# Portainer — Docker & Kubernetes Management Made Easy

> Portainer is an open-source container management UI for Docker, Swarm, and Kubernetes. Deploy, monitor, and manage containers through an intuitive web interface.

## Install

Save the content below to `.claude/skills/` or append to your `CLAUDE.md`:

## Quick Use

```bash
docker volume create portainer_data
docker run -d -p 9443:9443 -p 8000:8000 
  --name portainer --restart=always 
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock 
  -v portainer_data:/data 
  portainer/portainer-ce:latest
```

Open `https://localhost:9443` — create your admin account and start managing containers.

## Intro

**Portainer** is an open-source container management platform that provides a web UI for managing Docker, Docker Swarm, and Kubernetes environments. It simplifies container operations for developers and ops teams who want visual control over their containerized applications without memorizing CLI commands.

With 37.1K+ GitHub stars and zlib license, Portainer CE (Community Edition) is the most popular Docker management UI, used by hundreds of thousands of installations worldwide.

## What Portainer Does

- **Container Management**: Start, stop, restart, remove, and inspect containers with a click
- **Image Management**: Pull, push, build, and manage Docker images
- **Stack Deployment**: Deploy Docker Compose stacks from the UI, Git repos, or templates
- **Network Management**: Create and manage Docker networks and volume configurations
- **Log Viewing**: Real-time container log streaming with search and filtering
- **Console Access**: Interactive terminal into any running container
- **Resource Monitoring**: CPU, memory, and network usage per container
- **Multi-Environment**: Manage multiple Docker hosts and Kubernetes clusters from one UI
- **User Management**: Teams, roles, and access control for shared environments
- **App Templates**: One-click deployment of 100+ popular applications

## Architecture

```
┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐
│  Web UI      │────▶│  Portainer   │────▶│  Docker API  │
│  (Angular)   │     │  Server (Go) │     │  (Socket)    │
└──────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └──────────────┘
                                          ┌──────────────┐
                                          │  K8s API     │
                                          │  (Optional)  │
                                          └──────────────┘
```

## Installation

### Docker Standalone

```bash
docker volume create portainer_data

docker run -d 
  -p 9443:9443 
  -p 8000:8000 
  --name portainer 
  --restart=always 
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock 
  -v portainer_data:/data 
  portainer/portainer-ce:latest
```

### Docker Swarm

```bash
docker service create 
  --name portainer 
  --publish 9443:9443 
  --publish 8000:8000 
  --replicas=1 
  --constraint 'node.role == manager' 
  --mount type=bind,src=/var/run/docker.sock,dst=/var/run/docker.sock 
  --mount type=volume,src=portainer_data,dst=/data 
  portainer/portainer-ce:latest
```

### Kubernetes

```bash
kubectl apply -n portainer -f https://downloads.portainer.io/ce2-21/portainer.yaml
```

## Key Features

### Stack Management

Deploy Docker Compose stacks directly from the UI:

```yaml
# Paste or upload your docker-compose.yml
services:
  web:
    image: nginx:alpine
    ports:
      - "80:80"
  db:
    image: postgres:16
    environment:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: example
```

Or deploy from a Git repository — Portainer pulls and deploys automatically, with optional webhook for CI/CD.

### App Templates

One-click deployment for popular apps:
- WordPress, Ghost, Drupal
- PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB
- Grafana, Prometheus, InfluxDB
- Nginx, Traefik, Caddy
- And 100+ more community templates

### Edge Computing

Portainer Edge Agent enables managing remote Docker hosts behind firewalls:
- Outbound-only connection (no inbound ports needed)
- Manage edge devices, IoT gateways, and remote servers
- Centralized control of distributed infrastructure

### RBAC & Teams

- **Admin**: Full control over all resources
- **Standard User**: Access to assigned environments and stacks
- **Read-only User**: View resources without modification
- **Team-based**: Group users into teams with shared access policies

## Portainer vs Alternatives

| Feature | Portainer | Rancher | Docker Desktop | Lazydocker |
|---------|-----------|---------|----------------|------------|
| Open Source | Yes (CE) | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Web UI | Yes | Yes | Desktop app | Terminal UI |
| Docker | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Kubernetes | Yes | Yes | Limited | No |
| Multi-host | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| RBAC | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Remote mgmt | Edge Agent | Yes | No | No |

## FAQ

**Q: Portainer CE vs Portainer BE?**
A: CE (Community Edition) is free and open source with core container management. BE (Business Edition) adds enhanced RBAC, registry management, GitOps auto-updates, and other enterprise features. CE is enough for individuals and small teams.

**Q: Is exposing the Docker socket safe?**
A: Mounting the Docker socket gives Portainer full control over Docker. Best practices: use HTTPS (default port 9443), set strong passwords, restrict network access, and consider a Docker socket proxy (e.g., Tecnativa/docker-socket-proxy) to limit API calls.

**Q: Can I manage multiple servers?**
A: Yes. Install the Portainer Agent on each remote server and add remote environments in the main Portainer. The Edge Agent even supports servers behind firewalls.

## Source & Thanks

- GitHub: [portainer/portainer](https://github.com/portainer/portainer) — 37.1K+ ⭐ | zlib
- Website: [portainer.io](https://portainer.io)

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/portainer-docker-kubernetes-management-made-easy-fc90d052
Author: AI Open Source