Docker recommends that you authenticate using 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#

  • You can access your Docker Hub repositories directly from Docker Desktop.

  • Authenticated users also get a higher pull rate limit compared to anonymous users. For example, if you are authenticated, you get 200 pulls per 6 hour period, compared to 100 pulls per 6 hour period per IP address for anonymous users. For more information, see Download rate limit.

  • Improve your organization’s security posture for containerized development by taking advantage of 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 gpg2-encrypted files. Before signing in to Docker Desktop with your Docker ID, you must initialize pass. Docker Desktop displays a warning if you've not initialized pass.

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

$ gpg --generate-key

The following is an example similar to what you see once you run the previous command:

```console {hl_lines=12} ... GnuPG needs to construct a user ID to identify your key.

Real name: Molly Email address: [email protected] You selected this USER-ID: "Molly [email protected]"

Change (N)ame, (E)mail, or (O)kay/(Q)uit? O ... pubrsa3072 2022-03-31 [SC] [expires: 2024-03-30] uid Molly [email protected] subrsa3072 2022-03-31 [E] [expires: 2024-03-30]


To initialize `pass`, run the following command using the public key generated from the previous command:

```console
$ pass init <your_generated_gpg-id_public_key>

The following is an example similar to what you see once you run the previous command:

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

What's next?#