Docker

Docker and Container Runtime Management

Use docker, docker compose, and lazydocker to manage container execution, services, and local debugging. [containerize](../containerize/SKILL.md) builds and signs images; [trivy](../security-review/references/trivy/GUIDE.md) scans them for vulnerabilities.

Docker, Compose, and Colima are host prerequisites; workstation tools do not install or start them. Inspect existing contexts before choosing a runtime. Container runs execute project code; obtain authority for untrusted images, network pulls, or consequential workloads. Preserve existing volumes and containers.

Runtime Selection

• macOS: use Colima as the default container runtime instead of Docker Desktop. Colima runs a lightweight Linux VM using Lima and provides a compatible Docker socket.

``bash colima start --cpu 4 --memory 8 colima status colima stop ``

• Linux: use the existing Docker-compatible engine; host daemon installation is outside user-space mise setup.

Workflow

1. Verify daemon health and storage budget: confirm the daemon is responsive and check storage footprint before launching workloads. Preserve 20 GiB free space on the workstation.

``bash docker info docker system df ``

1. Manage Compose stacks: start, inspect, and stop multi-container services with project isolation.

``bash docker compose up -d docker compose ps docker compose logs --tail 100 -f docker compose down ``

1. Run interactive debugging: use lazydocker for a terminal dashboard or attach to a container directly.

``bash lazydocker docker exec -it sh ``

1. Tail container logs boundedly: inspect container output without flooding terminal buffers.

``bash docker logs --tail 100 ``

1. Clean up task containers: always use --rm for ephemeral runs to avoid accumulating dead containers.

``bash docker run --rm -it echo "quick check" ``

Gotchas

• Colima socket path: on macOS, Colima binds the Docker socket under ~/.colima/default/docker.sock. If tools fail to locate the socket, set DOCKER_HOST="unix://${HOME}/.colima/default/docker.sock".
• VM memory limits: containers in Colima run inside the VM; if a container exceeds the VM memory allocation, the Linux kernel terminates it with OOM (exit code 137). Adjust VM sizing with colima start --memory .
• Volume mounts on macOS: the driver depends on the VM profile: vz supports virtiofs, while QEMU profiles can use sshfs or 9p. Inspect the profile's vmType and mountType against Colima's configuration before diagnosing performance; keep write-heavy build caches inside the VM when practical.

Documentation

• Docker Documentation · Docker Compose Reference
• Colima GitHub Repository · Lazydocker
• Companion skills: [containerize](../containerize/SKILL.md) (image authoring), [trivy](../security-review/references/trivy/GUIDE.md) (scanning), [airflow](../airflow/SKILL.md) (local Airflow).

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: fmind
• Source: fmind/dot
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://fmind.dev

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.