.last(100) projects.each do |p| project_total_size = 0 container_repositories = p.container_repositories container_repositories.each do |c| c.tags.each do |t| project_total_size = project_total_size + t.total_size unless t.total_size.nil? end end if project_total_size > 0 projects_and_size << [p.project_id, p.creator&.id, project_total_size, p.full_path] end end # print it as comma separated output projects_and_size.each do |ps| puts "%s,%s,%s,%s" % ps end ``` To remove image tags by running the cleanup policy, run the following commands in the [GitLab Rails console](../operations/rails_console.md): ```ruby # Numeric ID of the project whose container registry should be cleaned up P = # Numeric ID of a user with Developer, Maintainer, or Owner role for the project U = # Get required details / objects user = User.find_by_id(U) project = Project.find_by_id(P) policy = ContainerExpirationPolicy.find_by(project_id: P) # Loop through each container repository project.container_repositories.find_each do |repo| puts repo.attributes # Start the tag cleanup puts Projects::ContainerRepository::CleanupTagsService.new(container_repository: repo, current_user: user, params: policy.attributes.except("created_at", "updated_at")).execute end ``` You can also [run cleanup on a schedule](../../user/packages/container_registry/reduce_container_registry_storage.md#cleanup-policy). ## Container registry garbage collection NOTE: Retention policies in your object storage provider, such as Amazon S3 Lifecycle, may prevent objects from being properly deleted. The container registry can use considerable amounts of storage space, and you might want to [reduce storage usage](../../user/packages/container_registry/reduce_container_registry_storage.md). Among the listed options, deleting tags is the most effective option. However, tag deletion alone does not delete image layers, it only leaves the underlying image manifests untagged. To more effectively free up space, the container registry has a garbage collector that can delete unreferenced layers and (optionally) untagged manifests. To start the garbage collector, use the `registry-garbage-collect` command provided by `gitlab-ctl`. WARNING: This command shuts down the container registry prior to the garbage collection and only starts it again after garbage collection completes. If you prefer to avoid downtime, you can manually set the container registry to [read-only mode and bypass `gitlab-ctl`](#performing-garbage-collection-without-downtime). The time required to perform garbage collection is proportional to the container registry data size. Prerequisites: - You must have installed GitLab by using a Linux package or the [GitLab Helm chart](https://docs.gitlab.com/charts/charts/registry/#garbage-collection). ### Understanding the content-addressable layers Consider the following example, where you first build the image: ```shell # This builds a image with content of sha256:111111 docker build -t my.registry.com/my.group/my.project:latest . docker push my.registry.com/my.group/my.project:latest ``` Now, you do overwrite `:latest` with a new version: ```shell # This builds a image with content of sha256:222222 docker build -t my.registry.com/my.group/my.project:latest . docker push my.registry.com/my.group/my.project:latest ``` Now, the `:latest` tag points to manifest of `sha256:222222`. Due to the architecture of registry, this data is still accessible when pulling the image `my.registry.com/my.group/my.project@sha256:111111`, though it is no longer directly accessible via the `:latest` tag. ### Remove unreferenced layers Image layers are the bulk of the container registry storage. A layer is considered unreferenced when no image manifest references it. Unreferenced layers are the default target of the container registry garbage collector. If you did not change the default location of the configuration file, run: ```shell sudo gitlab-ctl registry-garbage-collect ``` If you changed the location of the container registry `config.yml`: ```shell sudo gitlab-ctl registry-garbage-collect /path/to/config.yml ``` You can also [remove all untagged manifests and unreferenced layers](#removing-untagged-manifests-and-unreferenced-layers) to recover additional space. ### Removing untagged manifests and unreferenced layers By default the container registry garbage collector ignores images that are untagged, and users can keep pulling untagged images by digest. Users can also re-tag images in the future, making them visible again in the GitLab UI and API. If you do not care about untagged images and the layers exclusively referenced by these images, you can delete them all. Use the `-m` flag on the `registry-garbage-collect` command: ```shell sudo gitlab-ctl registry-garbage-collect -m ``` If you are unsure about deleting untagged images, back up your registry data before proceeding. ### Performing garbage collection without downtime To do garbage collection while keeping the container registry online, put the registry in read-only mode and bypass the built-in `gitlab-ctl registry-garbage-collect` command. You