docker image not found / repository does not exist — how to fix

Quick Answer

# Pull explicitly before running
docker pull nginx:latest

# Check available tags on Docker Hub
# https://hub.docker.com/_/nginx/tags

# Log in to a private registry
docker login registry.example.com

# Verify local images
docker images | grep nginx

When this happens

Unable to find image 'myapp:latest' locally
docker: Error response from daemon: pull access denied for myapp,
repository does not exist or may require 'docker login':
denied: requested access to the resource is denied.

Docker could not find the image locally or on the registry. This is usually a typo in the image name/tag or a missing registry login.

Other causes & fixes

Build the image locally first

# Build from Dockerfile in current directory
docker build -t myapp:latest .

# Then run it
docker run myapp:latest

Specify the full registry path

# Docker Hub (implicit)
docker pull nginx:1.27-alpine

# GitHub Container Registry
docker pull ghcr.io/owner/repo:tag

# AWS ECR
aws ecr get-login-password | docker login --username AWS --password-stdin 123456789.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com
docker pull 123456789.dkr.ecr.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/my-repo:latest

List all locally available images

docker images
# or filter by name
docker images nginx

Separate an image-name error from a container-name error

An image is the artifact used to create a container. Check the image list and the stopped-container list separately so that a missing container is not mistaken for a missing image.

# Images available to pull or run
docker image ls

# Containers that already exist, including stopped ones
docker ps -a

# Inspect the exact image configured for a container
docker inspect <container> --format '{{.Config.Image}}'

Verify the registry, repository, tag, and architecture

Private images may require a login, and a valid repository can still fail when the requested tag or platform is unavailable. Copy the full name from the registry rather than guessing it.

docker login ghcr.io
docker pull ghcr.io/owner/repository:<tag>

# Request a specific platform only when the image publishes it
docker pull --platform linux/amd64 ghcr.io/owner/repository:<tag>