Create and Manage an App Image

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Introduction

An app image is the reusable template that defines an edge application’s type, configuration, drives, network interfaces, and resource requirements. App images are also the source material for creating Virtual Machine, Container, and Module type edge applications in the Marketplace. When you use the Marketplace type picker to create an edge application from scratch, the Drives step requires you to select an app image as the workload source. You create an app image by adding one of the supported app types, then manage it from its detail page in the Build section. This article covers creating an app image, understanding its detail page, configuring it, and deleting it.

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Prerequisites

• You have the SysManager or SysAdmin role in your enterprise. See Manage Roles.

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Create an App Image

To create an app image, select the image type that matches your workload. Each type opens a three-section form with fields specific to that format:

• Add an Edge App Image: upload or link a virtual machine, container, or ISO image (formats: Container, QCOW2, RAW, ISO).
• Add a Docker Compose Image: upload or uplink a Docker Compose TAR archive (format: RAW, set automatically).
• Add a Compose Runtime Image: upload or uplink the base QCOW2 runtime image for Docker Compose workloads.
• Add an Image from a Datastore: browse a configured datastore and register an existing image file without uploading.

After the form is submitted, the new app image appears in Infrastructure > Workloads > Build > App Images and you can manage it from its detail page.

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View App Image Details

1. In the sidebar, navigate to Infrastructure > Workloads > Build > App Images.
2. In the app images list, click the name of the app image you want to view.

The detail page opens. The header shows the image status, how many application instances are currently using the image, and the image name and description. The detail page is organized into four tabs:

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Overview tab

The Overview tab shows a high-level summary of the app image, organized into several panels. The ribbon at the top of the tab shows key metrics at a glance: file size, format, architecture, number of dependents, associated datastore, and last updated date. The Impact lineage panel shows the forward dependency chain from this image through the edge apps that reference it, the application instances deployed from those edge apps, and the nodes those instances run on. Click any tile in the lineage to jump to the corresponding section of the Used by tab. The Identity panel shows the image ID, name, title, description, origin, created and updated dates, project access, format, and integrity status. The Recent activity panel lists recent events for this image, such as creation, updates, and deployments. The Top dependents panel previews the edge apps, datastores, and projects that reference this image.

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Details tab

The Details tab provides full technical metadata organized into the following cards.

• Identity & Ownership: ID, name, title, description, origin, and project access.
• Image & Format: format (QCOW2, OVA, RAW, Container), image type, architecture, and file size.
• State & Timeline: current status of the image, creation date and creator, and last updated date. For a description of each status value, see Image Status.
• Source & Integrity: how the image was added (direct upload or linked from a datastore), the associated datastore, source URL (if linked), and SHA-256 hash.

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Configuration tab

The Configuration tab shows the cryptographic identity of the image: the full SHA-256 hash displayed in grouped hex format for readability. The hash is followed by a grid that shows provenance metadata including the upload method, source URL, datastore, raw byte count, integrity status, creation date, image type, and origin.

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Used by tab

The Used by tab lists all resources that reference this app image, organized into five segments: Edge apps, Applications, Nodes, Datastores, and Projects. Use the segment selector to switch between views and the search field to filter by name. Click any row to navigate to that resource’s detail page.

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Image Status

App image status is visible in the Infrastructure > Workloads > Build > App Images list, in the detail page header, and on the Details tab under State & Timeline. Status reflects where the image is in its upload and deployment lifecycle. An image in the Failed state can be deleted. An image in the In Use state cannot be deleted while application instances that depend on it are running.

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Configure an App Image

The configure dialog lets you update an app image’s title, description, datastores, project access, and source details.

1. On the app image detail page, click the Configure (gear) icon in the upper right. If the app image was imported from a parent enterprise, the gear icon is disabled. Hover over it to see a tooltip explaining the restriction.
2. In the configure dialog, use the sub-tabs under General Settings to make changes:
   • Details: update the Title (required, minimum 3 characters) and Description.
   • Source & Access: update the Data stores (required, up to 3) and Project scope (leave empty to grant access to all projects). Depending on the image format and how it was added, a Source section also appears with Image Relative URL, SHA-256, and Image Size fields.
3. Click Save Changes.

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Delete an App Image

1. On the app image detail page, click the Delete (trash) icon in the upper right.
2. Review the cascade delete dialog. The dialog shows any edge apps and application instances that depend on this image.
3. Confirm the deletion.

The app image is permanently removed. You cannot delete an app image while application instances that depend on it are still running.

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Verify the Configuration

After configuring an app image, confirm the changes took effect:

1. Navigate to Infrastructure > Workloads > Build > App Images and open the app image.
2. On the Details tab, confirm the updated values appear as expected.
3. If instances are derived from this image, navigate to Infrastructure > Workloads > Applications, open an instance, and verify that an update notification appears if the changes require the instance to be updated.

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Next Steps