diff --git a/cmd/nerdctl/image_tag.go b/cmd/nerdctl/image_tag.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f8000d887cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/nerdctl/image_tag.go
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+/*
+   Copyright The containerd Authors.
+
+   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+   You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+   Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+   distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+   WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+   See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+   limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"github.com/containerd/nerdctl/pkg/api/types"
+	"github.com/containerd/nerdctl/pkg/cmd/image"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+)
+
+func newTagCommand() *cobra.Command {
+	var tagCommand = &cobra.Command{
+		Use:               "tag [flags] SOURCE_IMAGE[:TAG] TARGET_IMAGE[:TAG]",
+		Short:             "Create a tag TARGET_IMAGE that refers to SOURCE_IMAGE",
+		Args:              IsExactArgs(2),
+		RunE:              tagAction,
+		ValidArgsFunction: tagShellComplete,
+		SilenceUsage:      true,
+		SilenceErrors:     true,
+	}
+	return tagCommand
+}
+
+func tagAction(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+	globalOptions, err := processRootCmdFlags(cmd)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	return image.Tag(cmd.Context(), types.ImageTagCommandOptions{
+		GOptions: globalOptions,
+		Source:   args[0],
+		Target:   args[1],
+	})
+}
+
+func tagShellComplete(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string, toComplete string) ([]string, cobra.ShellCompDirective) {
+	if len(args) < 2 {
+		// show image names
+		return shellCompleteImageNames(cmd)
+	}
+	return nil, cobra.ShellCompDirectiveNoFileComp
+}
diff --git a/pkg/api/types/image_types.go b/pkg/api/types/image_types.go
index d130f8e8d49..bdc0620eed1 100644
--- a/pkg/api/types/image_types.go
+++ b/pkg/api/types/image_types.go
@@ -157,3 +157,12 @@ type ImagePushCommandOptions struct {
 	// AllowNondistributableArtifacts allow pushing non-distributable artifacts
 	AllowNondistributableArtifacts bool
 }
+
+type ImageTagCommandOptions struct {
+	// GOptions is the global options
+	GOptions GlobalCommandOptions
+	// Source is the image to be referenced.
+	Source string
+	// Target is the image to be created.
+	Target string
+}
diff --git a/cmd/nerdctl/tag.go b/pkg/cmd/image/tag.go
similarity index 61%
rename from cmd/nerdctl/tag.go
rename to pkg/cmd/image/tag.go
index c1e496328ed..f68778bb730 100644
--- a/cmd/nerdctl/tag.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/image/tag.go
@@ -14,39 +14,21 @@
    limitations under the License.
 */
 
-package main
+package image
 
 import (
 	"context"
 	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/errdefs"
+	"github.com/containerd/nerdctl/pkg/api/types"
 	"github.com/containerd/nerdctl/pkg/clientutil"
 	"github.com/containerd/nerdctl/pkg/idutil/imagewalker"
 	"github.com/containerd/nerdctl/pkg/referenceutil"
-
-	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
-func newTagCommand() *cobra.Command {
-	var tagCommand = &cobra.Command{
-		Use:               "tag [flags] SOURCE_IMAGE[:TAG] TARGET_IMAGE[:TAG]",
-		Short:             "Create a tag TARGET_IMAGE that refers to SOURCE_IMAGE",
-		Args:              IsExactArgs(2),
-		RunE:              tagAction,
-		ValidArgsFunction: tagShellComplete,
-		SilenceUsage:      true,
-		SilenceErrors:     true,
-	}
-	return tagCommand
-}
-
-func tagAction(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-	globalOptions, err := processRootCmdFlags(cmd)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-	client, ctx, cancel, err := clientutil.NewClient(cmd.Context(), globalOptions.Namespace, globalOptions.Address)
+func Tag(ctx context.Context, options types.ImageTagCommandOptions) error {
+	client, ctx, cancel, err := clientutil.NewClient(ctx, options.GOptions.Namespace, options.GOptions.Address)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -63,15 +45,15 @@ func tagAction(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			return nil
 		},
 	}
-	matchCount, err := imagewalker.Walk(ctx, args[0])
+	matchCount, err := imagewalker.Walk(ctx, options.Source)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 	if matchCount < 1 {
-		return fmt.Errorf("%s: not found", args[0])
+		return fmt.Errorf("%s: not found", options.Source)
 	}
 
-	target, err := referenceutil.ParseDockerRef(args[1])
+	target, err := referenceutil.ParseDockerRef(options.Target)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -101,11 +83,3 @@ func tagAction(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	}
 	return nil
 }
-
-func tagShellComplete(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string, toComplete string) ([]string, cobra.ShellCompDirective) {
-	if len(args) < 2 {
-		// show image names
-		return shellCompleteImageNames(cmd)
-	}
-	return nil, cobra.ShellCompDirectiveNoFileComp
-}