---
name: Registry-ts_push_pull_docker
title: Why can't I push or pull a Docker image when I use Container Registry?
description: When you're using IBM Cloud® Container Registry, pushing or pulling a Docker image fails. You might receive various messages, for example, about being over quota or invalid credentials.
last-updated: 2025-08-12
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/Registry?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Why can't I push or pull a Docker image when I use Container Registry?
{: #troubleshoot-push-pull-docker}
{: troubleshoot}
{: support}

When you're using IBM Cloud® Container Registry, pushing or pulling a Docker image fails. You might receive various messages, for example, about being over quota or invalid credentials.
{: shortdesc}

When you run commands to push or pull Docker images, you receive an error message. The error message varies depending on the root cause. The following error messages are potential error messages that you might receive:
{: tsSymptoms}

- **Scenario A.** `unauthorized: authentication required`
- **Scenario B.** `denied: You are not authorized to access the specified resource.`
- **Scenario C.** `unauthorized: An error occurred when authenticating your request with IBM Cloud. Clear your browser cookies, log in to IBM Cloud, and try your request again.`
- **Scenario D.** `Your account has exceeded its pull traffic quota for the current month.`, see [Why am I getting errors about my quota?](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/Registry?topic=Registry-troubleshoot-quota&format=markdown) for assistance.
- **Scenario E.** `Your account has exceeded its image storage quota for the current month.`, see [Why am I getting errors about my quota?](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/Registry?topic=Registry-troubleshoot-quota&format=markdown) for assistance.

The following alternatives are possible causes:
{: tsCauses}

For scenarios A, B, and C the following alternatives are possible causes:

- Docker is not installed.
- The Docker client is not logged in to IBM Cloud Container Registry.
- Your IBM Cloud [access token](#x2113001){: term} expired.

You can fix this problem in the following ways:
{: tsResolve}

For scenarios A, B, and C complete the following tasks:

- [Ensure that Docker is installed on your computer](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/Registry?topic=Registry-getting-started&format=markdown#gs_registry_cli_install).
- Check your Docker installation path.
- Log in to IBM Cloud by running `ibmcloud login`. Then, log in to the IBM Cloud Container Registry command-line interface (CLI) by running [`ibmcloud cr login`](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/Registry?topic=Registry-containerregcli&format=markdown#bx_cr_login).