docs/reference/index.md

title	description	notoc	redirect_from
Reference documentation	This section includes the reference documentation for the Docker platform’s various APIs, CLIs, and file formats.	true	/app/working-with-app/ /engine/reference/commandline/app/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_bundle/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_completion/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_init/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_inspect/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_install/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_list/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_merge/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_pull/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_push/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_render/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_split/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_status/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_uninstall/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_upgrade/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_validate/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_validate/ /engine/reference/commandline/app_version/

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

File formats

Dockerfile

Defines the contents and startup behavior of a single container.

Compose file

Defines a multi-container application.

Command-line interfaces (CLIs)

Docker CLI

The main CLI for Docker, includes all docker commands.

Compose CLI

The CLI for Docker Compose, which allows you to build and run multi-container applications.

Daemon CLI (dockerd)

Persistent process that manages containers.

Application programming interfaces (APIs)

Engine API

The main API for Docker, provides programmatic access to a daemon.

Registry API

Facilitates distribution of images to the engine.

Docker Hub API

API to interact with Docker Hub.

DVP Data API

API for Docker Verified Publishers to fetch analytics data.

Drivers and specifications

Image specification

Describes the various components of a Docker image.

Registry token authentication

Outlines the Docker Registry authentication schemes.

Registry storage drivers

Enables support for given cloud providers when storing images with Registry.