1. An apparatus for managing virtual machine images in a distributed computing environment, the distributed computing environment comprising an image service repository that includes virtual machine images, the distributed computing environment further comprising a compute service that includes deployed virtual machines, the apparatus including a computer processor and a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions that, when executed by the computer processor, cause the apparatus to carry out the steps of: recording dependencies between the virtual machine images in the image service repository and dependencies between the deployed virtual machines in the compute service and the virtual machine images in the image service repository; identifying based on the recorded dependencies between the virtual machine images and the dependencies between the deployed virtual machines and the virtual machine images, by the management system, a first virtual machine image that has no deployed virtual machine dependent upon it; deleting, by the management system, the identified first virtual machine image from the image service repository; receiving from a user, by the management system, a request for a particular virtual machine image in the image service repository; and in response to receiving the request, suggesting based on the recorded dependencies between the virtual machine images and the dependencies between the deployed virtual machines and the virtual machine images, by the management system, another virtual machine image in the image service repository that is dependent upon the particular virtual machine image.