Working on a registry control plane
A May 2026 snapshot of building a registry management layer around Docker Distribution.
On this page
The May snapshot
When I first published this note in May 2026, the registry control plane was still private. I was using it in earnest before deciding whether to release it.
I built it around registry:2 because routine work was still ending up in
scripts and direct API calls. The management layer brought garbage collection,
maintenance mode, credentials, and repository access into the same place.
Making routine work explicit
The project grew beyond the first maintenance tasks. The useful work was making the routine paths explicit: authentication, image lifecycle handling, cleanup, and the actions needed to keep a registry running without improvised steps.
What followed
That was the project at the time: active, private, and still being tested in real use before a public release. The project is now public, with its source and container packages available on GitHub; the Registry Control Plane project page has the current overview.
The follow-up work stayed close to the same operating paths: responsive views for smaller screens and less repeated registry work.