A few days ago we launched a new and very important feature: A hosted docker registry.

Your Docker Images, Right Where You Deploy Them

If you wanted to deploy your own Docker image on Hostly until now, you first had to store it somewhere else.

That usually meant Docker Hub or another external container registry. It worked, of course, but it also meant adding another service to your setup, managing another set of credentials and moving your images between different platforms before you could finally deploy them.

With our new integrated Docker image registry, that extra step is no longer necessary.

Every Hostly workspace now comes with its own private Docker registry, including 1 GB of free storage.

You can push your own images directly to Hostly, manage their tags and use them in your deployments — all from the same workspace in which your applications are already running.

A private registry for every workspace

The idea behind the new registry is simple: if you are already deploying your containers on Hostly, you should also have the option to keep the images behind them there.

The workflow should feel familiar if you have used registries like Docker Hub or GitLab before.

Build your image, push it to your workspace registry and deploy it on Hostly:

Build → Push → Deploy

Your images stay private to your workspace, and you can manage them together with the rest of your Hostly resources.

You can keep multiple tags for an image, deploy whichever version you need and remove older images or tags once you no longer need them.

Why did we build this?

Container registries are an important part of any Docker-based deployment workflow, but in many cases they are not something you actually want to manage separately.

You build your application, turn it into a Docker image and then need somewhere to store that image before it can be deployed.

Using an external registry for that is perfectly fine, and Hostly will continue to support it. But if the image only exists to run a service on Hostly, setting up another platform just to store it can feel like unnecessary overhead.

That becomes even more noticeable with private images. Instead of creating and configuring a private repository somewhere else, you can now keep the image directly inside the workspace where it is going to be used.

Fewer moving parts, fewer credentials and one less external service to think about.

How to push your first image

The registry uses the normal Docker workflow, so there is very little new to learn.

1. Start a registry session

Before you can push an image, Docker needs access to your private workspace registry.

You can start a new image registry session directly from the Hostly web interface. This creates a short-lived session token that you can use to authenticate with the registry.

You can then log in using the registry information shown in Hostly:

docker login <your-registry>

The session token is intentionally short-lived, so you do not have to create and keep permanent registry credentials around.

2. Tag your image

Next, tag the Docker image you want to upload with its destination inside your Hostly registry.

For example:

docker tag my-app:latest <your-registry>/my-app:latest

This tells Docker where the image should be pushed.

3. Push it

Now you can upload the image just like you would with any other Docker registry:

docker push <your-registry>/my-app:latest

Once the push has finished, the image will appear in your workspace and is ready to use.

4. Deploy it

From here, the workflow is the same as for any other Docker image on Hostly.

Select the image and tag you want to run, configure your deployment and start the service.

When you build a new version of your application later, you can simply tag it again, push the new version and deploy it when you are ready.

Keep your images organized

Over time, a registry can quickly collect different versions of the same application.

That is why you can also manage your images and tags directly from your Hostly workspace.

Keep the versions you still need, remove outdated ones and free up storage when old images are no longer relevant.

There is no arbitrary limit on how many images or tags you can store. Registry usage is based on the amount of storage your images actually take up.

1 GB included with every workspace

Every workspace includes 1 GB of registry storage for free.

For smaller projects, side projects and many typical web applications, that can already be enough to keep several versions of an application available.

And if your registry grows beyond that, you do not have to switch providers or purchase a separate registry plan. Any additional usage simply counts towards your normal Hostly storage quota.

The registry can therefore grow together with your project without introducing another service or separate pricing model.

External registries still work too

The integrated registry is an additional option, not a replacement for the workflows you already use.

If your images already live on Docker Hub or another container registry, you can continue deploying them on Hostly exactly as before.

But if you would rather keep your private images close to the services that actually use them, you can now do that without leaving Hostly.

For us, that is really what this feature is about: making the path from a finished Docker image to a running application a little shorter.

Try it out

The integrated Docker image registry is available now for all Hostly users and all workspaces.

If you already have a Hostly workspace, you can start a registry session and push your first image right away.

And if you are looking for a simple way to get your containerized application online, create a Hostly account, push your image and deploy it — without having to set up a separate private registry first.

Give your images a home with Hostly! Sign up today and create your free workspace!

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