[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":790},["ShallowReactive",2],{"/en-us/blog/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji":3,"navigation-en-us":35,"banner-en-us":435,"footer-en-us":445,"blog-post-authors-en-us-Eric Eastwood":687,"blog-related-posts-en-us-journey-in-native-unicode-emoji":701,"assessment-promotions-en-us":741,"next-steps-en-us":780},{"id":4,"title":5,"authorSlugs":6,"body":8,"categorySlug":9,"config":10,"content":14,"description":8,"extension":24,"isFeatured":12,"meta":25,"navigation":26,"path":27,"publishedDate":20,"seo":28,"stem":32,"tagSlugs":33,"__hash__":34},"blogPosts/en-us/blog/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji.yml","Journey In Native Unicode Emoji",[7],"eric-eastwood",null,"engineering",{"slug":11,"featured":12,"template":13},"journey-in-native-unicode-emoji",false,"BlogPost",{"title":15,"description":16,"authors":17,"heroImage":19,"date":20,"body":21,"category":9,"tags":22},"Our journey in switching to native Unicode emoji","Unicode is hard. Here's a guide to getting native Unicode Emoji right 👌. Learn more!",[18],"Eric Eastwood","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1749672573/Blog/Hero%20Images/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji-cover.png","2018-05-30","The switch from image-based emoji to native Unicode wasn't a straightforward journey and included many intricacies to get production ready. Support varies widely on each OS, even between the browsers on the OS. We also wanted to support falling back to image-based emoji for environments that do not support everything yet, otherwise people would see black squares (□). As a simple example, most Linux environments do not have Unicode emoji support unless you manually install a font. I consider this blog post the survival manual I wish I had had when implementing native Unicode emoji myself.\n\n## What is Unicode emoji?\n\nUnicode emoji is a universal character encoding standard maintained by the [Unicode Consortium](https://home.unicode.org/basic-info/overview/) and It provides the basis for processing, storing, and interchanging text data in any language. As far as emojis themselves are concerned, this is the encoding system that develops and houses all emojis. Emojis are encoded in the Unicode system based on appearance rather than a specific semantic. \n\n## Are Unicode emojis compatible with all devices?\n\nThe short answer is yes!\n\nAll modern software providers have become compatible with Unicode so that data can be transferred freely without corruption, regardless of platform, language, or device. \n\nBefore Unicode, there were multiple character encoding systems to assign numbers to each of the letters and numbers that were used by computers. But these character encoding systems simply couldn’t keep up with the volume of languages using different letters and numbers. The data passing through these different encodings ran the risk of being corrupted due to a lack of sufficient support from a given computer - particularly servers.\n\nAnd so, a new system was born: Unicode.\n\n## Why move to native Unicode emoji?\n\nWe decided to switch to Unicode emoji because it was in line with our decision to use system fonts and it reduces the number of images loaded on a page. You can see the [full discussion in this issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/26371). We were also [interested in](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/22474) [improving](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/27250) the award emoji menu (emoji reaction selector) performance, so it would open quickly without an AJAX request and with less janky scrolling.\n\nThe first step was to find a way to detect whether a given Unicode emoji is supported. Since new emoji/characters are introduced in new versions/releases of Unicode specifications from the [Unicode Consortium](http://unicode.org/), we can consider every emoji in that version supported if a single emoji in that version tests positively. There are exceptions to assuming support for a whole Unicode version, but we can handle them individually as they come up. Unicode 10 is the current stable release but [Unicode Consortium](http://unicode.org/) is working on finishing up Unicode 11 and starting on Unicode 12 at the moment. The Unicode Consortium has [a full table of emoji here with the representation on various platforms](https://unicode.org/emoji/charts/full-emoji-list.html).\n\n## Testing for native emoji Unicode support\n\nWe test an emoji from each Unicode version/release and cache that locally ([`localStorage`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/localStorage)) in a support map to look up later whether a given emoji is supported. If the emoji isn't supported we fall back to an image or CSS sprite depending on the situation.\n\nI couldn't find any existing library or JSON document that mapped a given emoji to their respective Unicode version/release, so I created my own project that scrapes [emojipedia](https://emojipedia.org/) and assembles a JSON map, [`emoji-unicode-version`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/emoji-unicode-version) on npm.\n\nTo test whether a Unicode emoji works, we render it to a `\u003Ccanvas>` and inspect the pixels in the exact middle for any color (if it is black, then the test fails). We also have to ensure the emoji renders as a single character because some emoji are made up of multiple characters (see [ZWJ sequences and skin tone modifier sections below](#emoji-made-up-of-multiple-characters)).\n\nWhen choosing a specific emoji for each version to test, be sure to choose something with color. As an example, I initially chose ⚽ `:soccer:` in the Unicode 5.2 range but since it is a black and white emoji, it always failed so I switched to ⛵ `:sailboat:`.\n\nWe invalidate the support map whenever your user-agent changes because emoji support changes when you get a browser or OS update. We also add a manual `GL_EMOJI_VERSION` for busting the cache when we update the support check logic.\n\nYou can check out our implementation here, [`app/assets/javascripts/emoji/support/unicode_support_map.js`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/blob/ee189fd511e1a2c06f05e0d40e1d0b8875151391/app/assets/javascripts/emoji/support/unicode_support_map.js), [`app/assets/javascripts/emoji/support/is_emoji_unicode_supported.js`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/blob/ee189fd511e1a2c06f05e0d40e1d0b8875151391/app/assets/javascripts/emoji/support/is_emoji_unicode_supported.js)\n\n### Rendering emoji to a canvas in Internet Explorer gotchas\n\nWhen rendering emoji to a `\u003Ccanvas>`, IE11 didn't like our full font-stack and renders small black and white emoji, which are less than ideal.\n\nThe culprit is the `-apple-system` piece 😕\n\n```js\nctx.font = `${fontSize}px -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, \"Segoe UI\", Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif, \"Apple Color Emoji\", \"Segoe UI Emoji\", \"Segoe UI Symbol\"`;\n```\n\nBut if you simply go with the emoji part of the stack, it renders the nice colorful emoji as expected,\n\n```js\nctx.font = `${fontSize}px \"Apple Color Emoji\", \"Segoe UI Emoji\", \"Segoe UI Symbol\"`;\n```\n\nFull font-stack | Small emoji font-stack\n--- | ---\n[![](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/ie-canvas-full-font-stack.png)](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/ie-canvas-full-font-stack-large.png) | [![](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/ie-canvas-short-font-stack.png)](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/ie-canvas-short-font-stack-large.png)\n\n### Unicode 1.1 emoji not rendering as colorful, fancy glyphs when using full font-stack\n\nWe also switched to using a shorter, emoji-only font-stack in CSS to get some of the Unicode 1.1 emoji to render colorfully. Read [more in the issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/29557#note_25544684).\n\nFull font-stack | Small emoji font-stack\n--- | ---\n![font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, \"Segoe UI\", Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif, \"Apple Color Emoji\", \"Segoe UI Emoji\", \"Segoe UI Symbol\";](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/unicode-1-1-full-font-stack.png) | ![font-family: \"Apple Color Emoji\", \"Segoe UI Emoji\", \"Segoe UI Symbol\";](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/unicode-1-1-short-font-stack.png)\n\n### Render emoji on Canvas at 16px\n\nWe use `16px` font size when rendering to the `\u003Ccanvas>` because mobile Safari (iOS 9.3) will always render at 16px regardless of the font size you specify.