Whether you are planning to create an app or software, any software project’s success is frequently assessed by the ecosystem it creates. Projects that are constructed around, next to, and on top of the core technology improve its power and usability, and they frequently advance the needle. As a standard unit of production, Docker allows IT departments to focus on apps rather than virtual machines. Looking at recent developments, the Docker community has built a slew of projects that have improved the developer experience. Although there are some golden rules to follow for sustainable app development, selecting the most beneficial open-source Docker tools for developers is challenging due to a large number of excellent contributions. Here is a list of the most useful open-source Docker tools for developers.
Cargo Registry
Tools like Docker Registry help streamline Docker needs, but another great tool is a Cargo Registry. A Cargo Registry is a cloud-native solution that lets you turn your Rust crates into containers that are hosted in Artifactory’s private Docker registries. It allows you to fully automate your CI/CD pipeline using Artifactory REST APIs and a CLI.
Furthermore, it enables you to store detailed build information with your containers for Cargo metadata tracking. Artifactory is your single source of truth for cloud-native apps, serving as universal package management for Cargo, Docker, Helm, and more.
Portainer
Portainer is a graphical user interface for your Docker installation. It’s a web-based utility that lets you view, create, and configure your containers all in one place. Other Docker object types, such as images, networks, and volumes, can also be interacted with. With Portainer, you can quickly, effortlessly, and securely get your app up and operating in any container-based environment, such as Docker, without having to grasp the platform’s nuances. Accordingly, this allows you to deploy containerized apps from the data center to the edge. Portainer speeds container adoption and reduces time-to-value on Docker.
Traefik
Traefik is a lightweight HTTP reverse proxy that works well with container workloads. it allows you to add and remove containers and automatically reconfigures itself with new routes. Labels can be attached to containers in Traefik to define domain names and forwarding behavior. When a container with matching labels joins the Traefik network, the software will establish appropriate proxy routes.
Traefik also has load balancing features, WebSocket support, a REST API, integrated metrics, and a web-based dashboard for real-time traffic monitoring. It’s a nice approach to use a single Docker installation to expose numerous public-facing containers using domain names.
Dokku
Dokku is an open source Platform as a Service that runs on a single server. It assists you in the development and management of apps throughout their entire lifecycle. Dokku can create apps on the fly from a git push using Dockerfile or Buildpacks, and then start containers based on the produced image. Web processes are automatically sent to Dokku using technologies like nginx and cron, and Dokku also manages background processes and automated cron jobs. As a result, when you use Git to push code, this tool automatically spins up Docker containers.
Flocker
Flocker is a volume manager that combines container management with persistent data management. It works in multi-host situations, making volume migration across hosts easier as containers are rescheduled. Volumes are available wherever containers exist because of this portability. Because traditional Docker volumes can’t leave the host on which they were produced, your containers must also remain in stasis.
It’s easier to convert containers into production with distributed storage support. Flocker is suited for stateful containers that must scale in distributed contexts while being compatible with a variety of storage engines. It works with Amazon EBS, Google GCE, and OpenStack Block Storage as backends.
VS Code Extension
For developers, this tool could be a lifeline! The Docker Visual Studio Code Extension is designed to make it easier to create, manage, and execute Docker images and containers. It removes the need to fiddle with the command line and arguments, allowing you to concentrate on your task instead.
After you’ve installed the extension, it’ll show you a list of all the photographs on your computer. You can pull new images by connecting to a registry, such as Docker Hub. To execute the container, simply right-click the picture in question and select ‘Run’ from the context menu. There will be no tinkering with the command line!
Thus, Docker is a fantastic development tool, but it’s much better when combined with other programs and tools. These programs, for example, offer a variety of graphical user interfaces for controlling your containers and making container execution easier. Because new tools are continually being developed, it’s worthwhile to take a look around and explore code-sharing platforms like GitHub.