Azure Container Registry Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Container Registry. Covers troubleshooting, best practices, decision making, architecture & design patterns, limits & quotas, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., L35-L120), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., [security.md](security.md)), use read_file on the linked reference file

IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

• Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
• Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

Category	Lines	Description
Troubleshooting	L37-L52	Diagnosing and fixing ACR issues: health checks, error codes, login/auth, network and performance problems, transfer/streaming/cache failures, logs, Arc/connected registry, and CMK encryption.
Best Practices	L53-L60	Best practices for ACR operations: managing public image dependencies, safe image deletion and storage cleanup, and robust image tagging/versioning strategies.
Decision Making	L61-L66	Guidance on choosing Kubernetes auth methods (managed identity, service principals, workload identity) for ACR and migrating image signing from Docker Content Trust to Notary Project.
Architecture & Design Patterns	L67-L74	Patterns for ACR performance and governance: caching image pulls, geo-replication strategies, connected registries for edge/offline, and gated import workflows for public images.
Limits & Quotas	L75-L80	ACR SKU comparisons, throughput and request limits, and how image/storage capacity, retention, and performance quotas work across registry tiers.
Security	L81-L120	Securing ACR with auth, RBAC/ABAC, network controls, encryption, image signing/verification, policies, Defender scans, and managed identity/Key Vault integration.
Configuration	L121-L138	Configuring ACR behavior: caching, purge/retention/soft delete, delete locks, webhooks, metrics/logs, and defining/scheduling multi-step ACR Tasks with YAML and agent pools.
Integrations & Coding Patterns	L139-L154	How to integrate ACR with ACI, AKS, Helm, ORAS, Buildpacks, ACR Transfer, GitHub Actions, Notation, Key Vault, and webhooks for image access, builds, signing, and automation
Deployment	L155-L160	Using ARM templates to automate ACR quick tasks and data transfer, and deploying/managing ACR connected registries via Azure Arc extension

Troubleshooting

Topic	URL
Run az acr check-health for quick ACR diagnostics	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-check-health
Azure Container Registry FAQ and known issues	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-faq
Interpret az acr check-health error codes and fixes	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-health-error-reference
View and manage Azure Container Registry task run logs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tasks-logs
Troubleshoot Azure Container Registry Transfer failures	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-transfer-troubleshooting
Troubleshoot Azure Container Registry network connectivity	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-troubleshoot-access
Troubleshoot ACR login, authentication, and authorization issues	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-troubleshoot-login-authn-authz
Troubleshoot Azure Container Registry performance problems	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-troubleshoot-performance
Troubleshoot Azure Container Registry artifact cache issues	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/troubleshoot-artifact-cache
Diagnose and fix Azure Container Registry artifact streaming issues	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/troubleshoot-artifact-streaming
Troubleshoot connected registry Arc extension issues	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/troubleshoot-connected-registry-arc
Troubleshoot customer-managed key issues in ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/tutorial-troubleshoot-customer-managed-keys

Best Practices

Topic	URL
Manage public image dependencies using ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/buffer-gate-public-content
Follow operational best practices for Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-best-practices
Delete ACR images safely to manage registry storage	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-delete
Apply image tagging and versioning best practices in ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-image-tag-version

Decision Making

Topic	URL
Select Kubernetes authentication options for Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/authenticate-kubernetes-options
Migrate ACR signing from DCT to Notary Project	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-content-trust-deprecation

Architecture & Design Patterns

Topic	URL
Optimize image pulls with ACR artifact cache	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/artifact-cache-overview
Use geo-replication patterns with Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-geo-replication
Design and use connected registries with ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/intro-connected-registry
Implement gated import workflow for public images in ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/tasks-consume-public-content

Limits & Quotas

Topic	URL
Compare Azure Container Registry SKUs and limits	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-skus
Understand storage features and limits in ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-storage