can pull but not push images while the container registry is in read-only mode. The container registry must remain in read-only for the full duration of the garbage collection. By default, the [registry storage path](#configure-storage-for-the-container-registry) is `/var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/shared/registry`. To enable the read-only mode: 1. In `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`, specify the read-only mode: ```ruby registry['storage'] = { 'filesystem' => { 'rootdirectory' => "" }, 'maintenance' => { 'readonly' => { 'enabled' => true } } } ``` 1. Save and reconfigure GitLab: ```shell sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure ``` This command sets the container registry into the read-only mode. 1. Next, trigger one of the garbage collect commands: ```shell # Remove unreferenced layers sudo /opt/gitlab/embedded/bin/registry garbage-collect /var/opt/gitlab/registry/config.yml # Remove untagged manifests and unreferenced layers sudo /opt/gitlab/embedded/bin/registry garbage-collect -m /var/opt/gitlab/registry/config.yml ``` This command starts the garbage collection. The time to complete is proportional to the registry data size. 1. Once done, in `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb` change it back to read-write mode: ```ruby registry['storage'] = { 'filesystem' => { 'rootdirectory' => "" }, 'maintenance' => { 'readonly' => { 'enabled' => false } } } ``` 1. Save and reconfigure GitLab: ```shell sudo gitlab-ctl reconfigure ``` ### Running the garbage collection on schedule Ideally, you want to run the garbage collection of the registry regularly on a weekly basis at a time when the registry is not being in-use. The simplest way is to add a new crontab job that it runs periodically once a week. Create a file under `/etc/cron.d/registry-garbage-collect`: ```shell SHELL=/bin/sh PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin # Run every Sunday at 04:05am 5 4 * * 0 root gitlab-ctl registry-garbage-collect ``` You may want to add the `-m` flag to [remove untagged manifests and unreferenced layers](#removing-untagged-manifests-and-unreferenced-layers). ### Stop garbage collection If you anticipate stopping garbage collection, you should manually run garbage collection as described in [Performing garbage collection without downtime](#performing-garbage-collection-without-downtime). You can then stop garbage collection by pressing Control+C. Otherwise, interrupting `gitlab-ctl` could leave your registry service in a down state. In this case, you must find the [garbage collection process](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/blob/master/files/gitlab-ctl-commands/registry_garbage_collect.rb#L26-35) itself on the system so that the `gitlab-ctl` command can bring the registry service back up again. Also, there's no way to save progress or results during the mark phase of the process. Only once blobs start being deleted is anything permanent done. ### Continuous Zero Downtime Garbage Collection **(BETA)** You can run garbage collection in the background without the need to schedule it or require read-only mode, if you migrate to the [metadata database (beta)](#use-a-postgresql-database-for-metadata). NOTE: If you would like to try this [beta feature](../../policy/experiment-beta-support.md#beta), you should review the [known limitations](#known-limitations). If you have any feedback, you can let us know in the [feedback issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/423459). ## Configure GitLab and Registry to run on separate nodes (Linux package installations) By default, package assumes that both services are running on the same node. To get GitLab and Registry to run on a separate nodes, separate configuration is necessary for Registry and GitLab. ### Configure Registry Below you can find configuration options you should set in `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`, for Registry to run separately from GitLab: - `registry['registry_http_addr']`, default [set programmatically](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/blob/10-3-stable/files/gitlab-cookbooks/gitlab/libraries/registry.rb#L50). Needs to be reachable by web server (or LB). - `registry['token_realm']`, default [set programmatically](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/blob/10-3-stable/files/gitlab-cookbooks/gitlab/libraries/registry.rb#L53). Specifies the endpoint to use to perform authentication, usually the GitLab URL. This endpoint needs to be reachable by user. - `registry['http_secret']`, [random string](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/blob/10-3-stable/files/gitlab-cookbooks/gitlab/libraries/registry.rb#L32). A random piece of data used to sign state that may be stored with the client to protect against tampering. - `registry['internal_key']`, default [automatically generated](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/blob/10-3-stable/files/gitlab-cookbooks/gitlab/recipes/gitlab-rails.rb#L113-119). Contents of the key that GitLab uses to sign the