Reference documentation

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

This section includes the reference documentation for the Docker platform’s various APIs, CLIs, and file formats.

File formats

File format	Description
Dockerfile	Defines the contents and startup behavior of a single container
Compose file	Defines a multi-container application
Docker Cloud Stack file	Defines a multi-container application for Docker Cloud

Command-line interfaces (CLIs)

CLI	Description
Engine CLI	The main CLI for Docker, includes all `docker` and `dockerd` commands
Compose CLI	The CLI for Docker Compose, which allows you to build and run multi-container applications
Machine CLI	Manages virtual machines that are pre-configured to run Docker
UCP CLI	Manages a Universal Control Plane instance
DTR CLI	Manages a trusted registry

Application programming interfaces (APIs)

API	Description
Cloud API	Enables programmatic management of your Docker application running on a cloud provider
Docker ID accounts API	An API for accessing and updating Docker ID accounts
Engine API	The main API for Docker, provides programmatic access to a daemon
Registry API	Facilitates distribution of images to the engine
Trusted Registry API	Provides programmatic access to a trusted registry

Drivers and specifications

Driver	Description
Image specification	Describes the various components of a Docker image
Machine drivers	Enables support for given cloud providers when provisioning resources with Machine
Registry token authentication	Outlines the Docker registry authentication scheme
Registry storage drivers	Enables support for given cloud providers when storing images with Registry