ECR for container image registry in AWS - Step-by-Step Execution

Process Flow - ECR for container image registry

Create ECR Repository

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Build Container Image

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Tag Image with Repo URI

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Authenticate Docker to ECR

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Push Image to ECR Repository

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Image Stored in ECR

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Use Image in ECS or other services

This flow shows how you create an ECR repository, build and tag a container image, authenticate Docker, push the image to ECR, and then use it in AWS services.

Execution Sample

AWS

aws ecr create-repository --repository-name my-app
docker build -t my-app .
docker tag my-app:latest 123456789012.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com/my-app:latest
aws ecr get-login-password --region region | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin 123456789012.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com
docker push 123456789012.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com/my-app:latest

This sequence creates an ECR repo, builds and tags a container image, logs in to ECR, and pushes the image.

Process Table

Step	Action	Input/Command	Result/Output
1	Create ECR repository	aws ecr create-repository --repository-name my-app	Repository 'my-app' created with URI 123456789012.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com/my-app
2	Build container image	docker build -t my-app .	Image 'my-app:latest' built locally
3	Tag image with repo URI	docker tag my-app:latest 123456789012.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com/my-app:latest	Image tagged for ECR push
4	Authenticate Docker to ECR	aws ecr get-login-password --region region | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin 123456789012.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com	Docker authenticated to ECR registry
5	Push image to ECR	docker push 123456789012.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com/my-app:latest	Image pushed and stored in ECR repository
6	Use image in AWS services	Reference image URI in ECS task definition	Container image ready for deployment
7	Exit	All steps completed successfully	Image stored and ready for use

💡 All steps completed successfully; image is stored in ECR and ready for deployment.

Status Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	After Step 3	After Step 4	After Step 5	Final
Repository URI	None	123456789012.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com/my-app	Same	Same	Same	Same	Same
Local Image	None	None	my-app:latest	Tagged as my-app:latest and repo URI	Same	Same	Same
Docker Authenticated	False	False	False	False	True	True	True
Image in ECR	False	False	False	False	False	True	True

Key Moments - 3 Insights

Why do we need to tag the image with the repository URI before pushing?

Tagging the image with the repository URI tells Docker where to push the image. Without this, Docker won't know the destination registry. See execution_table step 3.

What happens if Docker is not authenticated to ECR before pushing?

The push will fail because ECR requires authentication. Step 4 shows the authentication step before pushing in step 5.

Is the image immediately available for use after pushing?

Yes, once the push completes successfully (step 5), the image is stored in ECR and ready to be used by AWS services (step 6).

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution table, what is the repository URI after step 1?

A docker.io/my-app

B 123456789012.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com/my-app

C my-app:latest

D None

💡 Hint

Check the 'Result/Output' column in row for step 1.

At which step does Docker authenticate to ECR?

A Step 4

B Step 3

C Step 5

D Step 2

💡 Hint

Look for the action 'Authenticate Docker to ECR' in the execution table.

If the image was not tagged with the repository URI, what would change in the execution table?

A Step 5 would succeed anyway

B Step 1 would fail

C Step 3 would be missing or fail

D Step 4 would fail

💡 Hint

Tagging happens in step 3; without it, Docker cannot push to ECR.

Concept Snapshot

ECR (Elastic Container Registry) stores container images.
Create a repository with AWS CLI.
Build and tag your image with the repo URI.
Authenticate Docker to ECR before pushing.
Push image to ECR to store it.
Use stored images in AWS services like ECS.

Full Transcript

This visual execution shows how to use AWS Elastic Container Registry (ECR) to store container images. First, you create an ECR repository which gives you a URI. Then you build your container image locally and tag it with this URI so Docker knows where to push it. Next, you authenticate Docker to the ECR registry using AWS credentials. After authentication, you push the tagged image to the ECR repository. Once pushed, the image is stored securely and ready to be used by AWS services such as ECS for deploying containers. Each step is essential: tagging tells Docker the destination, authentication allows secure access, and pushing uploads the image. This flow ensures your container images are safely stored and easily accessible for deployment.