Security

Topic	URL
Allow trusted Azure services to access network-restricted ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/allow-access-trusted-services
Enable anonymous pull access for Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/anonymous-pull-access
Configure cross-tenant AKS authentication to Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/authenticate-aks-cross-tenant
Restrict Azure Container Registry public access by IP rules	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-access-selected-networks
Use Microsoft Entra service principals to access ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-auth-service-principal
Choose and configure authentication methods for Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-authentication
Configure managed identity authentication to Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-authentication-managed-identity
Use Azure Policy to audit ACR compliance	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-azure-policy
Configure Microsoft Entra Conditional Access policies for ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-configure-conditional-access
Enable Docker Content Trust for Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-content-trust
Use dedicated data endpoints to mitigate ACR data exfiltration	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-dedicated-data-endpoints
Control accepted Microsoft Entra auth scopes for ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-disable-authentication-as-arm
Configure firewall rules to allow access to Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-firewall-access-rules
Configure Private Link private endpoints for Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-private-link
Use Azure ABAC for fine-grained ACR repository permissions	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-rbac-abac-repository-permissions
Reference for Azure Container Registry built-in RBAC roles	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-rbac-built-in-roles-directory-reference
Understand and assign Azure Container Registry built-in Entra roles	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-rbac-built-in-roles-overview
Create and assign custom RBAC roles for Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-rbac-custom-roles
Use Azure Container Registry service tags for network rules	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-service-tag
Access Key Vault secrets from ACR Tasks via managed identity	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tasks-authentication-key-vault
Configure managed identity for ACR Tasks	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tasks-authentication-managed-identity
Use managed identity for cross-registry auth in ACR Tasks	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tasks-cross-registry-authentication
Configure token-based repository permissions in Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-token-based-repository-permissions
Sign ACR images with CA certs via Key Vault	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tutorial-sign-trusted-ca
Enforce AKS image signature verification with Ratify	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tutorial-verify-with-ratify-aks
Restrict ACR access with virtual network service endpoints	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-vnet
Disable artifact export to prevent ACR data exfiltration	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/data-loss-prevention
Manage ACR Tasks network bypass policy with trusted services	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/manage-network-bypass-policy-for-tasks
Reference of built-in Azure Policy definitions for ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/policy-reference
Configure client tokens to pull from connected registries	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/pull-images-from-connected-registry
Scan ACR images with Microsoft Defender for Cloud	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/scan-images-defender
Apply Azure Policy compliance controls to ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/security-controls-policy
Secure connected registry Arc extension deployments	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/tutorial-connected-registry-arc
Configure customer-managed encryption keys for ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/tutorial-customer-managed-keys
Enable customer-managed keys on Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/tutorial-enable-customer-managed-keys
Rotate and revoke customer-managed keys for ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/tutorial-rotate-revoke-customer-managed-keys

Configuration

Topic	URL
Configure artifact cache in ACR using Azure CLI	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/artifact-cache-cli
Configure and schedule ACR purge for tags and manifests	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-auto-purge
Configure delete locks on ACR images and repositories	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-image-lock
Configure retention policy for untagged ACR manifests	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-retention-policy
Enable and configure ACR soft delete retention policy	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-soft-delete-policy
Use multi-step ACR Tasks to build, test, and patch images	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tasks-multi-step
YAML schema reference for Azure Container Registry Tasks	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tasks-reference-yaml
Schedule Azure Container Registry Tasks with timers	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tasks-scheduled
Configure multi-step ACR Tasks for build workflows	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tutorial-multistep-task
Webhook payload schema for Azure Container Registry events	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-webhook-reference
Configure continuous patching for Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/how-to-continuous-patching
Monitoring metrics and logs reference for Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/monitor-container-registry-reference
Configure dedicated agent pools for ACR Tasks	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/tasks-agent-pools
Configure wildcard cache rules for Azure Container Registry	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/wildcards-artifact-cache

Integrations & Coding Patterns

Topic	URL
Grant Azure Container Instances access to ACR with service principals	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-auth-aci
Create Kubernetes pull secrets for Azure Container Registry access	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-auth-kubernetes
Host and manage Helm chart repositories in ACR	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-helm-repos
Import container images into ACR using Azure APIs	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-import-images
Manage OCI and supply chain artifacts in ACR with ORAS	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-manage-artifact
Build images with Buildpacks using az acr pack build	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tasks-pack-build
Use ACR Transfer with Azure CLI extension	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-transfer-cli
Build, push, and sign ACR images in GitHub Actions with Notation	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tutorial-github-sign-notation-artifact-signing
Verify signed ACR images in GitHub Actions workflows	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tutorial-github-verify-notation-artifact-signing
Sign ACR images with Notation using Azure Key Vault certificates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tutorial-sign-build-push
Sign and verify ACR images using Notation and Artifact Signing	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-tutorial-sign-verify-notation-artifact-signing
Configure ACR webhooks for registry event notifications	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-webhook

Deployment

Topic	URL
Queue ACR quick task runs with ARM templates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-task-run-template
Automate ACR Transfer using ARM templates	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/container-registry-transfer-arm-template
Deploy the ACR connected registry Arc extension	https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/container-registry/quickstart-connected-registry-arc-cli