What Is an Image Manifest List?

An image manifest list, also called an image index, is a top-level manifest that references several platform-specific image manifests. When a client pulls a tag, the registry serves the manifest list and the runtime selects the entry matching its architecture and OS. This is how a single tag like latest can run on both amd64 and arm64.

Why it matters

Multi-architecture fleets need one tag that resolves to the correct binary per host, and a manifest list provides exactly that indirection. CI pipelines build each platform image, then assemble and push a manifest list so consumers never pick the wrong architecture. It keeps cross-arch publishing transparent to users.

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