Docker container export and importing it into image

Question

I have started using docker recently, Initially when I stared the docker image was 2-3 GB in size. I am saving the work done from the container into an image(s) so the image size have grown significantly(~6 GB). I want delete images while preserving the work done. When I export the container to gziped file, the size of that file is ~1 GB. Will it work fine if I delete the current image I have now(~6 GB) and create a new one from the gzipped file with docker import. The description of import command says it will create filesystem image, its docker image or something else ie I will be able to create containers from that image?

Answer 1

You can save the image (see more details here ), for example:

docker save busybox > busybox.tar

Another alternative is to write a Dokerfile which contains all the instructions necessary to build your image. The main advantage is that this is a text file which can be versioned controlled hence, you can keep track of all the changes you made to your image. Another advantage is that you can deploy that image elsewhere without having to copy images across the system. For example, instead of copying a 1GB or 6GB image, you just need to copy the DockerFile and build the image in that new host. More details about the docker file can be found here