tokens. They key gets created on the Registry server, but it is not used there. - `gitlab_rails['registry_key_path']`, default [set programmatically](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/blob/10-3-stable/files/gitlab-cookbooks/gitlab/recipes/gitlab-rails.rb#L35). This is the path where `internal_key` contents are written to disk. - `registry['internal_certificate']`, default [automatically generated](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/blob/10-3-stable/files/gitlab-cookbooks/registry/recipes/enable.rb#L60-66). Contents of the certificate that GitLab uses to sign the tokens. - `registry['rootcertbundle']`, default [set programmatically](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/blob/10-3-stable/files/gitlab-cookbooks/registry/recipes/enable.rb#L60). Path to certificate. This is the path where `internal_certificate` contents are written to disk. - `registry['health_storagedriver_enabled']`, default [set programmatically](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/blob/10-7-stable/files/gitlab-cookbooks/gitlab/libraries/registry.rb#L88). Configure whether health checks on the configured storage driver are enabled. - `gitlab_rails['registry_issuer']`, [default value](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/blob/10-3-stable/files/gitlab-cookbooks/gitlab/attributes/default.rb#L153). This setting needs to be set the same between Registry and GitLab. ### Configure GitLab Below you can find configuration options you should set in `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`, for GitLab to run separately from Registry: - `gitlab_rails['registry_enabled']`, must be set to `true`. This setting signals to GitLab that it should allow Registry API requests. - `gitlab_rails['registry_api_url']`, default [set programmatically](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/blob/10-3-stable/files/gitlab-cookbooks/gitlab/libraries/registry.rb#L52). This is the Registry URL used internally that users do not need to interact with, `registry['registry_http_addr']` with scheme. - `gitlab_rails['registry_host']`, for example, `registry.gitlab.example`. Registry endpoint without the scheme, the address that gets shown to the end user. - `gitlab_rails['registry_port']`. Registry endpoint port, visible to the end user. - `gitlab_rails['registry_issuer']` must match the issuer in the Registry configuration. - `gitlab_rails['registry_key_path']`, path to the key that matches the certificate on the Registry side. - `gitlab_rails['internal_key']`, contents of the key that GitLab uses to sign the tokens. ## Architecture of GitLab container registry The GitLab registry is what users use to store their own Docker images. Because of that the Registry is client facing, meaning that we expose it directly on the web server (or load balancers, LB for short). ![GitLab Registry diagram](img/gitlab-registry-architecture.png) The flow described by the diagram above: 1. A user runs `docker login registry.gitlab.example` on their client. This reaches the web server (or LB) on port 443. 1. Web server connects to the Registry backend pool (by default, using port 5000). Since the user didn't provide a valid token, the Registry returns a 401 HTTP code and the URL (`token_realm` from Registry configuration) where to get one. This points to the GitLab API. 1. The Docker client then connects to the GitLab API and obtains a token. 1. The API signs the token with the registry key and hands it to the Docker client 1. The Docker client now logs in again with the token received from the API. It can now push and pull Docker images. Reference: ### Communication between GitLab and Registry Registry doesn't have a way to authenticate users internally so it relies on GitLab to validate credentials. The connection between Registry and GitLab is TLS encrypted. The key is used by GitLab to sign the tokens while the certificate is used by Registry to validate the signature. By default, a self-signed certificate key pair is generated for all installations. This can be overridden as needed. GitLab interacts with the Registry using the Registry private key. When a Registry request goes out, a new short-living (10 minutes) namespace limited token is generated and signed with the private key. The Registry then verifies that the signature matches the registry certificate specified in its configuration and allows the operation. GitLab background jobs processing (through Sidekiq) also interacts with Registry. These jobs talk directly to Registry to handle image deletion. ## Migrate from a third-party registry Using external container registries in GitLab was [deprecated](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/376217) in GitLab 15.8 and the end of support occurred in GitLab 16.0. See the [deprecation notice](../../update/deprecations.md#use-of-third-party-container-registries-is-deprecated) for more details. The integration is not disabled in GitLab 16.0, but support for debugging and fixing issues is no longer provided. Additionally, the integration is no longer being developed or