\n\nThe `32px` pixel example below is rendering at the same size as the `16px` example. If it worked correctly, the `32px` would fill up the empty space.\n\n32px | 16px\n--- | ---\n\u003Ca href=\"https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/16px-font-size-at-32px-large.png\">\u003Cimg srcset=\"https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/16px-font-size-at-32px.png 2x\">\u003C/a> | \u003Ca href=\"https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/16px-font-size-at-16px-large.png\">\u003Cimg srcset=\"https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/16px-font-size-at-16px.png 2x\">\u003C/a>\n\n## Unicode emoji bounds and baseline positioning is different across platforms\n\nAnother issue we ran into when switching is the inconsistency in how emoji vertically align across platforms. The baseline defined in each platform font is different, which makes tweaks to center on one platform throw off another. We didn't find any good solution for perfect vertical centering and opted just to leave it for now. You can read the [full discussion here](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/33044#note_34375144).\n\nFor an in-depth dive into font metrics (not emoji specific), see [*Deep dive CSS: font metrics, line-height and vertical-align*](http://iamvdo.me/en/blog/css-font-metrics-line-height-and-vertical-align) by Vincent De Oliveira (aka iamvdo).\n\n## Emoji fallbacks\n\nWe define optional fallbacks for images and CSS sprites directly on the element. In terms of priority, when `data-fallback-css-class` is defined on the emoji element, we opt to use the CSS sprite. We only sprite things like the award emoji menu, which lists every emoji at once and potentially needs to fall back on everything for platforms that don't support Unicode emoji (like Linux).\n\n```html\n\u003Cgl-emoji data-fallback-src=\"emoji-xxx.png\" data-fallback-css-class=\"emoji-xxx\">\n  xxx\n\u003C/gl-emoji>\n```\n\nWe use [`document.registerElement()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Document/registerElement) in order to hook whenever a `\u003Cgl-emoji>` is used on the page or created and test whether we need to fall back. We use the deprecated v0 web components `document.registerElement()` over the new v1 [`CustomElementRegistry.define()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/CustomElementRegistry/define) because that only works with ES2015 class syntax and in our case, Babel is transpiling everything which makes that syntax incompatible for now. It is also necessary to use a [`document.registerElement()` polyfill](https://github.com/WebReflection/document-register-element) for browsers that don't support it like Safari.\n\nWhen we fall back to a CSS sprite, we add the necessary `.emoji-icon` classes to the `\u003Cgl-emoji>` tag. These extra CSS classes hide the emoji Unicode content inside so only the background image is visible.\n\n```css\n.emoji-icon {\n  /* Hide emoji Unicode */\n  color: transparent;\n  /* Hide emoji Unicode in IE */\n  text-indent: -99em;\n  /* ... */\n}\n```\n\nYou can check out our [`\u003Cgl-emoji>` implementation here](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/blob/ee189fd511e1a2c06f05e0d40e1d0b8875151391/app/assets/javascripts/behaviors/gl_emoji.js).\n\n## Emoji made up of multiple characters\n\nSome emoji are composed of multiple characters, which can be tricky to work with in JavaScript. [`Array.from`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Array/from), [`String.prototype.codePointAt()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/String/codePointAt) are all your friends here. There is a great article, [*JavaScript has a Unicode problem*](https://mathiasbynens.be/notes/javascript-unicode) by Mathias Bynens, going into more detail.\n\n#### Zero Width Joiner (ZWJ) sequences\n\nZero Width Joiner (ZWJ) sequences are composed of multiple emoji characters joined by a ZWJ character `\\u{200D}`, `‍`(non-printing character). You can read more about [ZWJ sequences here](http://emojipedia.org/emoji-zwj-sequences/).\n\n👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 `:family_mwgb:`\n```shell\n[...'👨‍👩‍👧‍👦']\n// [\"👨\", \"‍\", \"👩\", \"‍\", \"👧\", \"‍\", \"👦\"]\n```\n\n#### Skin tone modifier\n\nSkin tone modifiers don't need a ZWJ character to combine with another emoji. You can read more about the [skin tone modifiers here](http://emojipedia.org/modifiers/).\n\n👨🏿 `:man_tone5:`\n```shell\n[...'👨🏿']\n// [\"👨\", \"🏿\"]\n```\n\nI opted to test multiple skin tone modifier combos and only if all pass, consider skin tone modifiers supported at least on a basic level. There was still an outlier on macOS 10.12 where they don't have 🏇🏿 `:horse_racing_toneX:` and I added a separate test for it.\n\n## Emoji discrepancies\n\n### Flag emoji\n\nOn Windows, all `:flag_xx:` emoji are rendered as two-letter international characters instead of a colorful flag like on the Apple ecosystem.\n\n![](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/flag-emoji-windows.png)\n\nOn Android 6, unknown flags are rendered as two-letter international characters.\n\n\u003Cimg srcset=\"https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/flag-emoji-android-6.png 2x\">\n\nOn Android 7, unknown flags are rendered as white flags with blue question marks on them.\n\n\u003Cimg srcset=\"https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/flag-emoji-android-7.png 2x\">\n\n### Keycap emoji on Windows\n\nKeycap (digit) emoji are a bit broken on Windows but appear to be fixed on Chrome 57+, 3️⃣4️⃣5️⃣\n\nBrowser | result\n--- | ---\nChrome 55.0.2883.87 (64-bit) ❌ | ![](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/keycap-chrome-55.0.2883.87.png)\nChrome 56.0.2924.87 (64-bit) ❌ | ![](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/keycap-chrome-56.0.2924.87.png)\nChromium 57.0.2984.0 (64-bit) ✅ | ![](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/keycap-chrome-57.0.2984.0.png)\nChrome 58.0.2999.4 (Official Build) canary (64-bit) ✅ | ![](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/keycap-chrome-58.0.2999.4.png)\n\n### Skin tone splitting from base emoji when width constrained\n\nStarting in Chrome 60+ (maybe 59.1+), the [🤼🏿 `:wrestlers_toneX:` and 🤝🏿 `:handshake_toneX:` emoji started splitting/breaking into separate pieces](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/37654) (base emoji and skin tone) when their container is width constrained, causing overflow/wrapping.\n\nI created a [bug report on the Chromium tracker](https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=764859) but it was closed a \"WontFix\" because the `wrestlers` and `handshake` emoji are no longer \"classified as Emoji_Base\" in the new International Components for Unicode (ICU) data which is used in Chrome.\n\nIt's understandable that those emoji are re-classified but they should display as two separate characters in all scenarios. The 🤼🏿 `:wrestlers_toneX:` emoji is consistently two characters now but the 🤝🏿 `handshake_toneX` still only splits when width constrained, which is pretty sketchy.\n\nCheck the comparison in these screenshots (or [demo for Chrome prior to 59.1](https://codepen.io/MadLittleMods/pen/dZMeXN)),\n\nWindows 10 | macOS\n--- | ---\n![](https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/skin-tone-splitting-windows-10.png) | \u003Cimg srcset=\"https://about.gitlab.com/images/blogimages/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji/skin-tone-splitting-macos.png 2x\">\n\n## Colliding with the object prototype `watch` function\n\nI ran into a small gotcha where some code was looking in an object map for the `watch` ⌚ key. In Firefox, it was pulling [`Object.prototype.watch()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Archive/Web/JavaScript/Object.watch) and causing havoc.\n\n```js\nconst emojiAliases = { foo: 'bar' };\n\n// Expect `undefined` but got some function\nemojiAliases['watch']\n```\n\nI fixed this code up by using the safe lookup [`Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Object/hasOwnProperty),\n\n```js\nconst emojiAliases = { foo: 'bar' };\n\nObject.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(emojiAliases, 'watch')\n```\n\n[`Object.prototype.watch()`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Archive/Web/JavaScript/Object.watch) is now removed in Firefox 58 and the current stable release is Firefox 59.0.2 so you probably won't run into this yourself. But it's still advisable to use `Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty()` for any current/future collisions.\n\n## Things to improve\n\n### Custom emoji\n\nWe are working on adding custom emoji (with animated GIF support). You can track [this issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/13931) and see our [current iteration here](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/merge_requests/14609). It's not merged yet because we need to ensure it works with [Geo replication](https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/administration/geo/index.html.