Docker Hub Container Images Scraper

Docker Hub Container Images Scraper

Scrape Docker Hub container images by keyword search or direct repo lookup, up to a million per run. Every image comes with pull counts, star counts, descriptions, and optional top tags. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Docker Hub's official API requires authentication, rate limits, and pagination handling for any meaningful data collection. This actor reads the public Docker Hub registry directly, searching by keyword or pulling specific repositories by owner/name, and returns each image in one consistent schema. Collect pull counts, star ratings, descriptions, and top tags without managing tokens or hitting rate walls.

Who uses it	What they scrape Docker Hub for
DevOps engineers	Audit which base images teams are pulling and how often they update.
Security researchers	Map the most-downloaded images for a technology stack before a vulnerability assessment.
Product managers	Benchmark competitor container adoption by tracking pull counts and star trends.
Open-source maintainers	Monitor the reach and popularity of their published Docker images over time.

What it does

This Actor collects Docker Hub container images by keyword search or direct owner/name lookup and returns each one as a flat row with metadata and optional tag details.

• 🔎 Keyword search: type any image name or term and get ranked results, like searching on Docker Hub.
• 📋 Direct lookup: paste a list of owner/name repos and pull full metadata for each one in a single run.
• 🏷️ Top tags included: optionally fetch the top 30 tags per image, with one extra API call per repo.
• 📊 Flat row output: every image lands as one row with pull count, star count, description, and official status.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with Docker Hub data

📈 Track container adoption trends.

A platform team searches for base images like nginx or python weekly and charts pull counts to decide which runtimes to standardize on.

🔐 Audit image popularity before a CVE response.

A security engineer looks up every image mentioned in a new vulnerability advisory and ranks them by pull count to prioritize patching.

🏷️ Discover the most-used tags for a repo.

A developer fetches the top 30 tags for library/postgres to see which major versions the community runs in production.

📋 Build a competitor landscape from Docker Hub.

A product manager searches a category keyword, collects the top 200 images, and compares pull counts and star ratings across competing projects.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No auth required	Reads Docker Hub's public registry directly, no API key or OAuth setup.
Two collection modes	Search by keyword for discovery or paste exact owner/name repos for targeted pulls.
Optional tag data	Flip a checkbox to fetch the top 30 tags per image, including digests and sizes.
Fixed flat schema	Every image returns the same fields, ready for CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML export.

How it compares

Three other Docker Hub scrapers exist on Apify. This actor combines keyword search and direct repo lookup with optional tag fetching in one run, while competitors focus on either search or profiles.

Feature	ParseForge	Docker Hub Image Scraper	Docker Hub Scraper	Docker Hub Image Scraper - Repositories & Tags
Keyword search mode	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Direct repo lookup by owner/name	Yes	Not listed	Not listed	Not listed
Fetch top tags per image	Yes, up to 30 tags	Not listed	Yes	Yes
Publisher and verified-publisher data	Not listed	Not listed	Yes	Not listed
User and organization profile scraping	Not listed	Not listed	Yes	Not listed
No authentication required	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a free-text keyword search or a list of owner/name repos, and set a maximum image count so only the top N results reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "maxItems": 10,
 "mode": "search",
 "query": "nginx",
 "names": "library/nginx\nlibrary/postgres\nlibrary/redis\nlibrary/python"
}

A larger pull:

{
 "maxItems": 200,
 "mode": "search",
 "query": "nginx",
 "names": "library/nginx\nlibrary/postgres\nlibrary/redis\nlibrary/python"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.016 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$1.60
1,000 results	$16.00
10,000 results	$160.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the Docker Hub Container Images Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Docker Hub through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/docker-hub-images-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results for my search keyword?

Check that your keyword matches an image name or description on Docker Hub. Try a broader term or verify the spelling. Docker Hub search returns only public images, so niche or very new images may not appear.

Why does my lookup run return fewer images than the names I pasted?

Each owner/name line must be an exact, publicly available repository. If a repo is private, deleted, or misspelled, it will be skipped. Verify each name exists on Docker Hub by visiting hub.docker.com/r/owner/name.

The run is taking a long time with tag fetching enabled.

Tag fetching adds one API call per image. For large runs, consider disabling 'Fetch top tags' to speed things up, or reduce the maximum image count and run multiple smaller batches.

I am getting fewer tags than expected for an image.

The actor fetches up to the top 30 tags per image. If an image has fewer than 30 published tags, you will see only those that exist. This is expected behavior.

My export shows incomplete data for some images.

Docker Hub occasionally serves partial metadata for very new or recently updated images. Re-run the actor after a short wait to capture any fields that were missing on the first pass.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need a Docker Hub account or API key?	No. This actor reads the public Docker Hub registry directly and requires no authentication, account, or API key.
How many images can I scrape in one run?	You set the maximum with the 'Maximum images' field, up to 1,000,000 per run. The actor stops when it reaches that count or runs out of results.
What is the difference between search mode and lookup mode?	Search mode takes a free-text keyword and returns ranked results, like typing into the Docker Hub search bar. Lookup mode takes a list of exact owner/name repos and pulls full metadata for each one.
How do I look up official Docker images?	Use library/ as the owner prefix. For example, library/nginx, library/postgres, or library/python will pull the official Docker-maintained images.
Does fetching tags slow down the run?	Yes. Each image with tag fetching enabled makes one additional API call to retrieve the top 30 tags. If you only need image-level metadata, uncheck 'Fetch top tags' for faster runs.
What data do I get for each image?	Every row includes the image name, publisher, pull count, star count, description, official status, and last-updated timestamp. When tag fetching is on, you also get the top 30 tags with their digests and sizes.
Can I filter results by official images only?	The actor returns all matching results. You can filter for official images after the run by checking the 'is_official' field in your exported dataset.
What export formats are supported?	Your dataset can be exported to CSV, JSON, Excel, XML, or RSS from the Apify platform after the run completes.
Does this actor handle Docker Hub rate limits?	The actor reads public pages and API endpoints that have generous access. For typical use it runs without hitting rate limits, but very large runs may benefit from spreading requests across multiple runs.
Can I scrape private Docker Hub repositories?	No. This actor only accesses publicly listed images on Docker Hub. Private repositories are not visible to unauthenticated requests.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Docker Inc. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.