What is a container registry?

Answer

A container registry is a storage and distribution system for container images, allowing them to be pushed after a build and pulled at deployment time. Public registries such as Docker Hub host shared images, while private registries such as Amazon ECR, Google Artifact Registry, Azure Container Registry, and Harbor host an organization's own images. Registries support versioning through tags and digests and often add features like vulnerability scanning, access control, and image signing. They are a core part of any container delivery pipeline.