\n\n### Server-side rendered fallbacks\n\nTo speed up time to visible emoji (TTVE™ 😉) for people that have to fall back to image-based emoji, we could server-side render the fallback straight away.\n\nIn order to detect support from the server, on first page visit, we could set a cookie client-side (frontend JavaScript land) based on the unicode support map. Cookies are sent with each request and could be read on the server.\n\nWe have some layers of cache on our Markdown rendering which makes this a bit difficult to do as we would need a response for both the `true` and `false` emoji support. Or we could post-process every request and update the rendered markdown HTML accordingly.\n\n### SVG fallbacks\n\nUsing the [EmojiOne SVG](https://github.com/emojione/emojione/tree/2.2.7/assets/svg) fallbacks would be a nice step above the `.png` images currently. This would save on bandwidth and we would get nice, crisp fallback emoji.\n\nWe could even take it a step further and extract SVGs from the OS specific fonts. For older versions of Windows, we could use the Windows 10 fonts so that everything has the appropriate signature black outline/stroke.\n\nThe EmojiOne SVGs fit nicely on macOS, so nothing to really change there.\n\n### Improving performance\n\nCurrently, we have to bundle a large `digests.json` file into our JavaScript bundles to get the necessary asset digest hash information to serve fallback images.\n\nFor some quick-wins, we can remove those hashes to reduce the file size and serve the JSON payload async. There are some [more ideas in this issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-ce/issues/39000).\n",[23],"frontend","yml",{},true,"/en-us/blog/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji",{"title":15,"description":16,"ogTitle":15,"ogDescription":16,"noIndex":12,"ogImage":19,"ogUrl":29,"ogSiteName":30,"ogType":31,"canonicalUrls":29},"https://about.gitlab.com/blog/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji","https://about.gitlab.com","article","en-us/blog/journey-in-native-unicode-emoji",[23],"XND_hz0H0BupwCwsqQp9gpFEzFnk3R0nqvMU4VZRfMo",{"data":36},{"logo":37,"freeTrial":42,"sales":47,"login":52,"items":57,"search":365,"minimal":396,"duo":415,"pricingDeployment":425},{"config":38},{"href":39,"dataGaName":40,"dataGaLocation":41},"/","gitlab logo","header",{"text":43,"config":44},"Get free trial",{"href":45,"dataGaName":46,"dataGaLocation":41},"https://gitlab.com/-/trial_registrations/new?glm_source=about.gitlab.com&glm_content=default-saas-trial/","free trial",{"text":48,"config":49},"Talk to sales",{"href":50,"dataGaName":51,"dataGaLocation":41},"/sales/","sales",{"text":53,"config":54},"Sign in",{"href":55,"dataGaName":56,"dataGaLocation":41},"https://gitlab.com/users/sign_in/","sign in",[58,85,180,185,286,346],{"text":59,"config":60,"cards":62},"Platform",{"dataNavLevelOne":61},"platform",[63,69,77],{"title":59,"description":64,"link":65},"The intelligent orchestration platform for DevSecOps",{"text":66,"config":67},"Explore our Platform",{"href":68,"dataGaName":61,"dataGaLocation":41},"/platform/",{"title":70,"description":71,"link":72},"GitLab Duo Agent Platform","Agentic AI for the entire software lifecycle",{"text":73,"config":74},"Meet GitLab Duo",{"href":75,"dataGaName":76,"dataGaLocation":41},"/gitlab-duo-agent-platform/","gitlab duo agent platform",{"title":78,"description":79,"link":80},"Why GitLab","See the top reasons enterprises choose GitLab",{"text":81,"config":82},"Learn more",{"href":83,"dataGaName":84,"dataGaLocation":41},"/why-gitlab/","why gitlab",{"text":86,"left":26,"config":87,"link":89,"lists":93,"footer":162},"Product",{"dataNavLevelOne":88},"solutions",{"text":90,"config":91},"View all Solutions",{"href":92,"dataGaName":88,"dataGaLocation":41},"/solutions/",[94,118,141],{"title":95,"description":96,"link":97,"items":102},"Automation","CI/CD and automation to accelerate deployment",{"config":98},{"icon":99,"href":100,"dataGaName":101,"dataGaLocation":41},"AutomatedCodeAlt","/solutions/delivery-automation/","automated software delivery",[103,107,110,114],{"text":104,"config":105},"CI/CD",{"href":106,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":104},"/solutions/continuous-integration/",{"text":70,"config":108},{"href":75,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":109},"gitlab duo agent platform - product menu",{"text":111,"config":112},"Source Code Management",{"href":113,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":111},"/solutions/source-code-management/",{"text":115,"config":116},"Automated Software Delivery",{"href":100,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":117},"Automated software delivery",{"title":119,"description":120,"link":121,"items":126},"Security","Deliver code faster without compromising security",{"config":122},{"href":123,"dataGaName":124,"dataGaLocation":41,"icon":125},"/solutions/application-security-testing/","security and compliance","ShieldCheckLight",[127,131,136],{"text":128,"config":129},"Application Security Testing",{"href":123,"dataGaName":130,"dataGaLocation":41},"Application security testing",{"text":132,"config":133},"Software Supply Chain Security",{"href":134,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":135},"/solutions/supply-chain/","Software supply chain security",{"text":137,"config":138},"Software Compliance",{"href":139,"dataGaName":140,"dataGaLocation":41},"/solutions/software-compliance/","software compliance",{"title":142,"link":143,"items":148},"Measurement",{"config":144},{"icon":145,"href":146,"dataGaName":147,"dataGaLocation":41},"DigitalTransformation","/solutions/visibility-measurement/","visibility and measurement",[149,153,157],{"text":150,"config":151},"Visibility & Measurement",{"href":146,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":152},"Visibility and Measurement",{"text":154,"config":155},"Value Stream Management",{"href":156,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":154},"/solutions/value-stream-management/",{"text":158,"config":159},"Analytics & Insights",{"href":160,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":161},"/solutions/analytics-and-insights/","Analytics and insights",{"title":163,"items":164},"GitLab for",[165,170,175],{"text":166,"config":167},"Enterprise",{"href":168,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":169},"/enterprise/","enterprise",{"text":171,"config":172},"Small Business",{"href":173,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":174},"/small-business/","small business",{"text":176,"config":177},"Public Sector",{"href":178,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":179},"/solutions/public-sector/","public sector",{"text":181,"config":182},"Pricing",{"href":183,"dataGaName":184,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataNavLevelOne":184},"/pricing/","pricing",{"text":186,"config":187,"link":189,"lists":193,"feature":273},"Resources",{"dataNavLevelOne":188},"resources",{"text":190,"config":191},"View all resources",{"href":192,"dataGaName":188,"dataGaLocation":41},"/resources/",[194,227,245],{"title":195,"items":196},"Getting started",[197,202,207,212,217,222],{"text":198,"config":199},"Install",{"href":200,"dataGaName":201,"dataGaLocation":41},"/install/","install",{"text":203,"config":204},"Quick start guides",{"href":205,"dataGaName":206,"dataGaLocation":41},"/get-started/","quick setup checklists",{"text":208,"config":209},"Learn",{"href":210,"dataGaLocation":41,"dataGaName":211},"https://university.gitlab.com/","learn",{"text":213,"config":214},"Product documentation",{"href":215,"dataGaName":216,"dataGaLocation":41},"https://docs.gitlab.com/","product documentation",{"text":218,"config":219},"Best practice videos",{"href":220,"dataGaName":221,"dataGaLocation":41},"/getting-started-videos/","best practice videos",{"text":223,"config":224},"Integrations",{"href":225,"dataGaName":226,"dataGaLocation":41},"/integrations/","integrations",{"title":228,"items":229},"Discover",[230,235,240],{"text":231,"config":232},"Customer success stories",{"href":233,"dataGaName":234,"dataGaLocation":41},"/customers/","customer success stories",{"text":236,"config":237},"Blog",{"href":238,"dataGaName":239,"dataGaLocation":41},"/blog/","blog",{"text":241,"config":242},"Remote",{"href":243,"dataGaName":244,"dataGaLocation":41},"https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/company/culture/all-remote/","remote",{"title":246,"items":247},"Connect",[248,253,258,263,268],{"text":249,"config":250},"GitLab