Container image digest (source code)

= Container image digest

A <container image digest> identifies particular <container image> content through a <cryptographic hash function>, commonly written as an algorithm name followed by a <hexadecimal> value. Unlike a movable tag, a digest fixes the referenced content. Image manifests identify the configuration and layers; multi-platform indexes can refer to several platform-specific manifests.<Image digests in the Docker documentation>[What are Docker image digests?, Pull an image by digest and Multi-platform images and manifests]{ref}

For example, a tag such as `analysis:stable` can point to different content next month. Recording an image reference with a digest makes that change detectable and allows the same referenced content to be requested again. It does not establish who produced the image, whether its <software> is correct, or that required <input> data and host facilities are identical. Those claims need separate evidence.