Podman registry credentials are stored in which file path on the host file system for a typical user session?

• A. /run/user/1000/containers/auth.json
• B. /etc/containers/credentials.json
• C. /home/user/.docker/config.json
• D. /var/lib/containers/registries.conf

Answer: (A)

Podman keeps registry credentials tied to your active user session in a per-user runtime area, so they’re specific to you and cleaned up when the session ends. In a typical user session, that credential file lives under the user’s run directory: /run/user/UID/containers/auth.json, which for a common user is /run/user/1000/containers/auth.json. This is created when you log in to a registry with Podman and is used to authenticate subsequent pulls or pushes during that session. The other paths don’t fit because /etc/containers/credentials.json isn’t the per-session store, /home/user/.docker/config.json is Docker’s configuration file, not Podman’s, and /var/lib/containers/registries.conf is for registry configuration, not credentials.