Template Registries

Publish a registry of Compose templates for your team or the community.

A template registry is a hosted registry.json file that lists Compose templates and their download URLs. Create one to share templates with your team. For container image registries, see private registries.

Create a registry

1. Lay out the files

Give each template its own directory next to registry.json:

docker-templates/
├── registry.json
├── wordpress/
│   ├── docker-compose.yml
│   ├── .env.example
│   └── README.md
└── nextcloud/
    ├── docker-compose.yml
    ├── .env.example
    └── README.md

2. Write the registry file

Include $schema so editors can validate the file:

{
  "$schema": "https://github.com/getarcaneapp/arcane-templates/schema.json",
  "name": "My Company Templates",
  "description": "Docker templates for internal applications",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "author": "Your Team",
  "url": "https://github.com/yourcompany/docker-templates",
  "templates": [
    {
      "id": "internal-app",
      "name": "Internal Application",
      "description": "Company application stack with database",
      "version": "1.0.0",
      "author": "DevOps Team",
      "compose_url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yourcompany/docker-templates/main/internal-app/docker-compose.yml",
      "env_url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yourcompany/docker-templates/main/internal-app/.env.example",
      "documentation_url": "https://github.com/yourcompany/docker-templates/tree/main/internal-app",
      "tags": ["internal", "webapp", "postgres"]
    }
  ]
}

3. Host the files

Upload the files to GitHub or an HTTPS server. Download URLs must point directly to files, not repository pages: on GitHub use raw URLs, and on a custom domain enable CORS. For a repository named my-docker-templates, the registry URL is:

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/username/my-docker-templates/main/registry.json

4. Test the registry

Validate registry.json against the schema.
Open each file URL and check that it downloads.
Add the registry in Customization → Templates → Add Registry and check that the templates appear.

Write templates others can rely on

Pin image versions, include health checks and restart policies, and test before publishing.
Document required variables in .env.example with working, non-secret values.
Use semantic versioning and keep images patched.

To submit a template to the community registry, open a pull request to getarcaneapp/templates.

Reference

The registry must match the schema at https://github.com/getarcaneapp/arcane-templates/schema.json (JSON Schema Draft 07). Other fields are rejected.

Registry fields

Field	Required	Description
`$schema`	No	URL of the registry schema, for editor validation.
`name`	Yes	Registry display name.
`description`	Yes	Short description.
`version`	Yes	Registry version (semver).
`author`	Yes	Registry maintainer.
`url`	Yes	Repository or homepage URL.
`templates`	Yes	Array of template objects, at least one.

Template fields

All template fields are required.

Field	Description
`id`	Unique slug (lowercase, hyphens only).
`name`	Display name.
`description`	Detailed description.
`version`	Template version (semver).
`author`	Template author.
`compose_url`	Direct URL to the Compose file.
`env_url`	Direct URL to the `.env.example` file.
`documentation_url`	URL to the template’s docs or README.
`tags`	Array of unique slugs (lowercase, hyphens), at least one.