clipper import

Convert a local image into the local chunk store without pushing to a registry.

clipper [--runtime=<runtime>] import <image> [flags]

Arguments

Argument	Description
`<image>`	Local image to import (e.g. `ubuntu:24.04`)

Flags

Flag	Default	Description
`--runtime`	auto-detect	Force container runtime: `containerd`, `podman`, or `docker`
`--platform`	auto-detect	Target platform (e.g. `linux/amd64`)

Global flags

--runtime is a global flag and must come before the subcommand, e.g. clipper --runtime=containerd <command> .... It forces the container runtime: containerd, podman, or docker (default: auto-detect). See Container Runtimes.

Examples

Import an image

clipper import ubuntu:24.04

Import from containerd

sudo clipper --runtime=containerd import docker.io/library/ubuntu:24.04

When to use import

If you already have images locally (from docker pull, a build, or another source), clipper import chunks them into the local store. This means a subsequent clipper pull of similar images skips chunks that are already in your local store.

This is useful when adopting Clipper, if you’ve been pulling images with docker pull, import them once to warm the local chunk cache, then future clipper pull commands transfer less data.