Services",{"href":251,"dataGaName":252,"dataGaLocation":41},"/services/","services",{"text":254,"config":255},"Community",{"href":256,"dataGaName":257,"dataGaLocation":41},"/community/","community",{"text":259,"config":260},"Forum",{"href":261,"dataGaName":262,"dataGaLocation":41},"https://forum.gitlab.com/","forum",{"text":264,"config":265},"Events",{"href":266,"dataGaName":267,"dataGaLocation":41},"/events/","events",{"text":269,"config":270},"Partners",{"href":271,"dataGaName":272,"dataGaLocation":41},"/partners/","partners",{"backgroundColor":274,"textColor":275,"text":276,"image":277,"link":281},"#2f2a6b","#fff","Insights for the future of software development",{"altText":278,"config":279},"the source promo card",{"src":280},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1758208064/dzl0dbift9xdizyelkk4.svg",{"text":282,"config":283},"Read the latest",{"href":284,"dataGaName":285,"dataGaLocation":41},"/the-source/","the source",{"text":287,"config":288,"lists":290},"Company",{"dataNavLevelOne":289},"company",[291],{"items":292},[293,298,304,306,311,316,321,326,331,336,341],{"text":294,"config":295},"About",{"href":296,"dataGaName":297,"dataGaLocation":41},"/company/","about",{"text":299,"config":300,"footerGa":303},"Jobs",{"href":301,"dataGaName":302,"dataGaLocation":41},"/jobs/","jobs",{"dataGaName":302},{"text":264,"config":305},{"href":266,"dataGaName":267,"dataGaLocation":41},{"text":307,"config":308},"Leadership",{"href":309,"dataGaName":310,"dataGaLocation":41},"/company/team/e-group/","leadership",{"text":312,"config":313},"Team",{"href":314,"dataGaName":315,"dataGaLocation":41},"/company/team/","team",{"text":317,"config":318},"Handbook",{"href":319,"dataGaName":320,"dataGaLocation":41},"https://handbook.gitlab.com/","handbook",{"text":322,"config":323},"Investor relations",{"href":324,"dataGaName":325,"dataGaLocation":41},"https://ir.gitlab.com/","investor relations",{"text":327,"config":328},"Trust Center",{"href":329,"dataGaName":330,"dataGaLocation":41},"/security/","trust center",{"text":332,"config":333},"AI Transparency Center",{"href":334,"dataGaName":335,"dataGaLocation":41},"/ai-transparency-center/","ai transparency center",{"text":337,"config":338},"Newsletter",{"href":339,"dataGaName":340,"dataGaLocation":41},"/company/contact/#contact-forms","newsletter",{"text":342,"config":343},"Press",{"href":344,"dataGaName":345,"dataGaLocation":41},"/press/","press",{"text":347,"config":348,"lists":349},"Contact us",{"dataNavLevelOne":289},[350],{"items":351},[352,355,360],{"text":48,"config":353},{"href":50,"dataGaName":354,"dataGaLocation":41},"talk to sales",{"text":356,"config":357},"Support portal",{"href":358,"dataGaName":359,"dataGaLocation":41},"https://support.gitlab.com","support portal",{"text":361,"config":362},"Customer portal",{"href":363,"dataGaName":364,"dataGaLocation":41},"https://customers.gitlab.com/customers/sign_in/","customer portal",{"close":366,"login":367,"suggestions":374},"Close",{"text":368,"link":369},"To search repositories and projects, login to",{"text":370,"config":371},"gitlab.com",{"href":55,"dataGaName":372,"dataGaLocation":373},"search login","search",{"text":375,"default":376},"Suggestions",[377,379,383,385,389,393],{"text":70,"config":378},{"href":75,"dataGaName":70,"dataGaLocation":373},{"text":380,"config":381},"Code Suggestions (AI)",{"href":382,"dataGaName":380,"dataGaLocation":373},"/solutions/code-suggestions/",{"text":104,"config":384},{"href":106,"dataGaName":104,"dataGaLocation":373},{"text":386,"config":387},"GitLab on AWS",{"href":388,"dataGaName":386,"dataGaLocation":373},"/partners/technology-partners/aws/",{"text":390,"config":391},"GitLab on Google Cloud",{"href":392,"dataGaName":390,"dataGaLocation":373},"/partners/technology-partners/google-cloud-platform/",{"text":394,"config":395},"Why GitLab?",{"href":83,"dataGaName":394,"dataGaLocation":373},{"freeTrial":397,"mobileIcon":402,"desktopIcon":407,"secondaryButton":410},{"text":398,"config":399},"Start free trial",{"href":400,"dataGaName":46,"dataGaLocation":401},"https://gitlab.com/-/trials/new/","nav",{"altText":403,"config":404},"Gitlab Icon",{"src":405,"dataGaName":406,"dataGaLocation":401},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1758203874/jypbw1jx72aexsoohd7x.svg","gitlab icon",{"altText":403,"config":408},{"src":409,"dataGaName":406,"dataGaLocation":401},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1758203875/gs4c8p8opsgvflgkswz9.svg",{"text":411,"config":412},"Get Started",{"href":413,"dataGaName":414,"dataGaLocation":401},"https://gitlab.com/-/trial_registrations/new?glm_source=about.gitlab.com/get-started/","get started",{"freeTrial":416,"mobileIcon":421,"desktopIcon":423},{"text":417,"config":418},"Learn more about GitLab Duo",{"href":419,"dataGaName":420,"dataGaLocation":401},"/gitlab-duo/","gitlab duo",{"altText":403,"config":422},{"src":405,"dataGaName":406,"dataGaLocation":401},{"altText":403,"config":424},{"src":409,"dataGaName":406,"dataGaLocation":401},{"freeTrial":426,"mobileIcon":431,"desktopIcon":433},{"text":427,"config":428},"Back to pricing",{"href":183,"dataGaName":429,"dataGaLocation":401,"icon":430},"back to pricing","GoBack",{"altText":403,"config":432},{"src":405,"dataGaName":406,"dataGaLocation":401},{"altText":403,"config":434},{"src":409,"dataGaName":406,"dataGaLocation":401},{"title":436,"button":437,"config":442},"See how agentic AI transforms software delivery",{"text":438,"config":439},"Watch GitLab Transcend now",{"href":440,"dataGaName":441,"dataGaLocation":41},"/events/transcend/virtual/","transcend event",{"layout":443,"icon":444},"release","AiStar",{"data":446},{"text":447,"source":448,"edit":454,"contribute":459,"config":464,"items":469,"minimal":676},"Git is a trademark of Software Freedom Conservancy and our use of 'GitLab' is under license",{"text":449,"config":450},"View page source",{"href":451,"dataGaName":452,"dataGaLocation":453},"https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/marketing/digital-experience/about-gitlab-com/","page source","footer",{"text":455,"config":456},"Edit this page",{"href":457,"dataGaName":458,"dataGaLocation":453},"https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/marketing/digital-experience/about-gitlab-com/-/blob/main/content/","web ide",{"text":460,"config":461},"Please contribute",{"href":462,"dataGaName":463,"dataGaLocation":453},"https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/marketing/digital-experience/about-gitlab-com/-/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md/","please contribute",{"twitter":465,"facebook":466,"youtube":467,"linkedin":468},"https://twitter.com/gitlab","https://www.facebook.com/gitlab","https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnMGQ8QHMAnVIsI3xJrihhg","https://www.linkedin.com/company/gitlab-com",[470,517,571,615,642],{"title":181,"links":471,"subMenu":486},[472,476,481],{"text":473,"config":474},"View plans",{"href":183,"dataGaName":475,"dataGaLocation":453},"view plans",{"text":477,"config":478},"Why Premium?",{"href":479,"dataGaName":480,"dataGaLocation":453},"/pricing/premium/","why premium",{"text":482,"config":483},"Why Ultimate?",{"href":484,"dataGaName":485,"dataGaLocation":453},"/pricing/ultimate/","why ultimate",[487],{"title":488,"links":489},"Contact Us",[490,493,495,497,502,507,512],{"text":491,"config":492},"Contact sales",{"href":50,"dataGaName":51,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":356,"config":494},{"href":358,"dataGaName":359,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":361,"config":496},{"href":363,"dataGaName":364,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":498,"config":499},"Status",{"href":500,"dataGaName":501,"dataGaLocation":453},"https://status.gitlab.com/","status",{"text":503,"config":504},"Terms of use",{"href":505,"dataGaName":506,"dataGaLocation":453},"/terms/","terms of use",{"text":508,"config":509},"Privacy statement",{"href":510,"dataGaName":511,"dataGaLocation":453},"/privacy/","privacy statement",{"text":513,"config":514},"Cookie preferences",{"dataGaName":515,"dataGaLocation":453,"id":516,"isOneTrustButton":26},"cookie preferences","ot-sdk-btn",{"title":86,"links":518,"subMenu":527},[519,523],{"text":520,"config":521},"DevSecOps platform",{"href":68,"dataGaName":522,"dataGaLocation":453},"devsecops platform",{"text":524,"config":525},"AI-Assisted Development",{"href":419,"dataGaName":526,"dataGaLocation":453},"ai-assisted development",[528],{"title":529,"links":530},"Topics",[531,536,541,546,551,556,561,566],{"text":532,"config":533},"CICD",{"href":534,"dataGaName":535,"dataGaLocation":453},"/topics/ci-cd/","cicd",{"text":537,"config":538},"GitOps",{"href":539,"dataGaName":540,"dataGaLocation":453},"/topics/gitops/","gitops",{"text":542,"config":543},"DevOps",{"href":544,"dataGaName":545,"dataGaLocation":453},"/topics/devops/","devops",{"text":547,"config":548},"Version