diff --git a/.github/workflows/docker-build.yml b/.github/workflows/docker-build.yml
index 44e0a37..15208e2 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/docker-build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/docker-build.yml
@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ on:
         description: "Generate & sign a keyless SLSA build provenance attestation for the pushed image (the CALLER must grant id-token: write and attestations: write)"
         default: false
         type: boolean
+      dockerhub-login:
+        description: "Log in to Docker Hub before the build, to avoid anonymous pull rate limits on base images. Ignored when `push: true` and `registry` already points at Docker Hub, since the push login covers that host"
+        default: true
+        type: boolean
       security-scan:
         description: "Enable Trivy Security Scan"
         default: true
@@ -70,9 +74,9 @@ on:
         type: string
     secrets:
       dockerhub-username:
-        required: true
+        required: false
       dockerhub-password:
-        required: true
+        required: false
       username:
         required: false
       password:
@@ -89,9 +93,11 @@ jobs:
 
     # avoid shell injection through string interpolation
     env:
-      PLATFORM: ${{ inputs.platform }}
-      OCI_IMAGE: ${{ inputs.image-name }}:${{ inputs.image-tag }}
       IMAGE_TAG: ${{ inputs.image-tag }}
+      OCI_IMAGE: ${{ inputs.image-name }}:${{ inputs.image-tag }}
+      PLATFORM: ${{ inputs.platform }}
+      PUSH: ${{ inputs.push }}
+      REGISTRY: ${{ inputs.registry }}
       REPORT_MODE: ${{ inputs.security-report }}
 
     steps:
@@ -116,6 +122,43 @@ jobs:
 
           echo "✅ Security report mode validation passed: $REPORT_MODE"
 
+      # Resolves whether the Docker Hub pull login is still needed, and fails fast
+      # when the push credentials required by `push: true` are missing.
+      - name: Validate registry credentials
+        id: validate-credentials
+        env:
+          DOCKERHUB_LOGIN: ${{ inputs.dockerhub-login }}
+          DOCKERHUB_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.dockerhub-username }}
+          DOCKERHUB_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.dockerhub-password }}
+          REGISTRY_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.username }}
+          REGISTRY_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.password }}
+        run: |
+          set -euo pipefail
+
+          if [ "$PUSH" = "true" ] && { [ -z "$REGISTRY_USERNAME" ] || [ -z "$REGISTRY_PASSWORD" ]; }; then
+            echo "❌ Error: push is enabled but 'username'/'password' are missing"
+            echo "Pass the secrets of the target registry ($REGISTRY), or set push: false"
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+          NEEDS_DOCKERHUB_LOGIN=false
+          if [ "$DOCKERHUB_LOGIN" != "true" ]; then
+            echo "✅ Docker Hub login disabled by input"
+          elif [ "$PUSH" = "true" ] && { [ "$REGISTRY" = "docker.io" ] || [ "$REGISTRY" = "index.docker.io" ] || [ "$REGISTRY" = "registry-1.docker.io" ]; }; then
+            # The Docker Registry login below would authenticate the same host as
+            # Docker Hub login and would just overwrite credentials in ~/.docker/config.json.
+            # So pushing to Docker Hub does not require the Docker Hub secrets at all.
+            echo "✅ Skipping the Docker Hub login: pushing to $REGISTRY already authenticates that host"
+          elif [ -z "$DOCKERHUB_USERNAME" ] || [ -z "$DOCKERHUB_PASSWORD" ]; then
+            echo "❌ Error: dockerhub-login is enabled but 'dockerhub-username'/'dockerhub-password' are missing"
+            echo "Pass the Docker Hub secrets, or set dockerhub-login: false"
+            exit 1
+          else
+            NEEDS_DOCKERHUB_LOGIN=true
+          fi
+
+          echo "needs-dockerhub-login=$NEEDS_DOCKERHUB_LOGIN" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+
       - name: Checkout Repository
         uses: actions/checkout@3d3c42e5aac5ba805825da76410c181273ba90b1 # v7.0.1
         with:
@@ -131,7 +174,10 @@ jobs:
       - name: Set up Docker Buildx
         uses: docker/setup-buildx-action@f87e5991a6d7451dcb8d9637bfbc97413f497069 # v4.4.1
 
