# doctl compute image – DigitalOcean Documentation

> The sub-commands of `doctl compute image` manage images. A DigitalOcean image can be used to create a Droplet.

Currently, there are five types of images: snapshots, backups, custom images, distributions, and one-click application.

- Snapshots provide a full copy of an existing Droplet instance taken on demand.
- Backups are similar to snapshots but are created automatically at regular intervals when enabled for a Droplet.
- Custom images are Linux-based virtual machine images that you may upload for use on DigitalOcean. We support the following formats: raw, qcow2, vhdx, vdi, or vmdk.
- Distributions are the public Linux distributions that are available to be used as a base to create Droplets.
- Applications, or one-click apps, are distributions pre-configured with additional software, such as WordPress, Django, or Flask.
- [doctl compute image create](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/compute/image/create/index.html.md): Creates an image in your DigitalOcean account. Specify a URL to download the image from and the region to store the image in. You can add additional metadata to the image using the optional flags.
- [doctl compute image delete](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/compute/image/delete/index.html.md): Permanently deletes an image from your account. This is irreversible.
- [doctl compute image get](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/compute/image/get/index.html.md): Returns the following information about the specified image: - The image's ID - The image's name - The type of image. Possible values: `snapshot`, `backup`, `custom`. - The distribution of the image. For custom images, this is user defined. - The image's …
- [doctl compute image list](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/compute/image/list/index.html.md): Lists all private images on your account. To list public images, use the `--public` flag. This command returns the following information about each image: - The image's ID - The image's name - The type of image. Possible values: `snapshot`, `backup`, …
- [doctl compute image list-application](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/compute/image/list-application/index.html.md): Lists all public one-click apps that are currently available on the DigitalOcean Marketplace. This command returns the following information about each image: - The image's ID - The image's name - The type of image. Possible values: `snapshot`, `backup`, …
- [doctl compute image list-distribution](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/compute/image/list-distribution/index.html.md): Lists the distribution images available from DigitalOcean. This command returns the following information about each image: - The image's ID - The image's name - The type of image. Possible values: `snapshot`, `backup`, `custom`. - The distribution of the …
- [doctl compute image list-user](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/compute/image/list-user/index.html.md): Use this command to list user-created images, such as snapshots or custom images that you have uploaded to your account. This command returns the following information about each image: - The image's ID - The image's name - The type of image. Possible …
- [doctl compute image update](https://docs.digitalocean.com/reference/doctl/reference/compute/image/update/index.html.md): Updates an image's metadata, including its name, description, and distribution.