Dockge — Fancy Self-Hosted Docker Compose Manager

What it is

Dockge is a self-hosted Docker Compose management UI from the creator of Uptime Kuma. It provides a reactive web interface for creating, editing, starting, stopping, and monitoring docker-compose.yaml stacks. Unlike Portainer, Dockge works directly with your compose files on disk rather than wrapping Docker in an abstraction layer.

Dockge is for homelab operators and small-team DevOps engineers who want a visual dashboard for their Docker Compose deployments without adopting a full container orchestration platform.

The project is actively maintained with regular releases and a growing user community. Documentation covers common use cases, and the open-source nature means you can inspect the source code, contribute fixes, and adapt the tool to your specific requirements.

How it saves time or tokens

Managing Docker Compose stacks via SSH requires remembering file paths, editing YAML in a terminal, and running docker compose commands manually. Dockge provides a browser-based editor with real-time container logs, status indicators, and one-click start/stop. Changes are written directly to your compose files, so there is no vendor lock-in.

How to use

1. Run Dockge via Docker Compose with a single command.
2. Open the web UI on port 5001.
3. Create or import Docker Compose stacks and manage them through the dashboard.

Example

# docker-compose.yml for Dockge itself
version: '3.8'
services:
  dockge:
    image: louislam/dockge:1
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - 5001:5001
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      - ./data:/app/data
      - /opt/stacks:/opt/stacks
    environment:
      - DOCKGE_STACKS_DIR=/opt/stacks

# Start Dockge
docker compose up -d
# Open http://localhost:5001

Related on TokRepo

• AI Tools for Self-Hosted -- Self-hosted application management tools
• AI Tools for DevOps -- Container and deployment tooling

Common pitfalls

• Dockge requires access to the Docker socket. Running it without mounting /var/run/docker.sock results in a non-functional UI with no container visibility.
• The stacks directory must be writable by the Dockge process. Permission issues on /opt/stacks prevent stack creation and editing.
• Dockge manages docker-compose.yaml files on disk. If you edit the same files via SSH while Dockge is running, the UI may show stale state until the next refresh.

Before adopting this tool, evaluate whether it fits your team's existing workflow. Read the official documentation thoroughly, and start with a small proof-of-concept rather than a full migration. Community forums, GitHub issues, and Stack Overflow are valuable resources when you encounter edge cases not covered in the documentation.