PowerDocker

A simple Docker container management tool built with .NET and Spectre.Console, with Docker Compose project grouping.

Elevator Pitch

• Docker Desktop is a slow and awkward experience.
• Lazydocker can't organize containers into projects.
• PowerDocker is fast and extremely simple. Start or stop your containers or projects with one keystroke.

Features

• Simple Text-based UI: Project tree, aligned state columns, running counts, and a selection detail panel. Wide terminals also show container images.
• Compose Project Grouping: Automatically groups containers by their Docker Compose projects
• CPU & RAM: Background resource monitoring for running containers, with totals for each project. CPU is a percentage and RAM uses KiB/MiB/GiB. Linux RAM excludes reclaimable file cache, matching docker stats.
• Native app: No Electron, no web browser, no Node.js, no JavaScript.
• Keyboard Shortcuts: Fast control with simple key commands (r=start/restart, s=stop, q/e=exit)
• Auto-refresh: Updates every 5 seconds, preserving the selected container even when rows change order
• Collapsible Projects: Fold or unfold a project with Enter or Space
• Preview Mode: Try the interface with powerdocker --demo, without connecting to Docker
• Standalone Container Support: Shows non-compose containers under "Standalone" group

Installation

Prerequisites

1. Install .NET 8.0 or later
2. Configure Docker permissions (Linux only):

   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
   # Log out and back in, or restart your session

Install PowerDocker

Option 1: Install Globally As Dotnet Tool (recommended)

# Clone
git clone https://github.com/MichalSkoula/powerdocker.git
cd powerdocker

# Install as global tool (optional)
dotnet pack -c Release
dotnet tool install --global --add-source ./bin/Release PowerDocker

# Run from anywhere
powerdocker

# Update to latest version (in the future)
dotnet pack -c Release
dotnet tool update --global --add-source ./bin/Release PowerDocker

Option 2: Clone and Build from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/MichalSkoula/powerdocker.git
cd powerdocker

# Build the application
dotnet build

# Run the application
dotnet run

# Preview the interface without Docker
dotnet run -- --demo

Option 3: Create Standalone Executable

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/MichalSkoula/powerdocker.git
cd powerdocker

# Create self-contained executable
dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64 --self-contained -p:PublishSingleFile=true -o ./publish

# Run the standalone executable
./publish/PowerDocker

Replace linux-x64 with your platform:

• Windows: win-x64
• macOS: osx-x64 or osx-arm64 (Apple Silicon)
• Linux: linux-x64 or linux-arm64

Controls

Key	Action
↑ / ↓ or k / j	Select a project or container
Home / End, Page Up / Page Down	Navigate long lists
Enter / Space	Fold or unfold the selected project
r	Start an inactive selection, or restart a running selection
s	Stop the selection
F5	Refresh now
q / e / Esc / Ctrl+C	Quit and restore the previous terminal screen

Selecting a project applies start/restart/stop to all existing containers in that group. The Standalone group behaves the same way. These actions operate on containers through the Docker API; they do not run docker compose up or create missing containers.

Docker actions are disabled in preview mode. During a Docker action, navigation remains available and additional actions are disabled until it finishes.

Development checks

dotnet build
dotnet run --project tests/PowerDocker.Checks.csproj

The checks cover selection preservation, collapsing and scrolling, resource calculations and project totals, empty hosts, small terminals, literal Docker metadata, and ANSI output that leaves the terminal background untouched.

License

MIT