The article explores the use of containerd, a leading container runtime initially spun out from Docker to manage container lifecycles independently, and its integration with Docker for enhanced image management. Containerd, maintained by the CNCF, provides a higher-level interface for container operations and has evolved to include an image store that supports multiplatform images, efficient container snapshotters, and other advanced features unavailable in Docker’s own image store. Docker is gradually transitioning to containerd’s image store, which is currently an experimental feature, to leverage these capabilities while maintaining compatibility with existing Docker commands. This integration aims to improve performance and flexibility, enabling support for new technologies like WebAssembly and lazy image pulling. The article also outlines how to enable and utilize containerd's image store in Docker Engine and Docker Desktop, emphasizing its potential to simplify builds and enhance performance in the container ecosystem.