DiveScope is a free, browser-based tool for exploring Docker image layers, reconstructing Dockerfiles, and analyzing image size — all without installing anything or uploading your files.
Docker images can grow surprisingly large. Unnecessary packages, cached build artifacts, and inefficient layer ordering can bloat your images from megabytes to gigabytes. Understanding what's in each layer helps you optimize builds, reduce deployment times, and shrink storage costs.
When you run docker save <image> > image.tar, Docker exports the complete image as a tar archive containing the image configuration, layer metadata, and filesystem layers. DiveScope parses this tar file directly in your browser using the File.slice() API for efficient streaming — even multi-gigabyte images work without loading everything into memory.
DiveScope supports both the legacy Docker V2 format (Docker <25) and the modern OCI layout format (Docker 25+).
The popular dive CLI tool is excellent for deep filesystem analysis but requires Go and local installation. DiveScope provides instant access from any browser — perfect for quick checks, CI pipeline reviews, or when you can't install software on a shared machine.
All processing happens locally in your browser. Your Docker images are never uploaded to any server. DiveScope uses no backend — it's pure HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.