Hi there,
I was wondering what the impact of the announcement to rate limit access to docker hub from the 1st of April. I have found a few old topic from 2020 and a dead link to an FAQ. There was also a partnership mentioned between circleci and docker.
Also is there another way of adding authentication for docker hub other than adding it per image in the pipeline config?
We have figured out that CircleCI is using their credentials for pulls from Docker Hub if one are provided.
Warning: No authentication provided, using CircleCI credentials for pulls from Docker Hub.
But does that mean there will not be an issue / rate limiting coming first of April?
+1 would be good to know if come April 1st there might be an issue when jobs fall back on CircleCIs credentials.
Currently operating on assumption that partnership continues and rate limiting wont be an issue even in cases where CircleCIs credentials are being used.
As per docs/private-images/
+1, assuming the partnership is still active based on these /docs/using-docker/#docker-image-best-practices, but a confirmation would be helpful!
@mpluhar-n4l , @ozv and @jnu you are correct that CircleCI’s and Docker partnership is still active.
Customers using the default setup, providing no custom credentials, should not hit any rate limits.
If you do provide your credentials, for example for pulling down private images, you are subject to your own rate limits you have with Docker.
You can find more information regarding the partnership and using private images on our docs, Using Docker authenticated pulls - CircleCI.
@james-crowley thanks for the confirmation 
@james-crowley As far as we see, the message was changed 5 days ago:
from **Warning: No authentication provided, using CircleCI credentials for pulls from Docker Hub** to **No authentication provided. Docker Hub pulls will be unauthenticated and subject to Docker Hub rate limits**. Is that correct that only the message was changed and CircleCI’s and Docker partnership is still active?
@AnastasiyaRob Good eye!
I checked with our engineering team and that log message does not apply for CircleCI SaaS/Cloud customers. I have a ticket in to get the message addressed so it does not show for CircleCI SaaS/Cloud customers.
If you are a CircleCI Server customer, the message is accurate. Server customers do not get access to CircleCI’s pull secrets and will be subject to Docker’s new rate limits. Customers on CircleCI Server can provide their own credentials to get the appropriate rate limits they need or use alternative registry options.
The incorrect error message has been fixed. You should see the previous message of Warning: No authentication provided, using CircleCI credentials for pulls from Docker Hub.
Thank you for raising this issues and making the platform better for everyone.
@james-crowley Thank you for your kind assistance!