Collectors · Developers & tech

Docker Hub API in Python

Docker image search and repository stats — stars, pulls, official flag. One POST from Python with the input, rows back as JSON with 15 fields, $0.001 per delivered image. No proxies or parsers to maintain.

Get an API key See the collector

A Python requests snippet that posts { — A Python requests call to the docker_hub collector returns one dict per image, at $0.001 each.

First call

Install, call, read the rows.

pip install requests

The only dependency.

import os, requests

r = requests.post(
    "https://api.quanticdata.io/v1/scraper/collectors/docker_hub/run",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['QD_API_KEY']}"},
    json={

    },
    timeout=120,
)
r.raise_for_status()
run = r.json()["payload"]
print(run["count"], "rows,", run["cost"]["usd"], "USD")
for row in run["results"]:
    print(row.get("name"), row.get("description"), row.get("stars"), row.get("pulls"))

Python: one Docker Hub images run, printing name, description, stars, pulls

The key comes from an environment variable, never from the code. The run answers in the same request when it finishes in time; payload.results holds the rows and payload.cost what they cost.

Request parameters

What the collector takes.

Input of the Docker Hub images collector
Parameter	Type	Required	Meaning
`query`	string	no	Image search query (leave empty when passing images).
`images`	array	no	Exact references for detail lookups — "redis" or "namespace/name".
`max_results`	integer	no	How many images to deliver at most (1–100). You pay only for delivered images.

Response fields

15 fields per image.

Fields of each row (image)
Field	Type	What it holds
`rank`	integer	1-based position.
`name`	string	Image name (namespace/name; officials bare).
`description`	string, nullable	Short description.
`stars`	integer, nullable	Stars.
`pulls`	integer, nullable	Total pulls.
`is_official`	boolean	Docker official image.
`is_automated`	boolean	Automated build.
`last_updated`	string, nullable	Last push (detail mode only).
`url`	string	Docker Hub page.
`namespace`	string	Repository namespace (library for official images).
`date_registered`	string, nullable	Repository creation date (lookups).
`categories`	string[]	Docker Hub categories (lookups).
`storage_size`	integer, nullable	Bytes stored across all tags (lookups).
`status`	string, nullable	Repository status (lookups).
`pull_command`	string	docker pull command.

Add ?format=csv to the runs endpoint to get the same rows as CSV.

Long runs

Run in the background, then poll.

A run that needs more time can go to the background: send "async": true, get 202 with the run id, and poll the runs endpoint until the status is done. Reading a run is free.

import os, time, requests

H = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['QD_API_KEY']}"}
r = requests.post("https://api.quanticdata.io/v1/scraper/collectors/docker_hub/run", headers=H,
                  json={**{}, "async": True}, timeout=30)
run_id = r.json()["payload"]["run_id"]
while True:
    run = requests.get(f"https://api.quanticdata.io/v1/scraper/collectors/runs/{run_id}", headers=H, timeout=30).json()["payload"]
    if run["status"] in ("done", "failed"):
        break
    time.sleep(5)
print(run["status"], run["count"])

Python: background run and polling

Errors

What can come back, and what is billed.

Collector run errors
Status	Meaning	Billed
`400`	The input does not match the collector (`payload.errors`)	No
`401`	Missing or wrong API key	No
`402`	Balance and free credit do not cover the run: top up	No
`422`	The input can never resolve; retrying the same input cannot help	No
`424`	The run failed at the source (blocked, timed out, layout changed); safe to retry	No
`429`	Rate limit or a per-account brake; wait for `Retry-After`	No

Only delivered rows are billed: a run that delivers nothing costs nothing.

Price

$0.001 per delivered image.

What Docker Hub images rows cost at list price
Rows	Cost
1	$0.001
1,000	$1.00
10,000	$10.00

Up to 100 images per run; split larger jobs into several runs. The $2 free credit every month covers about 2,000 images. No subscription; paid tiers lower the unit price. All collector prices: collector pricing.

Before you run it

Questions developers ask

Is there a free Docker Hub images API?

Every account gets $2 of free usage each month, about 2,000 images of this collector at $0.001 each, with no card.

Do I have to handle proxies, retries or blocks?

No. The collector runs on our network and handles them; a run blocked at the source returns 424 and is not billed.

How many rows can one run return?

Up to 100 images per run (the max_results input, where the collector has one).

Can an AI agent run it?

Yes: the MCP server exposes it as the run_collector tool, with the same input and price. See the MCP server.

Run it on the free credit.

Create an API key, export it as QD_API_KEY and run the example. $0.001 per delivered image, no subscription.

Get an API key Docker Hub API