How to use the command 'podman rmi' (with examples)

This article provides a guide on how to use the ‘podman rmi’ command with various examples.

Command Description:

The ‘podman rmi’ command is used to remove one or more Podman images. It can be used to delete images by name, force remove an image, remove an image without deleting untagged parents, and display help.

Use case 1: Remove one or more images given their names

Code:

podman rmi image:tag image2:tag ...

Motivation:

This use case is useful when there is a need to remove multiple images from the Podman environment. By specifying the names of the images, users can easily remove them with a single command instead of individually removing each image.

Explanation:

• image:tag represents the name and tag of the image to be removed.
• image2:tag represents the name and tag of another image to be removed.

Example output:

Deleted: sha256:1234abcd5678
Deleted: sha256:efgh5678ijkl

In this example, the images image:tag and image2:tag were successfully deleted from the Podman environment.

Use case 2: Force remove an image

Code:

podman rmi --force image

Motivation:

Sometimes it may be necessary to forcefully remove an image, even if it is being used by a running container. This use case allows users to bypass the safety checks and delete the image forcefully.

Explanation:

• --force option is used to forcefully remove the image.

Example output:

Deleted: sha256:1234abcd5678

In this example, the image image was forcefully removed from the Podman environment.

Use case 3: Remove an image without deleting untagged parents

Code:

podman rmi --no-prune image

Motivation:

In certain scenarios, untagged parent images may be shared among multiple tagged images. This use case allows users to remove a specific image without deleting its untagged parent images, preserving them for other tagged images.

Explanation:

• --no-prune option is used to remove the specified image without deleting untagged parent images.

Example output:

Deleted: sha256:1234abcd5678

In this example, the image image was removed without deleting any untagged parent images.

Use case 4: Display help

Code:

podman rmi

Motivation:

This use case provides users with access to the help documentation for the ‘podman rmi’ command. It is useful for understanding the available options and how to use them.

Example output:

podman-rmi(1)

Rmi [OPTIONS] IMAGE [IMAGE...]

Remove one or more images
...

Options:
  -f, --force       Remove the image even if it is being used by containers
      --help        Print usage statement
      --no-prune    Do not delete untagged parents that are shared between
                   repositories when removing the specified image(s)
...

For more information, see 'podman-rmi(1)'.
...

In this example, the command displays the help documentation for the ‘podman rmi’ command, providing detailed information about the available options.

Conclusion:

The ‘podman rmi’ command is a useful tool for managing Podman images. By following the provided examples, users can effectively remove images, force remove images, preserve untagged parent images, and access the help documentation for the command.