Control",{"href":549,"dataGaName":550,"dataGaLocation":453},"/topics/version-control/","version control",{"text":552,"config":553},"DevSecOps",{"href":554,"dataGaName":555,"dataGaLocation":453},"/topics/devsecops/","devsecops",{"text":557,"config":558},"Cloud Native",{"href":559,"dataGaName":560,"dataGaLocation":453},"/topics/cloud-native/","cloud native",{"text":562,"config":563},"AI for Coding",{"href":564,"dataGaName":565,"dataGaLocation":453},"/topics/devops/ai-for-coding/","ai for coding",{"text":567,"config":568},"Agentic AI",{"href":569,"dataGaName":570,"dataGaLocation":453},"/topics/agentic-ai/","agentic ai",{"title":572,"links":573},"Solutions",[574,576,578,583,587,590,594,597,599,602,605,610],{"text":128,"config":575},{"href":123,"dataGaName":128,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":117,"config":577},{"href":100,"dataGaName":101,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":579,"config":580},"Agile development",{"href":581,"dataGaName":582,"dataGaLocation":453},"/solutions/agile-delivery/","agile delivery",{"text":584,"config":585},"SCM",{"href":113,"dataGaName":586,"dataGaLocation":453},"source code management",{"text":532,"config":588},{"href":106,"dataGaName":589,"dataGaLocation":453},"continuous integration & delivery",{"text":591,"config":592},"Value stream management",{"href":156,"dataGaName":593,"dataGaLocation":453},"value stream management",{"text":537,"config":595},{"href":596,"dataGaName":540,"dataGaLocation":453},"/solutions/gitops/",{"text":166,"config":598},{"href":168,"dataGaName":169,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":600,"config":601},"Small business",{"href":173,"dataGaName":174,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":603,"config":604},"Public sector",{"href":178,"dataGaName":179,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":606,"config":607},"Education",{"href":608,"dataGaName":609,"dataGaLocation":453},"/solutions/education/","education",{"text":611,"config":612},"Financial services",{"href":613,"dataGaName":614,"dataGaLocation":453},"/solutions/finance/","financial services",{"title":186,"links":616},[617,619,621,623,626,628,630,632,634,636,638,640],{"text":198,"config":618},{"href":200,"dataGaName":201,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":203,"config":620},{"href":205,"dataGaName":206,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":208,"config":622},{"href":210,"dataGaName":211,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":213,"config":624},{"href":215,"dataGaName":625,"dataGaLocation":453},"docs",{"text":236,"config":627},{"href":238,"dataGaName":239,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":231,"config":629},{"href":233,"dataGaName":234,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":241,"config":631},{"href":243,"dataGaName":244,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":249,"config":633},{"href":251,"dataGaName":252,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":254,"config":635},{"href":256,"dataGaName":257,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":259,"config":637},{"href":261,"dataGaName":262,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":264,"config":639},{"href":266,"dataGaName":267,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":269,"config":641},{"href":271,"dataGaName":272,"dataGaLocation":453},{"title":287,"links":643},[644,646,648,650,652,654,656,660,665,667,669,671],{"text":294,"config":645},{"href":296,"dataGaName":289,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":299,"config":647},{"href":301,"dataGaName":302,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":307,"config":649},{"href":309,"dataGaName":310,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":312,"config":651},{"href":314,"dataGaName":315,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":317,"config":653},{"href":319,"dataGaName":320,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":322,"config":655},{"href":324,"dataGaName":325,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":657,"config":658},"Sustainability",{"href":659,"dataGaName":657,"dataGaLocation":453},"/sustainability/",{"text":661,"config":662},"Diversity, inclusion and belonging (DIB)",{"href":663,"dataGaName":664,"dataGaLocation":453},"/diversity-inclusion-belonging/","Diversity, inclusion and belonging",{"text":327,"config":666},{"href":329,"dataGaName":330,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":337,"config":668},{"href":339,"dataGaName":340,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":342,"config":670},{"href":344,"dataGaName":345,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":672,"config":673},"Modern Slavery Transparency Statement",{"href":674,"dataGaName":675,"dataGaLocation":453},"https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/legal/modern-slavery-act-transparency-statement/","modern slavery transparency statement",{"items":677},[678,681,684],{"text":679,"config":680},"Terms",{"href":505,"dataGaName":506,"dataGaLocation":453},{"text":682,"config":683},"Cookies",{"dataGaName":515,"dataGaLocation":453,"id":516,"isOneTrustButton":26},{"text":685,"config":686},"Privacy",{"href":510,"dataGaName":511,"dataGaLocation":453},[688],{"id":689,"title":18,"body":8,"config":690,"content":692,"description":8,"extension":24,"meta":696,"navigation":26,"path":697,"seo":698,"stem":699,"__hash__":700},"blogAuthors/en-us/blog/authors/eric-eastwood.yml",{"template":691},"BlogAuthor",{"name":18,"config":693},{"headshot":694,"ctfId":695},"","MadLittleMods",{},"/en-us/blog/authors/eric-eastwood",{},"en-us/blog/authors/eric-eastwood","3GY5NqxW7tQ8UAQZ6F5lUcRr_K1vdp-6xP1nVi6jI4I",[702,717,730],{"content":703,"config":715},{"title":704,"description":705,"authors":706,"heroImage":708,"date":709,"body":710,"category":9,"tags":711},"How to use GitLab Container Virtual Registry with Docker Hardened Images","Learn how to simplify container image management with this step-by-step guide.",[707],"Tim Rizzi","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772111172/mwhgbjawn62kymfwrhle.png","2026-03-12","If you're a platform engineer, you've probably had this conversation:\n  \n*\"Security says we need to use hardened base images.\"*\n\n*\"Great, where do I configure credentials for yet another registry?\"*\n\n*\"Also, how do we make sure everyone actually uses them?\"*\n\nOr this one:\n\n*\"Why are our builds so slow?\"*\n\n*\"We're pulling the same 500MB image from Docker Hub in every single job.\"*\n\n*\"Can't we just cache these somewhere?\"*\n\nI've been working on [Container Virtual Registry](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/packages/virtual_registry/container/) at GitLab specifically to solve these problems. It's a pull-through cache that sits in front of your upstream registries — Docker Hub, dhi.io (Docker Hardened Images), MCR, and Quay — and gives your teams a single endpoint to pull from. Images get cached on the first pull. Subsequent pulls come from the cache. Your developers don't need to know or care which upstream a particular image came from.\n\nThis article shows you how to set up Container Virtual Registry, specifically with Docker Hardened Images in mind, since that's a combination that makes a lot of sense for teams concerned about security and not making their developers' lives harder.\n\n## What problem are we actually solving?\n\nThe Platform teams I usually talk to manage container images across three to five registries:\n\n* **Docker Hub** for most base images\n* **dhi.io** for Docker Hardened Images (security-conscious workloads)\n* **MCR** for .NET and Azure tooling\n* **Quay.io** for Red Hat ecosystem stuff\n* **Internal registries** for proprietary images\n\nEach one has its own:\n\n* Authentication mechanism\n* Network latency characteristics\n* Way of organizing image paths\n\nYour CI/CD configs end up littered with registry-specific logic. Credential management becomes a project unto itself. And every pipeline job pulls the same base images over the network, even though they haven't changed in weeks.\n\nContainer Virtual Registry consolidates this. One registry URL. One authentication flow (GitLab's). Cached images are served from GitLab's infrastructure rather than traversing the internet each time.\n\n## How it works\n\nThe model is straightforward:\n\n```text\nYour pipeline pulls:\n  gitlab.com/virtual_registries/container/1000016/python:3.13\n\nVirtual registry checks:\n  1. Do I have this cached? → Return it\n  2. No? → Fetch from upstream, cache it, return it\n\n```\n\nYou configure upstreams in priority order. When a pull request comes in, the virtual registry checks each upstream until it finds the image. The result gets cached for a configurable period (default 24 hours).