Dredge is a .NET command-line tool for exploring container images and interacting with container registries through the HTTP APIs defined by the OCI Distribution Specification.
See what is inside an image, which layer put it there, and where space is wasted. Dredge's full-screen explorer brings layers, files, packages, and comparisons together in one keyboard- and mouse-driven view.
dredge image explore mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/aspnet:10.0- Follow changes through layers. Browse each layer or the cumulative filesystem, search paths, and inspect file history with text previews and diffs.
- Find wasted space. Use efficiency insights to locate files replaced or deleted by later layers but still shipped in the image.
- Compare images and packages. Compare another tag's filesystem and package inventory, then drill into changed files.
See the explorer guide.
- Query raw JSON data for manifests, tags, repositories, and referrers.
- Delete tags or manifests from registries that support deletion.
- Inspect and retrieve OCI artifacts or check for required artifact types in CI.
- Inspect an image's configuration and operating system information.
- Explore a Linux image interactively: walk its layers, find wasted space, and compare it with another tag.
- Browse, read, and selectively extract files from Linux images with layer provenance.
- Compare layers or files between images.
- Generate a Dockerfile from an image.
- Save image layers as a merged filesystem or as separate directories.
- Select a platform from a multi-platform image through platform resolution.
See the Dredge documentation for the complete command reference and configuration guides.
Choose one installation method.
Download from the release page. Select the executable for your operating system and architecture.
The release executable requires the .NET 10 runtime.
docker run --rm ghcr.io/mthalman/dredge --helpWhen following command examples, replace dredge with
docker run --rm ghcr.io/mthalman/dredge. Add -it to docker run when using
the interactive explorer.
Install the .NET 10 SDK before installing or updating the tool.
dotnet tool install -g Valleysoft.DredgeQuery the manifest digest of a public image:
dredge manifest digest alpine:latest
sha256:...If the registry requires credentials, see Authenticate to a registry.