Blink Labs container images

Blink Labs publishes container images that package upstream Cardano ecosystem software into reproducible Debian or Alpine images. The software remains the upstream project’s software; Blink Labs maintains the Dockerfiles, build inputs, entrypoints, and release automation. Read the upstream license and release notes before deploying an image in production.

Images are published to both the GitHub Container Registry as ghcr.io/blinklabs-io/<image> and Docker Hub as blinklabs/<image>. Use a release tag when you need reproducibility; use :latest only when you intentionally track the newest published build.

Image catalog

Image	Use it for	Upstream project	Guide
cardano-cli	Cardano command-line queries, transaction construction, and signing.	IntersectMBO/cardano-cli	Guide
cardano-configs	Supplying network configuration files to another container or volume.	Cardano environment configs	Guide
cardano-db-sync	Indexing a Cardano chain into PostgreSQL.	IntersectMBO/cardano-db-sync	Guide
cardano-node	Running a Cardano full node, tracer, or submit API.	IntersectMBO/cardano-node	Guide
cardano-wallet	Running the Cardano wallet HTTP service.	cardano-foundation/cardano-wallet	Guide
hydra-node	Running a Hydra head node.	cardano-scaling/hydra	Guide
mithril-client	Downloading and verifying Mithril snapshots.	input-output-hk/mithril	Guide
mithril-signer	Running the Mithril signer service.	input-output-hk/mithril	Guide

The image repositories contain the exact Dockerfiles and build versions for each release. The links above are the source of truth when an image tag and this page get out of sync.

Common Docker patterns

Use a named volume for state that must survive container replacement, publish only the ports that other services need, and pass secrets through Docker secrets or a secret manager instead of putting them in a shell history.

docker pull ghcr.io/blinklabs-io/cardano-node:<release-tag>
docker pull blinklabs/cardano-node:<release-tag>
docker image inspect ghcr.io/blinklabs-io/cardano-node:<release-tag>
docker logs -f cardano-node

The individual guides use GHCR and :latest for readability. Substitute blinklabs/<image> for Docker Hub, and pin the tag in scripts and deployment manifests.

Choose an image

• Need a full node and optional bundled tools? Start with cardano-node.
• Need only transaction and query commands? Use cardano-cli.
• Need configs to mount into another service? Use cardano-configs.
• Need a PostgreSQL index? Use cardano-db-sync.
• Need a wallet API, Hydra head, or Mithril service? Open the corresponding focused guide above.

Troubleshooting

• The command exits immediately: check the image’s entrypoint and pass a command where the image expects one. cardano-configs requires a target directory; cardano-node requires NETWORK or run.
• The node cannot find its socket: mount the same named volume into the node and client containers, and use /ipc/node.socket (managed mode) or the value of CARDANO_SOCKET_PATH (configurable mode).
• The node starts from genesis: keep /data/db persistent or leave RESTORE_SNAPSHOT=true so the entrypoint can download a Mithril snapshot.
• db-sync cannot connect to PostgreSQL: check POSTGRES_* values and the generated /configuration/pgpass; ensure the database is reachable from the container network.
• A configuration file is missing: run cardano-configs with the desired network argument and mount its output where the consuming image expects /opt/cardano/config.

Report image-specific problems in that image’s repository so maintainers can reproduce the exact build tag.