apple / apple/container

[Request]: `container image load` cannot load legacy Docker tarfiles created by the Google Jib Gradle plugin.

Open
#1,426 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
next
Dominant language
Swift
Stars
49.9k
Forks
1.8k
Avg merge
1d 20h
Merged PRs (30d)
22

Description

### Feature or enhancement request details

When I use the reproduction example below to create a simple jib image, I'm unable to load the resulting tarfile into `container`.

```console
% gradle jibBuildTar

> Task :jibBuildTar

...

BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 6s
2 actionable tasks: 1 executed, 1 up-to-date

% container image load -i ./build/jib-image.tar
Error: /var/folders/6k/tnyh0vfd07z0f9mr5cg7zs5r0000gn/T/4278F53C-9ED8-4F46-9354-F2B465C970C9/oci-layout
```

Reproducer: [20260417-tiny-jib.tgz](https://github.com/user-attachments/files/26841228/20260417-tiny-jib.tgz)

We could consider handling this in a utility somewhere within container that converts an unpacked docker image archive into an OCI archive in-place, instead of adding support for the legacy docker format in the Containerization image store itself.

### Code of Conduct

- [x] I agree to follow this project's Code of Conduct

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by unpacking 20260417-tiny-jib.tgz and reproducing `container image load -i ./build/jib-image.tar`; inspect the legacy archive contents and the reported `oci-layout` failure. Done means the Jib-generated tarfile loads successfully through the image command without the current error.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
docker
Domain
cli, devops
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
48/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.