http: server gave HTTP response to HTTPS client (private registry without TLS)

Not specified by the original author.

TL;DR: Tell the daemon the registry is allowed to be insecure: add "insecure-registries": ["registry.example.com:5000"] to /etc/docker/daemon.json and restart docker. The daemon defaults to HTTPS for every registry; plain HTTP needs an explicit allowlist entry.

The error

Error response from daemon: Get "https://registry.example.com:5000/v2/": http: server gave HTTP response to HTTPS client

Fix it

1. Edit /etc/docker/daemon.json, adding: {"insecure-registries": ["registry.example.com:5000"]} (merge with existing keys if the file already has content; keep it valid JSON)

2. Restart: sudo systemctl restart docker Expected: daemon starts.

3. Retry: docker pull registry.example.com:5000/myimage:tag Expected: succeeds over HTTP.

When this applies

• Dev/test registries without TLS
• docker login to an HTTP registry failing the same way

When this does NOT apply

• x509 errors (registry HAS TLS with a cert problem; different fix)
• Public registries (never insecure; something else is wrong)

Versions

All Docker versions.

Why it happens

The daemon tries HTTPS first for any registry not on the insecure list. An HTTP-only registry answers the TLS handshake with plain HTTP bytes, and the client reports exactly that.

Edge cases

• Include the port in the insecure-registries entry; YOUR_REGISTRY_HOST without :5000 does not match YOUR_REGISTRY_HOST:5000.
• CIDR ranges are allowed ("insecure-registries": ["CONTAINER_IP/8"]) for lab networks.
• Production registries should get real TLS instead; insecure mode sends credentials unencrypted.
• Docker Desktop: edit via Settings > Docker Engine JSON, not the Linux path.

Asked: how to fix http: server gave HTTP response to HTTPS client (private registry without TLS). Verified answer: Fixes 'http: server gave HTTP response to HTTPS client' when using a plain-HTTP private registry. Use when the registry serves HTTP only and the daemon insists on HTTPS. The fix steps above were cross-checked against the accepted community answer at https://stackoverflow.com/questions/49674004/docker-repository-server-gave-http-response-to-https-client (so:49674004), which confirms the same resolution.