+      # Only needed to raise the pull rate limit on Docker Hub hosted base images
+      # when push `registry` is not Docker Hub.
       - name: Login to Docker Hub
+        if: ${{ steps.validate-credentials.outputs.needs-dockerhub-login == 'true' }}
         uses: docker/login-action@dbcb813823bdd20940b903addbd779551569679f # v4.6.0
         with:
           username: ${{ secrets.dockerhub-username }}
@@ -279,6 +325,7 @@ jobs:
         run: docker push "$OCI_IMAGE"
 
       - name: Record the pushed image tag
+        if: ${{ inputs.push }}
         run: |
           echo "$IMAGE_TAG" > image-tag.txt
 
diff --git a/docker-build/README.md b/docker-build/README.md
index 694d463..64f2d4b 100644
--- a/docker-build/README.md
+++ b/docker-build/README.md
@@ -6,13 +6,13 @@ This reusable GitHub Actions workflow automates the process of building and push
 
 ## ✨ Features
 
-- 🔐 Securely authenticates with a Docker Registry using best practices
-- 🏗️ Builds optimized Docker images from a specified Dockerfile
-- 🏷️ Intelligently tags and pushes images to a Docker Registry
+- 🔐 Securely authenticates with a Docker Registry using best practices, using credentials stored as GitHub Secrets
+- 🧭 Keeps the Docker Hub pull login and the registry push login separate, and skips the former when the target registry already is Docker Hub
+- 🏭 Builds optimized Docker images from a specified Dockerfile
+- 🔖 Intelligently tags and pushes images to a Docker Registry
 - 🔎 Scan for vulnerabilities with Trivy
 - 👍 Lint dockerfile
 - 📜 Generates & signs a keyless SLSA build provenance attestation (optional)
-- 🛡️ Handles authentication securely using GitHub Secrets
 - 🚀 Optimizes build performance with layer caching
 - 📦 Supports AMD64 and ARM64 platforms (one per workflow run)
 - 📥 Optionally pulls a build artifact from an earlier job into the build context, so a compiled binary or jar can be built once and copied into the image
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ This reusable GitHub Actions workflow automates the process of building and push
 | `build-args` | Docker build arguments (multiline format: `KEY1=value1\nKEY2=value2`) | No | `""` |
 | `context` | Path to Docker Build Context | No | `"."` |
 | `dockerfile` | Path to the Dockerfile to build (e.g., './Dockerfile', './docker/Dockerfile') | No | `"Dockerfile"` |
+| `dockerhub-login` | Log in to Docker Hub before the build, to avoid anonymous pull rate limits on base images. Ignored when `push: true` and `registry` already points at Docker Hub, since the push login covers that host | No | `true` |
 | `hadolint` | Enable Hadolint | No | `true` |
 | `image-name` | Name of Docker Image (e.g., 'myimage', 'myorg/myimage') | true | - |
 | `image-tag` | Tag to apply to the built image (e.g., 'latest', 'v1.2.3') | No | `"latest"` |
@@ -44,10 +45,17 @@ This reusable GitHub Actions workflow automates the process of building and push
 
 | Name | Description | Required |
 | --- | --- | --- |
-| `dockerhub-username` | Username for Docker Hub authentication | Yes |
-| `dockerhub-password` | Token for Docker Hub authentication (with read-only permissions) | Yes |
 | `username` | Username for Docker Registry authentication | When `push: true` |
 | `password` | Password or Personal Access Token for Docker registry authentication (with appropriate permissions) | When `push: true` |
+| `dockerhub-username` | Username for Docker Hub authentication (pull-only, used when `dockerhub-login: true`) | When a Docker Hub login is still needed |
+| `dockerhub-password` | Token for Docker Hub authentication (with read-only permissions) | When a Docker Hub login is still needed |
+
+The two pairs serve different purposes and are **not** interchangeable:
+
+- `username` / `password` authenticate the **push** against `registry`, and are the only credentials needed when `push: true`.
+- `dockerhub-username` / `dockerhub-password` only raise the **pull** rate limit on base images (`FROM golang:…`, `FROM alpine:…`).
+
+When `push: true` and `registry` already points at Docker Hub, the push login covers that host, so the workflow **skips** the Docker Hub login and the `dockerhub-*` secrets are not needed. A second login would only overwrite the first in `~/.docker/config.json`. Set `dockerhub-login: false` to skip the pull login explicitly, e.g. when every base image comes from a private mirror.
 
