Use Case

Analyzing an Open-Source Spring Boot Docker Image with Dive

To truly understand the value of Dive, it's helpful to analyze a real Docker image. Rather than using a custom local build, we will examine a publicly available Spring Boot application image published by the Spring team.

Image: springio/gs-spring-boot-docker

We will use the image from the official Spring Boot Docker Getting Started Guide, which is available on Docker Hub as:

springio/gs-spring-boot-docker

This image is a simple "Hello World" Spring Boot application packaged as an executable JAR and containerized using a basic Dockerfile.

Pull the Image

First, pull the public image:

docker pull springio/gs-spring-boot-docker

This downloads the image locally so that Dive can inspect it.

Launch Dive

Now run Dive to explore the image:

dive springio/gs-spring-boot-docker

This opens Dive’s interactive terminal UI showing:

• A breakdown of each image layer

• The exact file system state after each Dockerfile instruction

• File changes (added, removed, modified)

• An overall efficiency score for the image

Understanding the Dive Output

The interface is split into two panels:

1. Left Panel – Layer and Image Metadata

This side provides a deep dive into the structure and efficiency of the Docker image.

Layers

• This is the topmost section of the left panel.

• Each entry here represents a layer in the Docker image.

• Columns:

  • Cmp (Compression Color): Indicates what changed in that layer (added/modified/removed).

  • Size: Size of that layer.

  • Command: Shows the command that generated that layer (FROM, COPY, RUN, etc.).

• In the screenshot:

  • First layer is 1.8 MB created from the base (FROM blobs).

  • Others show results of bazel build and jib-maven-plugin commands.

Layer Details

• Appears when you select any layer in the list above.

• Shows metadata about that individual layer, such as:

  • Tags: Image tags (if available).

  • Id: The name of the layer source.

  • Size: Layer size.

  • Digest: Unique SHA256 digest hash of the layer.

  • Command: Dockerfile or tooling command used to generate the layer.

• Helps identify which layer caused what file changes.

Image Details

• Located below Layer Details.

• Shows summary metrics about the entire image:

  • Image name: In this case, springio/gs-spring-boot-docker

  • Total Image Size: 143 MB

  • Potential Wasted Space: 0 B → Very efficient image.

  • Image Efficiency Score: 100% → No duplicate files or unnecessary bloat.

• Useful to analyze image quality from a performance and delivery perspective.

Right Panel – Current Layer Contents

This panel reflects the file system at the selected layer. You can think of it as a live diff view for the layer you’re inspecting.

• Tree structure of files and folders at that layer.

• Each file shows:

  • Permissions

  • UID:GID (owner)

  • Size

• This helps you inspect:

  • What got added in this layer?

  • What files or folders are taking up space?

  • Are credentials, logs, or temp files accidentally being included?

In our image

• You see a complete Linux filesystem (/bin, /etc, /usr, /home, etc.).

• Dive allows you to navigate into folders using keyboard arrows to inspect exact contents.

• You can also toggle filters, compare changes layer-by-layer (A key), and see what changed compared to the previous layer.

Shortcuts

Shortcut Key	Action Description
Tab	Switch focus between left pane (layers) and right pane (filesystem)
↑ / ↓	Navigate up/down through the layers or file list
← / →	In file tree, expand/collapse directories
Enter	View details of the selected file/directory
q or Ctrl+C	Quit Dive
a	Toggle aggregate view of all layers (shows total impact)
l	Toggle layer changes view (shows what changed in each layer)
f or Ctrl+F	Toggle filter view (hide or show irrelevant files like cache/logs)
?	Show help screen with all keybindings
Space	Expand/Collapse all folders in file tree (when in the right pane)