Deploy a Docker Image
If you already have a Docker image built and pushed to a registry, Hydron can deploy it directly without analyzing source code.
When to use Docker deployment
Docker image deployment is ideal when you:
- Already have a CI/CD pipeline that builds Docker images
- Want to deploy a pre-built image from Docker Hub or a private registry
- Are deploying a third-party application (databases, monitoring tools, etc.)
- Have complex build processes handled outside of Hydron
Connecting a Docker image
- In a new chat, select Existing Image from the deployment options
- Enter the image name and tag, along with any registry credentials
Supported registries
Hydron can pull images from any Docker-compatible registry:
| Registry | Example image reference |
|---|---|
| Docker Hub | myuser/myapp:v1.0 |
| GitHub Container Registry | ghcr.io/org/myapp:latest |
| GitLab Container Registry | registry.gitlab.com/org/myapp:latest |
| AWS ECR | 123456789.dkr.ecr.region.amazonaws.com/myapp:v1 |
| Google Artifact Registry | region-docker.pkg.dev/project/repo/myapp:v1 |
| Self-hosted | registry.example.com/myapp:latest |
For private registries, provide your authentication credentials when prompted. Credentials are encrypted and stored securely.
How it works
When deploying a Docker image, the process is simpler than a Git deployment since the build step is skipped. The AI plans your infrastructure, provisions the server, and pulls and deploys the container.
The AI will ask you about:
- Port mappings — Which ports does your container expose?
- Environment variables — What configuration does the container need?
- Volumes — Does the container need persistent storage?
- Resource requirements — How much CPU and RAM does it need?
- Health checks — How to verify the container is healthy?
Environment variables
You can provide environment variables when configuring the Docker deployment. These are injected into the container at runtime:
Sensitive values are encrypted at rest and never exposed in logs.
After deployment
Once your Docker container is deployed, you can:
- View running containers and their status
- Access real-time logs
- Restart or redeploy with a different image tag
- Update environment variables
- Scale resources
Updating the image
To deploy a new version of your image:
- Push the updated image to your registry
- In the project chat, ask: "Redeploy with the latest image"
- Or specify a tag: "Deploy myapp:v2.0"
Hydron pulls the new image and performs a rolling update with zero downtime when possible.