Container Images

Transfer container images directly to your VPS without a registry. slipp handles runtime detection (Docker/Podman) automatically.

Push Images

Transfer a local image to your VPS:

slipp image push myapp:latest

This:

1. Exports the image locally
2. Streams it over SSH
3. Loads it on the VPS

Rename on push

slipp image push myapp:v1.2.3 --name myapp:latest

Useful for promoting versions without rebuilding.

Target specific host

slipp image push myapp:latest --host myproject

List Images

View images on your VPS:

slipp images list

Output:

image              size     created
myapp:latest       245MB    2 hours ago
myapp:v1.2.3       245MB    3 days ago
postgres:15        379MB    2 weeks ago

Filter by pattern

slipp images list --filter "myapp*"

Workflow

1. Build locally

   docker build -t myapp:v1.2.3 .
   # or
   podman build -t myapp:v1.2.3 .

2. Push to VPS

   slipp image push myapp:v1.2.3

3. Update deployment

   Edit your compose or vars file to use the new tag.

4. Redeploy

   slipp deploy

Runtime Detection

slipp automatically detects the container runtime:

Location	Detection
Local	Checks if image exists in Podman, then Docker
Remote	Reads from slipp.yaml or detects from playbook

Tip

Set runtime explicitly in slipp.yaml:

runtime: podman  # or docker

Registry Authentication

For pulling images from registries on your VPS:

GitHub Container Registry

slipp bootstrap registry ghcr --user myuser

Uses GITHUB_TOKEN env var or prompts for token.

Docker Hub

slipp bootstrap registry dockerhub --user myuser

Uses DOCKER_TOKEN env var or prompts for token.

Use Cases

Development iteration

Push local changes without CI/CD:

# Build with changes
docker build -t myapp:dev .

# Push and restart
slipp image push myapp:dev
slipp exec "docker compose restart myapp"

Rollback

Keep multiple versions, rollback by tag:

slipp images list --filter "myapp*"
# Shows: myapp:v1.2.3, myapp:v1.2.2, myapp:v1.2.1

# Update compose to use v1.2.2
slipp deploy

Air-gapped environments

No registry needed - direct SSH transfer:

slipp image push myapp:latest --host isolated-server

Performance Tips

Compress layers

Use multi-stage builds to reduce image size:

FROM node:20 AS builder
# ... build steps

FROM node:20-slim
COPY --from=builder /app/dist /app

Incremental layers

Push frequently-changing code last in Dockerfile for better layer caching.