\n\n```text\n┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐\n│                    CI/CD Pipeline                       │\n│                          │                              │\n│                          ▼                              │\n│   gitlab.com/virtual_registries/container/\u003Cid>/image   │\n└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘\n                           │\n                           ▼\n┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐\n│            Container Virtual Registry                   │\n│                                                         │\n│  Upstream 1: Docker Hub ────────────────┐               │\n│  Upstream 2: dhi.io (Hardened) ────────┐│               │\n│  Upstream 3: MCR ─────────────────────┐││               │\n│  Upstream 4: Quay.io ────────────────┐│││               │\n│                                      ││││               │\n│                    ┌─────────────────┴┴┴┴──┐            │\n│                    │        Cache          │            │\n│                    │  (manifests + layers) │            │\n│                    └───────────────────────┘            │\n└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘\n```\n\n## Why this matters for Docker Hardened Images\n\n[Docker Hardened Images](https://docs.docker.com/dhi/) are great because of the minimal attack surface, near-zero CVEs, proper software bills of materials (SBOMs), and SLSA provenance. If you're evaluating base images for security-sensitive workloads, they should be on your list.\n\nBut adopting them creates the same operational friction as any new registry:\n\n* **Credential distribution**: You need to get Docker credentials to every system that pulls images from dhi.io.\n* **CI/CD changes**: Every pipeline needs to be updated to authenticate with dhi.io.\n* **Developer friction**: People need to remember to use the hardened variants.\n* **Visibility gap**: It's difficulat to tell if teams are actually using hardened images vs. regular ones.\n\nVirtual registry addresses each of these:\n\n**Single credential**: Teams authenticate to GitLab. The virtual registry handles upstream authentication. You configure Docker credentials once, at the registry level, and they apply to all pulls.\n\n**No CI/CD changes per-team**: Point pipelines at your virtual registry. Done. The upstream configuration is centralized.\n\n**Gradual adoption**: Since images get cached with their full path, you can see in the cache what's being pulled. If someone's pulling `library/python:3.11` instead of the hardened variant, you'll know.\n\n**Audit trail**: The cache shows you exactly which images are in active use. Useful for compliance, useful for understanding what your fleet actually depends on.\n\n## Setting it up\n\nHere's a real setup using the Python client from this demo project.\n\n### Create the virtual registry\n\n```python\nfrom virtual_registry_client import VirtualRegistryClient\n\nclient = VirtualRegistryClient()\n\nregistry = client.create_virtual_registry(\n    group_id=\"785414\",  # Your top-level group ID\n    name=\"platform-images\",\n    description=\"Cached container images for platform teams\"\n)\n\nprint(f\"Registry ID: {registry['id']}\")\n# You'll need this ID for the pull URL\n```\n\n### Add Docker Hub as an upstream\n\nFor official images like Alpine, Python, etc.:\n\n```python\ndocker_upstream = client.create_upstream(\n    registry_id=registry['id'],\n    url=\"https://registry-1.docker.io\",\n    name=\"Docker Hub\",\n    cache_validity_hours=24\n)\n```\n\n### Add Docker Hardened Images (dhi.io)\n\nDocker Hardened Images are hosted on `dhi.io`, a separate registry that requires authentication:\n\n```python\ndhi_upstream = client.create_upstream(\n    registry_id=registry['id'],\n    url=\"https://dhi.io\",\n    name=\"Docker Hardened Images\",\n    username=\"your-docker-username\",\n    password=\"your-docker-access-token\",\n    cache_validity_hours=24\n)\n```\n\n### Add other upstreams\n\n```python\n# MCR for .NET teams\nclient.create_upstream(\n    registry_id=registry['id'],\n    url=\"https://mcr.microsoft.com\",\n    name=\"Microsoft Container Registry\",\n    cache_validity_hours=48\n)\n\n# Quay for Red Hat stuff\nclient.create_upstream(\n    registry_id=registry['id'],\n    url=\"https://quay.io\",\n    name=\"Quay.io\",\n    cache_validity_hours=24\n)\n```\n\n### Update your CI/CD\n\nHere's a `.gitlab-ci.yml` that pulls through the virtual registry:\n\n```yaml\nvariables:\n  VIRTUAL_REGISTRY_ID: \u003Cyour_virtual_registry_ID>\n\n  \nbuild:\n  image: docker:24\n  services:\n    - docker:24-dind\n  before_script:\n    # Authenticate to GitLab (which handles upstream auth for you)\n    - echo \"${CI_JOB_TOKEN}\" | docker login -u gitlab-ci-token --password-stdin gitlab.com\n  script:\n    # All of these go through your single virtual registry\n    \n    # Official Docker Hub images (use library/ prefix)\n    - docker pull gitlab.com/virtual_registries/container/${VIRTUAL_REGISTRY_ID}/library/alpine:latest\n    \n    # Docker Hardened Images from dhi.io (no prefix needed)\n    - docker pull gitlab.com/virtual_registries/container/${VIRTUAL_REGISTRY_ID}/python:3.13\n    \n    # .NET from MCR\n    - docker pull gitlab.com/virtual_registries/container/${VIRTUAL_REGISTRY_ID}/dotnet/sdk:8.0\n```\n\n### Image path formats\n\nDifferent registries use different path conventions:\n\n| Registry | Pull URL Example |\n|----------|------------------|\n| Docker Hub (official) | `.../library/python:3.11-slim` |\n| Docker Hardened Images (dhi.io) | `.../python:3.13` |\n| MCR | `.../dotnet/sdk:8.0` |\n| Quay.io | `.../prometheus/prometheus:latest` |\n\n### Verify it's working\n\nAfter some pulls, check your cache:\n\n```python\nupstreams = client.list_registry_upstreams(registry['id'])\nfor upstream in upstreams:\n    entries = client.list_cache_entries(upstream['id'])\n    print(f\"{upstream['name']}: {len(entries)} cached entries\")\n\n```\n\n## What the numbers look like\n\nI ran tests pulling images through the virtual registry:\n\n| Metric | Without Cache | With Warm Cache |\n|--------|---------------|-----------------|\n| Pull time (Alpine) | 10.3s | 4.2s |\n| Pull time (Python 3.13 DHI) | 11.6s | ~4s |\n| Network roundtrips to upstream | Every pull | Cache misses only |\n\n\n\n\nThe first pull is the same speed (it has to fetch from upstream). Every pull after that, for the cache validity period, comes straight from GitLab's storage. No network hop to Docker Hub, dhi.io, MCR, or wherever the image lives.\n\nFor a team running hundreds of pipeline jobs per day, that's hours of cumulative build time saved.\n\n## Practical considerations\nHere are some considerations to keep in mind:\n\n### Cache validity\n\n24 hours is the default. For security-sensitive images where you want patches quickly, consider 12 hours or less:\n\n```python\nclient.create_upstream(\n    registry_id=registry['id'],\n    url=\"https://dhi.io\",\n    name=\"Docker Hardened Images\",\n    username=\"your-username\",\n    password=\"your-token\",\n    cache_validity_hours=12\n)\n```\n\nFor stable, infrequently-updated images (like specific version tags), longer validity is fine.\n\n### Upstream priority\n\nUpstreams are checked in order. If you have images with the same name on different registries, the first matching upstream wins.\n\n### Limits\n\n* Maximum of 20 virtual registries per group\n* Maximum of 20 upstreams per virtual registry\n\n## Configuration via UI\n\nYou can also configure virtual registries and upstreams directly from the GitLab UI—no API calls required. Navigate to your group's **Settings > Packages and registries > Virtual Registry** to:\n\n* Create and manage virtual registries\n* Add, edit, and reorder upstream registries\n* View and manage the cache\n* Monitor which images are being pulled\n\n## What's next\n\nWe're actively developing:\n\n* **Allow/deny lists**: Use regex to control which images can be pulled from specific upstreams.\n\nThis is beta software. It works, people are using it in production, but we're still iterating based on feedback.\n\n## Share your feedback\n\nIf you're a platform engineer dealing with container registry sprawl, I'd like to understand your setup:\n\n* How many upstream registries are you managing?\n* What's your biggest pain point with the current state?\n* Would something like this help, and if not, what's missing?\n\nPlease share your experiences in the [Container Virtual Registry feedback issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/work_items/589630).