Transfer Docker image to other server without remote repository

#nodejs #reactjs #docker #docker-compose #webdev

I build my websites with NodeJS and create production ready apps with Docker. These images are usually unique the client and contain sensitive information.

My production server is an Intel NUC. Enough power to drive a few websites, but chugs along when I try to build an image. Why not build the image on my MacBook Pro M1 Laptop or Ryzen 5 5600x Custom PC with ease, then transfer the image over?

tutorial

In order to transfer a Docker image from one server to another, what you need to do is first export the image to a file, then copy that file over from your current server to the new one using scp or rsync and finally load the image to your new server. Here’s how to do that:

First SSH to your server where you’ve got your Docker image currently stored at and then run the following command to generate the tar file:

sudo docker save -o /home/sammy/your_image.tar your_image_name

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This will create a tar file of your image and store it at the /home/==sammy==/==your_image==.tar folder. You can check the size of the file with the ls command:

ls -lah /home/sammy/your_image.tar

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Once you have your Docker image ready, you need to copy it over using rsync, scp, or SFTP using Filezilla for example. My personal favorite is rsync. If you are not familiar with rsync, I strongly suggest going through this tutorial here on how to use rsync:

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-use-rsync-to-sync-local-and-remote-directories

In case that you decide to use rsync as well, to copy the file over run the following command:

rsync -avz /home/sammy/your_image.tar username@remote_server_ip_address:destination_directory

Note

make sure to change the destination_directory, the username and the remote_server_ip_address with your actual details

Once you have your .tar file copied over to your new server, SSH to the new server and load the Docker image:

sudo docker load -i your_image.tar

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Then, in order to check if this was successful, you can run docker images to see the list of the available images:

sudo docker images

Credits

backlinks

developer_box📦