--- name: "podman-login" section: "1" platform: "linux" package: "podman" version: "6.1.4-1" release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01" platforms: ["linux"] url: "https://new.carta.tech/podman-login" --- # podman-login(1) Log in to a container registry ## NAME podman-login - Log in to a container registry ## SYNOPSIS **podman login** \[*options*\] \[*registry*\] ## DESCRIPTION **podman login** logs into a specified registry server with the correct username and password. If the registry is not specified, the first registry under \[registries.search\] from registries.conf is used. **podman login** reads in the username and password from STDIN. The username and password can also be set using the **username** and **password** flags. The path of the authentication file can be specified by the user by setting the **authfile** flag. The default path for reading and writing credentials is **${XDG\_RUNTIME\_DIR}/containers/auth.json**. Podman uses existing credentials if the user does not pass in a username. Podman first searches for the username and password in the **${XDG\_RUNTIME\_DIR}/containers/auth.json**, if they are not valid, Podman then uses any existing credentials found in **$HOME/.docker/config.json**. If those credentials are not present, Podman creates **${XDG\_RUNTIME\_DIR}/containers/auth.json** (if the file does not exist) and then stores the username and password from STDIN as a base64 encoded string in it. For more details about format and configurations of the auth.json file, see [containers-auth.json(5)](/containers-auth.json/5.md) **podman \[GLOBAL OPTIONS\]** **podman login \[GLOBAL OPTIONS\]** **podman login \[OPTIONS\] \[REGISTRY\] \[GLOBAL OPTIONS\]** ## OPTIONS ### --authfile=*path* Path of the authentication file. Default is **${XDG\_RUNTIME\_DIR}/containers/auth.json** on Linux, and **$HOME/.config/containers/auth.json** on Windows/macOS. The file is created by **podman login**. If the authorization state is not found there, **$HOME/.docker/config.json** is checked, which is set using **docker login**. Note: There is also the option to override the default path of the authentication file by setting the **REGISTRY\_AUTH\_FILE** environment variable. This can be done with **export REGISTRY\_AUTH\_FILE=***path.* ### --cert-dir=*path* *Use certificates at path (\*.crt, \*.cert, \*.key) to connect to the registry. (Default: /etc/containers/certs.d)* *For details, see* **[containers-certs.d(5)](/containers-certs.d/5.md)***.* *(This option is not available with the remote Podman client, including Mac and Windows (excluding WSL2) machines)* ### --compat-auth-file=*path* *Instead of updating the default credentials file, update the one at path, and use a Docker-compatible format.* ### --get-login *Return the logged-in user for the registry. Return error if no login is found.* ### --help, -h *Print usage statement* ### --password, -p=*password* *Password for registry* ### --password-stdin *Take the password from stdin* ### --secret=*name* *Read the password for the registry from the podman secret* **name**. If --username is not specified --username=**name** is used. ### --tls-verify Require HTTPS and verify certificates when contacting registries (default: **true**). If explicitly set to **true**, TLS verification is used. If set to **false**, TLS verification is not used. If not specified, TLS verification is used unless the target registry is listed as an insecure registry in **[containers-registries.conf(5)](/containers-registries.conf/5.md)** ### --username, -u=*username* Username for registry ### --verbose, -v print detailed information about credential store ## EXAMPLES Add login credentials for specified registry to default authentication file; note that unlike the **docker** default, the default credentials are under **$XDG\_RUNTIME\_DIR** which is a subdirectory of **/run** (an emphemeral directory) and hence do not persist across reboot. ``` $ podman login quay.io Username: umohnani Password: Login Succeeded! ``` To explicitly preserve credentials across reboot, you will need to specify the default persistent path: ``` $ podman login --authfile ~/.config/containers/auth.json quay.io Username: umohnani Password: Login Succeeded! ``` Add login credentials using specified username and password for local registry to default authentication file. ``` $ podman login -u testuser -p testpassword localhost:5000 Login Succeeded! ``` Add login credentials for alternate authfile path for the specified registry. ``` $ podman login --authfile authdir/myauths.json quay.io Username: umohnani Password: Login Succeeded! ``` Add login credentials using a Podman secret for the password. ``` $ echo -n MySecret! | podman secret create secretname - a0ad54df3c97cf89d5ca6193c $ podman login --secret secretname -u testuser quay.io Login Succeeded! ``` Add login credentials for user test with password test to localhost:5000 registry disabling tls verification requirement. ``` $ podman login --tls-verify=false -u test -p test localhost:5000 Login Succeeded! ``` Add login credentials for user foo with password bar to localhost:5000 registry using the certificate directory /etc/containers/certs.d. ``` $ podman login --cert-dir /etc/containers/certs.d/ -u foo -p bar localhost:5000 Login Succeeded! ``` Add login credentials for specified registries to default authentication file for given user with password information provided via stdin from a file on disk. ``` $ podman login -u testuser --password-stdin < testpassword.txt docker.io Login Succeeded! ``` Add login credentials for specified registry to default authentication file for given user with password information provided via stdin from a pipe. ``` $ echo $testpassword | podman login -u testuser --password-stdin quay.io Login Succeeded! ``` Add login credentials for specified registry to default authentication file in verbose mode. ``` $ podman login quay.io --verbose Username: myusername Password: Used: /run/user/1000/containers/auth.json Login Succeeded! ``` ## SEE ALSO **[podman(1)](/podman/1.md)**, **[podman-logout(1)](/podman-logout/1.md)**, **[containers-auth.json(5)](/containers-auth.json/5.md)**, **[containers-certs.d(5)](/containers-certs.d/5.md)**, **[containers-registries.conf(5)](/containers-registries.conf/5.md)**, **[podman-secret(1)](/podman-secret/1.md)**, **[podman-secret-create(1)](/podman-secret-create/1.md)** ## HISTORY August 2017, Originally compiled by Urvashi Mohnani umohnani@redhat.com ⟨mailto:umohnani@redhat.com⟩