enhanced with new features. Third-party registry functionality might be completely removed after the new GitLab container registry version is available for self-managed (see epic [5521](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/5521)). Only the GitLab container registry is planned to be supported. This section has guidance for administrators migrating from third-party registries to the GitLab container registry. If the third-party container registry you are using is not listed here, you can describe your use cases in [the feedback issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/container-registry/-/issues/958). For all of the instructions provided below, you should try them first on a test environment. Make sure everything continues to work as expected before replicating it in production. ### Docker Distribution Registry The [Docker Distribution Registry](https://docs.docker.com/registry/) was donated to the CNCF and is now known as the [Distribution Registry](https://github.com/distribution/distribution). This registry is the open source implementation that the GitLab container registry is based on. The GitLab container registry is compatible with the basic functionality provided by the Distribution Registry, including all the supported storage backends. To migrate to the GitLab container registry you can follow the instructions on this page, and use the same storage backend as the Distribution Registry. The GitLab container registry should accept the same configuration that you are using for the Distribution Registry. ## Use a PostgreSQL database for metadata **(FREE SELF BETA)** > [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/423459) in GitLab 16.4 as a [Beta feature](../../policy/experiment-beta-support.md) for self-managed GitLab instances. WARNING: While the metadata database is already in use on GitLab.com, it is in early beta for self-managed GitLab instances. By default, the container registry uses object storage to persist metadata related to container images. This method to store metadata limits how efficiently the data can be accessed, especially data spanning multiple images, such as when listing tags. By using a database to store this data, many new features are possible, including [online garbage collection](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/container-registry/-/blob/master/docs/spec/gitlab/online-garbage-collection.md) which removes old data automatically with zero downtime. This database works in conjunction with the object storage already used by the registry, but does not replace object storage. You must continue to maintain an object storage solution even after migrating to a metadata database. ### Known Limitations - No support for online migrations. - Geo Support is not confirmed. - Registry database migrations must be ran manually when upgrading versions. ### Migration Instructions and Feedback Instructions on how to migrate to the database may be found in the [feedback issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/423459) for the beta period. This issue also serves as a place to report issues and to get an overview of the beta status. ### Metadata database feature support You can migrate existing registries to the metadata database, and use online garbage collection. Some database-enabled features are only enabled for GitLab.com and automatic database provisioning for the registry database is not available. Review the feature support table in the [feedback issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/423459#supported-feature-status) for the status of features related to the container registry database. ## Troubleshooting Before diving in to the following sections, here's some basic troubleshooting: 1. Check to make sure that the system clock on your Docker client and GitLab server have been synchronized (for example, via NTP). 1. If you are using an S3-backed Registry, double check that the IAM permissions and the S3 credentials (including region) are correct. See [the sample IAM policy](https://docs.docker.com/registry/storage-drivers/s3/) for more details. 1. Check the Registry logs (for example `/var/log/gitlab/registry/current`) and the GitLab production logs for errors (for example `/var/log/gitlab/gitlab-rails/production.log`). You may be able to find clues there. ### Using self-signed certificates with container registry If you're using a self-signed certificate with your container registry, you might encounter issues during the CI jobs like the following: ```plaintext Error response from daemon: Get registry.example.com/v1/users/: x509: certificate signed by unknown authority ``` The Docker daemon running the command expects a cert signed by a recognized CA, thus the error above. While GitLab doesn't support using self-signed certificates with Container Registry out of the box, it is possible to make it work by [instructing the Docker daemon to trust the self-signed certificates](https://docs.docker.com/registry/insecure/#use-self-signed-certificates), mounting the Docker daemon and setting `privileged = false` in the GitLab Runner `config.toml` file. Setting `privileged = true` takes precedence over the Docker daemon: ```toml [runners.docker] image = "ruby:2.6" privileged = false volumes = ["/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock", "/cache"] ``` Additional information about this: [issue 18239](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/issues/18239). ### Docker login attempt fails with: 'token signed by untrusted key' [Registry relies on GitLab to validate credentials](#architecture-of-gitlab-container-registry) If the registry fails to authenticate valid login attempts, you get the following error message: ```shell # docker login gitlab.company.com:4567 Username: user Password: Error response from daemon: login attempt to https://gitlab.company.com:4567/v2/ failed with status: 401 Unauthorized ``` And more specifically, this appears in the `/var/log/gitlab/registry/current` log file: ```plaintext level=info msg="token signed by untrusted key with ID: "TOKE:NL6Q:7PW6:EXAM:PLET:OKEN:BG27:RCIB:D2S3:EXAM:PLET:OKEN"" level=warning msg="error authorizing context: invalid token" go.version=go1.12.7 http.request.host="gitlab.company.com:4567" http.request.id=74613829-2655-4f96-8991-1c9fe33869b8 http.request.method=GET http.request.remoteaddr=10.72.11.20 http.request.uri="/v2/" http.request.useragent="docker/19.03.2 go/go1.12.8 git-commit/6a30dfc kernel/3.10.0-693.2.2.el7.x86_64 os/linux arch/amd64 UpstreamClient(Docker-Client/19.03.2 \(linux\))" ``` GitLab uses the contents of the certificate key pair's two sides to encrypt the authentication token for the Registry. This message means that those contents do not align. Check which files are in use: - `grep -A6 'auth:' /var/opt/gitlab/registry/config.yml` ```yaml ## Container registry certificate auth: token: realm: https://gitlab.my.net/jwt/auth service: container_registry issuer: omnibus-gitlab-issuer --> rootcertbundle: /var/opt/gitlab/registry/gitlab-registry.crt autoredirect: false ``` - `grep -A9 'Container Registry' /var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/etc/gitlab.yml` ```yaml ## Container registry key registry: enabled: true host: gitlab.company.com port: 4567 api_url: http://127.0.0.1:5000 # internal address to the registry, is used by GitLab to directly communicate with API path: /var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/shared/registry --> key: /var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/etc/gitlab-registry.key issuer: omnibus-gitlab-issuer notification_secret: ``` The output of these `openssl` commands should match, proving that the cert-key pair is a match: ```shell /opt/gitlab/embedded/bin/openssl x509 -noout -modulus -in /var/opt/gitlab/registry/gitlab-registry.crt | /opt/gitlab/embedded/bin/openssl sha256 /opt/gitlab/embedded/bin/openssl rsa -noout -modulus -in /var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/etc/gitlab-registry.key | /opt/gitlab/embedded/bin/openssl sha256 ``` If the two pieces of the certificate do not align, remove the files and run `gitlab-ctl reconfigure` to regenerate the pair. The pair is recreated using the existing values in `/etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json` if they exist. To generate a new pair, delete the `registry` section in your `/etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json` before running `gitlab-ctl reconfigure`. If you have overridden the automatically generated self-signed pair with your own certificates and have made sure that their contents align, you can delete the 'registry' section in your `/etc/gitlab/gitlab-secrets.json` and run `gitlab-ctl reconfigure`. ### AWS S3 with the GitLab registry error when pushing large images When using AWS S3 with the GitLab registry, an error may occur when pushing large images. Look in the Registry log for the following error: ```plaintext level=error msg="response completed with error" err.code=unknown err.detail="unexpected EOF" err.message="unknown error" ``` To resolve the error specify a `chunksize` value in the Registry configuration. Start with a value between `25000000` (25 MB) and `50000000` (50 MB). ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```ruby registry['storage'] = { 's3' => { 'accesskey' => 'AKIAKIAKI', 'secretkey' => 'secret123', 'bucket' => 'gitlab-registry-bucket-AKIAKIAKI', 'chunksize' => 25000000 } } ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) 1. Edit `config/gitlab.yml`: ```yaml storage: s3: accesskey: 'AKIAKIAKI' secretkey: 'secret123' bucket: 'gitlab-registry-bucket-AKIAKIAKI' chunksize: 25000000 ``` 1. Save the file and [restart GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#self-compiled-installations) for the changes to take effect. ::EndTabs ### Supporting older Docker clients The Docker container registry shipped with GitLab disables the schema1 manifest by default. If you are still using older Docker clients (1.9 or older), you may experience an error pushing images. See [issue 4145](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/omnibus-gitlab/-/issues/4145) for more details. You can add a configuration option for backwards compatibility. ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```ruby registry['compatibility_schema1_enabled'] = true ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) 1. Edit the YAML configuration file you created when you deployed the registry. Add the following snippet: ```yaml compatibility: schema1: enabled: true ``` 1. Restart the registry for the changes to take affect. ::EndTabs ### Docker connection error A Docker connection error can occur when there are special characters in either the group, project or branch name. Special characters can include: - Leading underscore - Trailing hyphen/dash - Double hyphen/dash To get around this, you can [change the group path](../../user/group/manage.md#change-a-groups-path), [change the project path](../../user/project/working_with_projects.md#rename-a-repository) or change the branch name. Another option is to create a [push rule](../../user/project/repository/push_rules.md) to prevent this at the instance level. ### Image push errors When getting errors or "retrying" loops in an attempt to push an image but `docker login` works fine, there is likely an issue with the headers forwarded to the registry by NGINX. The default recommended NGINX configurations should handle this, but it might occur in custom setups where the SSL is offloaded to a third party reverse proxy. This problem was discussed in a [Docker project issue](https://github.com/docker/distribution/issues/970) and a simple solution would be to enable relative URLs in the Registry. ::Tabs :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) 1. Edit `/etc/gitlab/gitlab.rb`: ```ruby registry['env'] = { "REGISTRY_HTTP_RELATIVEURLS" => true } ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) 1. Edit the YAML configuration file you created when you deployed the registry. Add the following snippet: ```yaml http: relativeurls: true ``` 1. Save the file and [restart GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#self-compiled-installations) for the changes to take effect. ::EndTabs ### Enable the Registry debug server You can use the container registry debug server to diagnose problems. The debug endpoint can monitor metrics and health, as well as do profiling. WARNING: Sensitive information may be available from the debug endpoint. Access to the debug endpoint must be locked down in a production environment. The optional debug server can be enabled by setting the registry debug address in your `gitlab.rb` configuration. ```ruby registry['debug_addr'] = "localhost:5001" ``` After adding the setting, [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) to apply the change. Use curl to request debug output from the debug server: ```shell curl "localhost:5001/debug/health" curl "localhost:5001/debug/vars" ``` ### Access old schema v1 Docker images Support for the Docker registry API V1, including [schema V1 image manifests](https://docs.docker.com/registry/spec/manifest-v2-1/), was: - [Deprecated in GitLab 13.7](https://about.gitlab.com/releases/2020/12/22/gitlab-13-7-released/#deprecate-pulls-that-use-v1-of-the-docker-registry-api) - [Removed in GitLab 13.9](https://about.gitlab.com/releases/2021/02/22/gitlab-13-9-released/#deprecate-pulls-that-use-v1-of-the-docker-registry-api) It's no longer possible to push or pull v1 images from the GitLab container registry. If you had v1 images in the GitLab container registry, but you did not upgrade them (following the [steps Docker recommends](https://docs.docker.com/registry/spec/deprecated-schema-v1/)) ahead of the GitLab 13.9 upgrade, these images are no longer accessible. If you try to pull them, this error appears: - `Error response from daemon: manifest invalid: Schema 1 manifest not supported` For self-managed GitLab instances, you can regain access to these images by temporarily downgrading the GitLab container registry to a version lower than `v3.0.0-gitlab`. Follow these steps to regain access to these images: 1. Downgrade the container registry to [`v2.13.1-gitlab`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/container-registry/-/releases/v2.13.1-gitlab). 1. Upgrade any v1 images. 1. Revert the container registry downgrade. There's no need to put the registry in read-only mode during the image upgrade process. Ensure that you are not relying on any new feature introduced since `v3.0.0-gitlab`. Such features are unavailable during the upgrade process. See the [complete registry changelog](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/container-registry/-/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md) for more information. The following sections provide additional details about each installation method. ::Tabs :::TabTitle Helm chart (Kubernetes) For Helm chart installations: 1. Override the [`image.tag`](https://docs.gitlab.com/charts/charts/registry/#configuration) configuration parameter with `v2.13.1-gitlab`. 1. Restart. 1. Performing the [images upgrade](#images-upgrade)) steps. 