\n## Related resources\n- [New GitLab metrics and registry features help reduce CI/CD bottlenecks](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/new-gitlab-metrics-and-registry-features-help-reduce-ci-cd-bottlenecks/#container-virtual-registry)\n- [Container Virtual Registry documentation](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/packages/virtual_registry/container/)\n- [Container Virtual Registry API](https://docs.gitlab.com/api/container_virtual_registries/)",[712,713,714],"tutorial","product","features",{"featured":12,"template":13,"slug":716},"using-gitlab-container-virtual-registry-with-docker-hardened-images",{"content":718,"config":728},{"title":719,"description":720,"authors":721,"heroImage":723,"date":724,"category":9,"tags":725,"body":727},"How IIT Bombay students are coding the future with GitLab","At GitLab, we often talk about how software accelerates innovation. But sometimes, you have to step away from the Zoom calls and stand in a crowded university hall to remember why we do this.",[722],"Nick Veenhof","https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1750099013/Blog/Hero%20Images/Blog/Hero%20Images/blog-image-template-1800x945%20%2814%29_6VTUA8mUhOZNDaRVNPeKwl_1750099012960.png","2026-01-08",[257,609,726],"open source","The GitLab team recently had the privilege of judging the **iHack Hackathon** at **IIT Bombay's E-Summit**. The energy was electric, the coffee was flowing, and the talent was undeniable. But what struck us most wasn't just the code — it was the sheer determination of students to solve real-world problems, often overcoming significant logistical and financial hurdles to simply be in the room.\n\n\nThrough our [GitLab for Education program](https://about.gitlab.com/solutions/education/), we aim to empower the next generation of developers with tools and opportunity. Here is a look at what the students built, and how they used GitLab to bridge the gap between idea and reality.\n\n## The challenge: Build faster, build securely\n\nThe premise for the GitLab track of the hackathon was simple: Don't just show us a product; show us how you built it. We wanted to see how students utilized GitLab's platform — from Issue Boards to CI/CD pipelines — to accelerate the development lifecycle.\n\nThe results were inspiring.\n\n## The winners\n\n### 1st place: Team Decode — Democratizing Scientific Research\n\n**Project:** FIRE (Fast Integrated Research Environment)\n\nTeam Decode took home the top prize with a solution that warms a developer's heart: a local-first, blazing-fast data processing tool built with [Rust](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/secure-rust-development-with-gitlab/) and Tauri. They identified a massive pain point for data science students: existing tools are fragmented, slow, and expensive.\n\nTheir solution, FIRE, allows researchers to visualize complex formats (like NetCDF) instantly. What impressed the judges most was their \"hacker\" ethos. They didn't just build a tool; they built it to be open and accessible.\n\n**How they used GitLab:** Since the team lived far apart, asynchronous communication was key. They utilized **GitLab Issue Boards** and **Milestones** to track progress and integrated their repo with Telegram to get real-time push notifications. As one team member noted, \"Coordinating all these technologies was really difficult, and what helped us was GitLab... the Issue Board really helped us track who was doing what.\"\n\n![Team Decode](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1767380253/epqazj1jc5c7zkgqun9h.jpg)\n\n### 2nd place: Team BichdeHueDost — Reuniting to Solve Payments\n\n**Project:** SemiPay (RFID Cashless Payment for Schools)\n\nThe team name, BichdeHueDost, translates to \"Friends who have been set apart.\" It's a fitting name for a group of friends who went to different colleges but reunited to build this project. They tackled a unique problem: handling cash in schools for young children. Their solution used RFID cards backed by a blockchain ledger to ensure secure, cashless transactions for students.\n\n**How they used GitLab:** They utilized [GitLab CI/CD](https://about.gitlab.com/topics/ci-cd/) to automate the build process for their Flutter application (APK), ensuring that every commit resulted in a testable artifact. This allowed them to iterate quickly despite the \"flaky\" nature of cross-platform mobile development.\n\n![Team BichdeHueDost](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1767380253/pkukrjgx2miukb6nrj5g.jpg)\n\n### 3rd place: Team ZenYukti — Agentic Repository Intelligence\n\n**Project:** RepoInsight AI (AI-powered, GitLab-native intelligence platform)\n\nTeam ZenYukti impressed us with a solution that tackles a universal developer pain point: understanding unfamiliar codebases. What stood out to the judges was the tool's practical approach to onboarding and code comprehension: RepoInsight-AI automatically generates documentation, visualizes repository structure, and even helps identify bugs, all while maintaining context about the entire codebase.\n\n**How they used GitLab:** The team built a comprehensive CI/CD pipeline that showcased GitLab's security and DevOps capabilities. They integrated [GitLab's Security Templates](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/tree/master/lib/gitlab/ci/templates/Security) (SAST, Dependency Scanning, and Secret Detection), and utilized [GitLab Container Registry](https://docs.gitlab.com/user/packages/container_registry/) to manage their Docker images for backend and frontend components. They created an AI auto-review bot that runs on merge requests, demonstrating an \"agentic workflow\" where AI assists in the development process itself.\n\n![Team ZenYukti](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1767380253/ymlzqoruv5al1secatba.jpg)\n\n## Beyond the code: A lesson in inclusion\n\nWhile the code was impressive, the most powerful moment of the event happened away from the keyboard.\n\nDuring the feedback session, we learned about the journey Team ZenYukti took to get to Mumbai. They traveled over 24 hours, covering nearly 1,800 kilometers. Because flights were too expensive and trains were booked, they traveled in the \"General Coach,\" a non-reserved, severely overcrowded carriage.\n\nAs one student described it:\n\n*\"You cannot even imagine something like this... there are no seats... people sit on the top of the train. This is what we have endured.\"*\n\nThis hit home. [Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging](https://handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/company/culture/inclusion/) are core values at GitLab. We realized that for these students, the barrier to entry wasn't intellect or skill, it was access.\n\nIn that moment, we decided to break that barrier. We committed to reimbursing the travel expenses for the participants who struggled to get there. It's a small step, but it underlines a massive truth: **talent is distributed equally, but opportunity is not.**\n\n![hackathon class together](https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1767380252/o5aqmboquz8ehusxvgom.jpg)\n\n### The future is bright (and automated)\n\nWe also saw incredible potential in teams like Prometheus, who attempted to build an autonomous patch remediation tool (DevGuardian), and Team Arrakis, who built a voice-first job portal for blue-collar workers using [GitLab Duo](https://about.gitlab.com/gitlab-duo/) to troubleshoot their pipelines.\n\nTo all the students who participated: You are the future. Through [GitLab for Education](https://about.gitlab.com/solutions/education/), we are committed to providing you with the top-tier tools (like GitLab Ultimate) you need to learn, collaborate, and change the world — whether you are coding from a dorm room, a lab, or a train carriage. **Keep shipping.**\n\n> :bulb: Learn more about the [GitLab for Education program](https://about.gitlab.com/solutions/education/).\n",{"slug":729,"featured":12,"template":13},"how-iit-bombay-students-code-future-with-gitlab",{"content":731,"config":739},{"title":732,"description":733,"authors":734,"heroImage":735,"date":736,"category":9,"tags":737,"body":738},"Artois University elevates research and curriculum with GitLab Ultimate for Education","Artois University's CRIL leveraged the GitLab for Education program to gain free access to Ultimate, transforming advanced research and computer science curricula.",[722],"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1750099203/Blog/Hero%20Images/Blog/Hero%20Images/blog-image-template-1800x945%20%2820%29_2bJGC5ZP3WheoqzlLT05C5_1750099203484.png","2025-12-10",[609,257,713],"Leading academic institutions face a critical challenge: how to provide thousands of students and researchers with industry-standard, **full-featured DevSecOps tools** without compromising institutional control. Many start with basic version control, but the modern curriculum demands integrated capabilities for planning, security, and advanced CI/CD.