A minimalist yet powerful utility for backing up and restoring Docker images with ease.

go-backup-docker-image helps you create portable archives of your Docker images, allowing you to store, transfer, and restore them when needed. Perfect for offline environments, backup strategies, or transferring images between airgapped systems.

🌟 Features

• Flexible Input Methods: Accept image names from stdin, text files, or command arguments
• Concurrent Processing: Utilize worker pools for efficient multi-image operations
• Compression Support: Save space with built-in gzip compression
• Rich Metadata: Each backup includes detailed information about the image
• Comprehensive Management: Backup, restore, and list operations in one tool
• Detailed Reporting: Verbose output options for monitoring operations

Direct Installation using go

go install -v github.com/Abhinandan-Khurana/go-backup-docker-image@latest

📦 Installation

Prerequisites

• Go 1.23 or later
• Docker installed and running

From Source

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Abhinandan-Khurana/go-backup-docker-image.git
cd go-backup-docker-image

Build the binary

go build -o go-backup-docker-image main.go

Optional: Move to a directory in your PATH

sudo mv go-backup-docker-image /usr/local/bin/

🚀 Quick Start

Backup a Single Image

go-backup-docker-image backup nginx:latest

Restore an Image

go-backup-docker-image restore docker-backups/nginx_latest-20230615-120530.tar.gz

List Available Backups

go-backup-docker-image list

📖 Usage Guide

Backup Command

Back up Docker images to compressed or uncompressed tarballs.

go-backup-docker-image backup [IMAGE_NAME...] [flags]

Flags

Flag	Shorthand	Description
--dir	-d	Directory to store backups (default: "docker-backups")
--workers	-w	Maximum number of concurrent workers (default: 3)
--verbose	-v	Enable verbose logging
--compress	-c	Compression type (gzip, none) (default: "gzip")
--file	-f	Read image names from file
--stdin	-s	Read image names from stdin

Examples

Backup multiple images:

go-backup-docker-image backup nginx:latest redis:alpine postgres:13

Backup images listed in a file:

go-backup-docker-image backup --file images.txt

Backup images from stdin:

cat images.txt | go-backup-docker-image backup --stdin

Use uncompressed format:

go-backup-docker-image backup --compress none nginx:latest

Restore Command

Restore Docker images from tarballs.

go-backup-docker-image restore [TARBALL_PATH...] [flags]

Flags

Flag	Shorthand	Description
--verbose	-v	Enable verbose logging
--file	-f	Read tarball paths from file
--stdin	-s	Read tarball paths from stdin
--workers	-w	Maximum number of concurrent workers (default: 3)

Examples

Restore multiple image backups:

go-backup-docker-image restore backup1.tar.gz backup2.tar.gz

Restore images listed in a file:

go-backup-docker-image restore --file backups.txt

List Command

Display available image backups.

go-backup-docker-image list [flags]

Flags

Flag	Shorthand	Description
--dir	-d	Backup directory to list (default: "docker-backups")
--verbose	-v	Show detailed information

🔄 Common Workflows

Backup All Local Images

docker images --format "{{.Repository}}:{{.Tag}}" | grep -v "" > images.txt
go-backup-docker-image backup --file images.txt

Transfer Images Between Machines

On source machine:

go-backup-docker-image backup nginx:latest
scp docker-backups/nginx_latest-*.tar.gz user@destination:/path/

On destination machine:

go-backup-docker-image restore /path/nginx_latest-*.tar.gz

Regular Backup Strategy

#!/bin/bash
# Save this as backup-images.sh
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
BACKUP_DIR="/backup/docker-images/$DATE"

mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR
docker images --format "{{.Repository}}:{{.Tag}}" | grep -v "" > $BACKUP_DIR/images.txt
go-backup-docker-image backup --file $BACKUP_DIR/images.txt --dir $BACKUP_DIR

🔍 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Error: Cannot connect to the Docker daemon"

• Ensure Docker is running with docker ps
• Check if your user has permissions to access the Docker socket

"Error reading file: open images.txt: no such file or directory"

• Verify the file path is correct
• Check that the file has correct permissions

"Failed to save image: context deadline exceeded"

• For large images, try increasing the timeout or using uncompressed format

💼 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the project
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

---

Made with ❤️ by Abhinandan-Khurana for Docker enthusiasts