🚀 Deploy Applications from External Registries on ROSA

If you’re using Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA) and your application images are stored in a private container registry like Docker Hub, Quay.io, or your own internal registry, you can still easily deploy them — no coding required.

Let’s walk through how to get that done using just the OpenShift Web Console.

🧠 What’s the Use Case?
Sometimes, your container images aren’t stored in Red Hat’s default registry. Instead, they might be:

On Docker Hub (private repo)

In Quay.io

On JFrog Artifactory or GitHub Container Registry

You still want to use them in your ROSA cluster — and OpenShift makes that possible with just a few clicks.

✅ Step-by-Step: No Code Needed

1. Login to OpenShift Console Open the OpenShift Web Console for your ROSA cluster.

Make sure you have access to the correct project (namespace) where you want to deploy your app.

1. Add Your Private Registry Credentials Go to Workloads > Secrets

Click Create > Image Pull Secret

Choose Docker Registry as the secret type

Fill in:

Your private registry’s URL

Your username

Your password or token

Email (optional)

This secret tells OpenShift how to access your private image.

1. Link the Secret to Your Project Go to Workloads > Secrets

Find your newly created secret

Click on the three dots (⋮) → Link secret to a service account

Choose the default service account

Select “for image pulls”

This step ensures OpenShift uses your secret automatically when pulling your app image.

1. Deploy the Application Go to +Add in the left-hand menu

Select “Container Image”

Enter the full image path (e.g., registry.example.com/myorg/myapp:latest)

OpenShift will now use your image pull secret to fetch it

Set application name, resource type (like Deployment), and target port

Click Create

1. Expose the App Once deployed, go to Networking > Routes

Click Create Route

Select the service you just deployed

This gives you a public URL to access the app

👩‍💻 Pro Tips
If your image fails to pull, double-check the image URL and secret details

Make sure the registry is reachable from your ROSA cluster

Rotate credentials securely when needed

🌐 Final Thoughts
Using external private registries with ROSA isn’t just possible — it’s seamless. With a few simple steps in the console, you can:

Securely connect to your private image source

Deploy apps without writing a line of code

Keep full control of your image pipeline

Perfect for teams managing applications across hybrid or multi-cloud environments.

For more info, Kindly follow: Hawkstack Technologies