\n\nThe **GitLab for Education program** is designed to solve this by providing access to **GitLab Ultimate** for qualifying institutions, allowing them to scale their operations and elevate their academic offerings. \n\nThis article showcases a powerful success story from the **Centre de Recherche en Informatique de Lens (CRIL)**, a joint laboratory of **Artois University** and CNRS in France. After years of relying solely on GitLab Community Edition (CE), the university's move to GitLab Ultimate through the GitLab for Education program immediately unlocked advanced capabilities, transforming their teaching, research, and contribution workflows virtually overnight. This story demonstrates why GitLab Ultimate is essential for institutions seeking to deliver advanced computer science and research curricula.\n\n## GitLab Ultimate unlocked: Managing scale and driving academic value\n\n**Artois University's** self-managed GitLab instance is a large-scale operation, supporting nearly **3,000 users** across approximately **19,000 projects**, primarily serving computer science students and researchers. While GitLab Community Edition was robust, the upgrade to GitLab Ultimate provided the sophisticated tooling necessary for managing this scale and facilitating advanced university-level work.\n\n***\"We can see the difference,\" says Daniel Le Berre, head of research at CRIL and the instance maintainer. \"It's a completely different product. Each week reveals new features that directly enhance our productivity and teaching.\"***\n\nThe institution joined the GitLab for Education program specifically because it covers both **instructional and non-commercial research use cases** and offers full access to Ultimate's features, removing significant cost barriers.\n\n### Key GitLab Ultimate benefits for students and researchers\n\n* **Advanced project management at scale:** Master's students now benefit from **GitLab Ultimate's project planning features**. This enables them to structure, track, and manage complex, long-term research projects using professional methodologies like portfolio management and advanced issue tracking that seamlessly roll up across their thousands of projects.\n\n* **Enhanced visibility:** Features like improved dashboards and code previews directly in Markdown files dramatically streamline tracking and documentation review, reducing administrative friction for both instructors and students managing large project loads.\n\n## Comprehensive curriculum: From concepts to continuous delivery\n\nGitLab Ultimate is deeply integrated into the computer science curriculum, moving students beyond simple `git` commands to practical **DevSecOps implementation**.\n\n* **Git fundamentals:** Students begin by visualizing concepts using open-source tools to master Git concepts.\n\n* **Full CI/CD implementation:** Students use GitLab CI for rigorous **Test-Driven Development (TDD)** in their software projects. They learn to build, test, and perform quality assurance using unit and integration testing pipelines—core competency made seamless by the integrated platform.\n\n* **DevSecOps for research and documentation:** The university teaches students that DevSecOps principles are vital for all collaborative work. Inspired by earlier work in Delft, students manage and produce critical research documentation (PDFs from Markdown files) using GitLab, incorporating quality checks like linters and spell checks directly in the CI pipeline. This ensures high-quality, reproducible research output.\n\n* **Future-proofing security skills:** The GitLab Ultimate platform immediately positions the institution to incorporate advanced DevSecOps features like SAST and DAST scanning as their research and development code projects grow, ensuring students are prepared for industry security standards.\n\n## Accelerating open source contributions with GitLab Duo\n\nAccess to the full GitLab platform, including our AI capabilities, has empowered students to make impactful contributions to the wider open source community faster than ever before.\n\nTwo Master's students recently completed direct contributions to the GitLab product, adding the **ORCID identifier** into user profiles. Working on GitLab.com, they leveraged **GitLab Duo's AI chat and code suggestions** to navigate the codebase efficiently.\n\n***\"This would not have been possible without GitLab Duo,\" Daniel Le Berre notes. \"The AI features helped students, who might have lacked deep codebase knowledge, deliver meaningful contributions in just two weeks.\"***\n\nThis demonstrates how providing students with cutting-edge tools **accelerates their learning and impact**, allowing them to translate classroom knowledge into real-world contributions immediately.\n\n## Empowering open research and institutional control\n\nThe stability of the self-managed instance at Artois University is key to its success. This model guarantees **institutional control and stability** — a critical factor for long-term research preservation.\n\nThe institution's expertise in this area was recently highlighted in a major 2024 study led by CRIL, titled: \"[Higher Education and Research Forges in France - Definition, uses, limitations encountered and needs analysis](https://hal.science/hal-04208924v4)\" ([Project on GitLab](https://gitlab.in2p3.fr/coso-college-codes-sources-et-logiciels/forges-esr-en)). The research found that the vast majority of public forges in French Higher Education and Research relied on **GitLab**. This finding underscores the consensus among academic leaders that self-hosted solutions are essential for **data control and longevity**, especially when compared to relying on external, commercial forges.\n\n## Unlock GitLab Ultimate for your institution today\n\nThe success story of **Artois University's CRIL** proves the transformative power of the GitLab for Education program. By providing **free access to GitLab Ultimate**, we enable large-scale institutions to:\n\n1.  **Deliver a modern, integrated DevSecOps curriculum.**\n\n2.  **Support advanced, collaborative research projects with Ultimate planning features.**\n\n3.  **Empower students to make AI-assisted open source contributions.**\n\n4.  **Maintain institutional control and data longevity.**\n\nIf your academic institution is ready to equip its students and researchers with the complete DevSecOps platform and its most advanced features, we invite you to join the program.\n\nThe program provides **free access to GitLab Ultimate** for qualifying instructional and non-commercial research use cases.\n\n**Apply now [online](https://about.gitlab.com/solutions/education/join/).**\n",{"slug":740,"featured":26,"template":13},"artois-university-elevates-curriculum-with-gitlab-ultimate-for-education",{"promotions":742},[743,757,768],{"id":744,"categories":745,"header":747,"text":748,"button":749,"image":754},"ai-modernization",[746],"ai-ml","Is AI achieving its promise at scale?","Quiz will take 5 minutes or less",{"text":750,"config":751},"Get your AI maturity score",{"href":752,"dataGaName":753,"dataGaLocation":239},"/assessments/ai-modernization-assessment/","modernization assessment",{"config":755},{"src":756},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138786/qix0m7kwnd8x2fh1zq49.png",{"id":758,"categories":759,"header":760,"text":748,"button":761,"image":765},"devops-modernization",[713,555],"Are you just managing tools or shipping innovation?",{"text":762,"config":763},"Get your DevOps maturity score",{"href":764,"dataGaName":753,"dataGaLocation":239},"/assessments/devops-modernization-assessment/",{"config":766},{"src":767},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138785/eg818fmakweyuznttgid.png",{"id":769,"categories":770,"header":772,"text":748,"button":773,"image":777},"security-modernization",[771],"security","Are you trading speed for security?",{"text":774,"config":775},"Get your security maturity score",{"href":776,"dataGaName":753,"dataGaLocation":239},"/assessments/security-modernization-assessment/",{"config":778},{"src":779},"https://res.cloudinary.com/about-gitlab-com/image/upload/v1772138786/p4pbqd9nnjejg5ds6mdk.png",{"header":781,"blurb":782,"button":783,"secondaryButton":788},"Start building faster today","See what your team can do with the intelligent orchestration platform for DevSecOps.\n",{"text":784,"config":785},"Get your free trial",{"href":786,"dataGaName":46,"dataGaLocation":787},"https://gitlab.com/-/trial_registrations/new?glm_content=default-saas-trial&glm_source=about.gitlab.com/","feature",{"text":491,"config":789},{"href":50,"dataGaName":51,"dataGaLocation":787},1773350818922]