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Managed configuration use cases

As an administrator, you can use managed configuration to enforce specific settings for all users in your organization. Below are some common use cases with example configurations.

Enforcing proxy settings​

Lock proxy configuration to ensure all users route traffic through corporate proxy servers.

default-settings.json
{
  "proxy.http": "http://corp-proxy.example.com:8080"
}
locked.json
{
  "locked": ["proxy.http"]
}

Managing telemetry​

Control telemetry settings for compliance or privacy requirements.

default-settings.json
{
  "telemetry.enabled": false
}
locked.json
{
  "locked": ["telemetry.enabled"]
}

Controlling provider engine updates​

Control which extensions are permitted to register provider engine updates on the Resources page. This is useful when your organization manages engine versions centrally and wants to prevent users from upgrading independently.

By default, providers.allowUpdate is set to ["*"], which allows all extensions to register updates. You can restrict this to specific extension IDs, or use an empty array to block all updates.

default-settings.json (block all updates)
{
  "providers.allowUpdate": []
}
default-settings.json (allow only specific extensions)
{
  "providers.allowUpdate": ["podman-desktop.podman"]
}
locked.json
{
  "locked": ["providers.allowUpdate"]
}

When this setting is enforced, only extensions listed in the array can register updates. The update button will not appear on the Resources page for providers whose extension is not in the list.

Configuring default registries and mirrors​

Configure default container registries with optional mirrors for your organization. This is useful for directing image pulls through internal registry mirrors or blocking access to specific registries.

Each entry in the registries.defaults array can be either a registry definition or a mirror. Mirrors must follow immediately after the registry they belong to.

note

This configuration maps to the registries.conf format used by Podman. For advanced configuration options and detailed documentation, refer to the upstream specification on how to setup your registries.conf and how Podman Desktop reads/writes to it.

Registry properties​

PropertyTypeRequiredDescription
prefixstringYesThe registry prefix to match (e.g., quay.io)
locationstringYesThe registry URL or location
insecurebooleanNoAllow insecure connections (default: false)
blockedbooleanNoBlock pulls (default: false)

Mirror properties​

PropertyTypeRequiredDescription
locationstringYesThe mirror URL
insecurebooleanNoAllow insecure connections (default: false)

Example: Configure a registry with a mirror​

default-settings.json
{
  "registries.defaults": [
    {
      "registry": {
        "prefix": "quay.io",
        "location": "quay.io"
      }
    },
    {
      "registry.mirror": {
        "location": "mirror.example.com"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Example: Block a registry​

default-settings.json
{
  "registries.defaults": [
    {
      "registry": {
        "prefix": "untrusted.example.com",
        "location": "untrusted.example.com",
        "blocked": true
      }
    }
  ]
}

Additional resources​