1. Revert the `image.tag` parameter to the previous value. No other registry configuration changes are required. :::TabTitle Linux package (Omnibus) For Linux package installations: 1. Temporarily replace the registry binary that ships with GitLab 13.9+ for one prior to `v3.0.0-gitlab`. To do so, pull a previous version of the Docker image for the GitLab Container Registry, such as `v2.13.1-gitlab`. You can then grab the `registry` binary from within this image, located at `/bin/registry`: ```shell id=$(docker create registry.gitlab.com/gitlab-org/build/cng/gitlab-container-registry:v2.13.1-gitlab) docker cp $id:/bin/registry registry-2.13.1-gitlab docker rm $id ``` 1. Replace the binary embedded in the Linux package installation located at `/opt/gitlab/embedded/bin/registry`, with `registry-2.13.1-gitlab`. Make sure to start by backing up the original binary embedded in the Linux package, and restore it after performing the [image upgrade](#images-upgrade) steps. You should [stop](https://docs.gitlab.com/omnibus/maintenance/#starting-and-stopping) the registry service before replacing its binary and start it right after. No registry configuration changes are required. :::TabTitle Self-compiled (source) Locate your `registry` binary and temporarily replace it with the one obtained from `v3.0.0-gitlab`, as explained for Linux package installations. Make sure to start by backing up the original registry binary, and restore it after performing the [images upgrade](#images-upgrade) steps. ::EndTabs #### Images upgrade Follow the [steps that Docker recommends to upgrade v1 images](https://docs.docker.com/registry/spec/deprecated-schema-v1/). The most straightforward option is to pull those images and push them once again to the registry, using a Docker client version above v1.12. Docker converts images automatically before pushing them to the registry. Once done, all your v1 images should now be available as v2 images. ### Tags with an empty name If using [AWS DataSync](https://aws.amazon.com/datasync/) to copy the registry data to or between S3 buckets, an empty metadata object is created in the root path of each container repository in the destination bucket. This causes the registry to interpret such files as a tag that appears with no name in the GitLab UI and API. For more information, see [this issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/container-registry/-/issues/341). To fix this you can do one of two things: - Use the AWS CLI [`rm`](https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/documentation/api/latest/reference/s3/rm.html) command to remove the empty objects from the root of **each** affected repository. Pay special attention to the trailing `/` and make sure **not** to use the `--recursive` option: ```shell aws s3 rm s3:///docker/registry/v2/repositories// ``` - Use the AWS CLI [`sync`](https://awscli.amazonaws.com/v2/documentation/api/latest/reference/s3/sync.html) command to copy the registry data to a new bucket and configure the registry to use it. This leaves the empty objects behind. ### Advanced Troubleshooting We use a concrete example to illustrate how to diagnose a problem with the S3 setup. #### Investigate a cleanup policy If you're unsure why your cleanup policy did or didn't delete a tag, execute the policy line by line by running the below script from the [Rails console](../../administration/operations/rails_console.md). This can help diagnose problems with the policy. ```ruby repo = ContainerRepository.find() policy = repo.project.container_expiration_policy tags = repo.tags tags.map(&:name) tags.reject!(&:latest?) tags.map(&:name) regex_delete = ::Gitlab::UntrustedRegexp.new("\\A#{policy.name_regex}\\z") regex_retain = ::Gitlab::UntrustedRegexp.new("\\A#{policy.name_regex_keep}\\z") tags.select! { |tag| regex_delete.match?(tag.name) && !regex_retain.match?(tag.name) } tags.map(&:name) now = DateTime.current tags.sort_by! { |tag| tag.created_at || now }.reverse! # Lengthy operation tags = tags.drop(policy.keep_n) tags.map(&:name) older_than_timestamp = ChronicDuration.parse(policy.older_than).seconds.ago tags.select! { |tag| tag.created_at && tag.created_at < older_than_timestamp } tags.map(&:name) ``` - The script builds the list of tags to delete (`tags`). - `tags.map(&:name)` prints a list of tags to remove. This may be a lengthy operation. - After each filter, check the list of `tags` to see if it contains the intended tags to destroy. #### Unexpected 403 error during push A user attempted to enable an S3-backed Registry. The `docker login` step went fine. However, when pushing an image, the output showed: ```plaintext The push refers to a repository [s3-testing.myregistry.com:5050/root/docker-test/docker-image] dc5e59c14160: Pushing [==================================================>] 14.85 kB 03c20c1a019a: Pushing [==================================================>] 2.048 kB a08f14ef632e: Pushing [==================================================>] 2.048 kB 228950524c88: Pushing 2.048 kB 6a8ecde4cc03: Pushing [==> ] 9.901 MB/205.7 MB 5f70bf18a086: Pushing 1.024 kB 737f40e80b7f: Waiting 82b57dbc5385: Waiting 19429b698a22: Waiting 