 ## 📤 Outputs
 
@@ -59,6 +67,8 @@ The built image tag, digest and checksum are visible on the workflow run summary
 
 ## 💻 Example Usage
 
+Pushing to Docker Hub only needs the push credentials, because that login already covers pulling base images from Docker Hub:
+
 ```yaml
 name: Build and Push Docker Image
 
@@ -80,26 +90,38 @@ jobs:
       - name: Build and Push Docker Image
         uses: iExecBlockchainComputing/github-actions-workflows/.github/workflows/docker-build.yml@main # ⚠️ use tagged version here
         with:
-          image-name: "username/my-image"
+          image-name: "docker.io/username/my-image"
+          registry: "docker.io"
+          push: true
           dockerfile: "Dockerfile"
           build-args: |
             BUILD_VERSION=1.0.0
             NODE_ENV=production
         secrets:
-          dockerhub-username: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}
-          dockerhub-password: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_TOKEN_PULL_ONLY }}
           username: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}
           password: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_PAT }}
 ```
 
+Pushing to another registry, such as a private Nexus, keeps the Docker Hub pull login separate so base images are still fetched above the anonymous rate limit:
+
+```yaml
+- name: Build and Push Docker Image
+  uses: iExecBlockchainComputing/github-actions-workflows/.github/workflows/docker-build.yml@main # ⚠️ use tagged version here
+  with:
+    image-name: "docker-regis.iex.ec/my-image"
+    registry: "docker-regis.iex.ec"
+    push: true
+  secrets:
+    dockerhub-username: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_USERNAME }}
+    dockerhub-password: ${{ secrets.DOCKERHUB_TOKEN_PULL_ONLY }}
+    username: ${{ secrets.NEXUS_USERNAME }}
+    password: ${{ secrets.NEXUS_PASSWORD }}
+```
+
 ## 📝 Notes
 
-- 🔒 Ensure your Docker Registry credentials are stored securely as GitHub Secrets
-- 🔄 The workflow will automatically handle the Docker build and push process
-- 🏷️ You can specify any valid Docker tag format in the `tag` input
+- 🔖 You can specify any valid Docker tag format in the `image-tag` input
 - 📤 When `push: true`, the applied tag is also saved as a `docker-image-tag` artifact, so `docker-promote` can promote the exact image CI built for a commit rather than reconstruct its tag
-- 📅 Consider using dynamic tags based on git tags, commit SHAs, or dates
-- 🧪 For testing purposes, you can use the `--dry-run` flag in your own implementation
 - 📜 When `attest: true`, the attestation is only generated if `push: true`, and the **caller** workflow must grant the following permissions:
   ```yaml
   permissions:
@@ -110,6 +132,9 @@ jobs:
 ## 🛠️ Troubleshooting
 
 - If you encounter authentication issues, verify your Docker Registry credentials are correct and have appropriate permissions
+- ❌ **`push is enabled but 'username'/'password' are missing`** — pass the credentials of `registry`, or set `push: false`
+- ❌ **`dockerhub-login is enabled but 'dockerhub-username'/'dockerhub-password' are missing`** — the pull login is requested but no credential was given; pass them, or set `dockerhub-login: false` when base images come from a private mirror. Not raised when pushing to Docker Hub, since that login is skipped as redundant
+- ❌ **Base image pull fails with a rate limit error** — set `dockerhub-login: true` and pass the `dockerhub-*` secrets
 - For build failures, check your Dockerfile syntax and ensure all referenced files exist
 - Large images may take longer to push - consider optimizing your Dockerfile with multi-stage builds
 - If you need to debug the build process, you can add the `ACTIONS_STEP_DEBUG` secret set to `true` in your repository
diff --git a/docker-build/workflow-sha256 b/docker-build/workflow-sha256
index dd143ec..d792990 100644
--- a/docker-build/workflow-sha256
+++ b/docker-build/workflow-sha256
@@ -1 +1 @@
-eda9395589dd24e9b931f836a515d6733a82df11438abc850ae0220d9c49fc9e
+38bec74c032cfdf66b75251458deb6ef8c0ba1fbc10307049d3311fa8538648f