9436069b92a3: Waiting error parsing HTTP 403 response body: unexpected end of JSON input: "" ``` This error is ambiguous, as it's not clear whether the 403 is coming from the GitLab Rails application, the Docker Registry, or something else. In this case, since we know that since the login succeeded, we probably need to look at the communication between the client and the Registry. The REST API between the Docker client and Registry is described [in the Docker documentation](https://docs.docker.com/registry/spec/api/). Usually, one would just use Wireshark or tcpdump to capture the traffic and see where things went wrong. However, since all communications between Docker clients and servers are done over HTTPS, it's a bit difficult to decrypt the traffic quickly even if you know the private key. What can we do instead? One way would be to disable HTTPS by setting up an [insecure Registry](https://docs.docker.com/registry/insecure/). This could introduce a security hole and is only recommended for local testing. If you have a production system and can't or don't want to do this, there is another way: use mitmproxy, which stands for Man-in-the-Middle Proxy. #### mitmproxy [mitmproxy](https://mitmproxy.org/) allows you to place a proxy between your client and server to inspect all traffic. One wrinkle is that your system needs to trust the mitmproxy SSL certificates for this to work. The following installation instructions assume you are running Ubuntu: 1. [Install mitmproxy](https://docs.mitmproxy.org/stable/overview-installation/). 1. Run `mitmproxy --port 9000` to generate its certificates. Enter CTRL-C to quit. 1. Install the certificate from `~/.mitmproxy` to your system: ```shell sudo cp ~/.mitmproxy/mitmproxy-ca-cert.pem /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/mitmproxy-ca-cert.crt sudo update-ca-certificates ``` If successful, the output should indicate that a certificate was added: ```shell Updating certificates in /etc/ssl/certs... 1 added, 0 removed; done. Running hooks in /etc/ca-certificates/update.d....done. ``` To verify that the certificates are properly installed, run: ```shell mitmproxy --port 9000 ``` This command runs mitmproxy on port `9000`. In another window, run: ```shell curl --proxy "http://localhost:9000" "https://httpbin.org/status/200" ``` If everything is set up correctly, information is displayed on the mitmproxy window and no errors are generated by the curl commands. #### Running the Docker daemon with a proxy For Docker to connect through a proxy, you must start the Docker daemon with the proper environment variables. The easiest way is to shutdown Docker (for example `sudo initctl stop docker`) and then run Docker by hand. As root, run: ```shell export HTTP_PROXY="http://localhost:9000" export HTTPS_PROXY="https://localhost:9000" docker daemon --debug ``` This command launches the Docker daemon and proxies all connections through mitmproxy. #### Running the Docker client Now that we have mitmproxy and Docker running, we can attempt to sign in and push a container image. You may need to run as root to do this. For example: ```shell docker login s3-testing.myregistry.com:5050 docker push s3-testing.myregistry.com:5050/root/docker-test/docker-image ``` In the example above, we see the following trace on the mitmproxy window: ![mitmproxy output from Docker](img/mitmproxy-docker.png) The above image shows: - The initial PUT requests went through fine with a 201 status code. - The 201 redirected the client to the S3 bucket. - The HEAD request to the AWS bucket reported a 403 Unauthorized. What does this mean? This strongly suggests that the S3 user does not have the right [permissions to perform a HEAD request](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/API/API_HeadObject.html). The solution: check the [IAM permissions again](https://docs.docker.com/registry/storage-drivers/s3/). Once the right permissions were set, the error goes away. ### Missing `gitlab-registry.key` prevents container repository deletion If you disable your GitLab instance's container registry and try to remove a project that has container repositories, the following error occurs: ```plaintext Errno::ENOENT: No such file or directory @ rb_sysopen - /var/opt/gitlab/gitlab-rails/etc/gitlab-registry.key ``` In this case, follow these steps: 1. Temporarily enable the instance-wide setting for the container registry in your `gitlab.rb`: ```ruby gitlab_rails['registry_enabled'] = true ``` 1. Save the file and [reconfigure GitLab](../restart_gitlab.md#reconfigure-a-linux-package-installation) for the changes to take effect. 1. Try the removal again. If you still can't remove the repository using the common methods, you can use the [GitLab Rails console](../operations/rails_console.md) to remove the project by force: ```ruby # Path to the project you'd like to remove prj = Project.find_by_full_path() # The following will delete the project's container registry, so be sure to double-check the path beforehand! if prj.has_container_registry_tags? prj.container_repositories.each { |p| p.destroy } end ```