ioBroker Docker manager Adapter

This adapter uses Sentry libraries to automatically report exceptions and code errors to the developers. For more details and for information how to disable the error reporting, see Sentry-Plugin Documentation! Sentry reporting is used starting with js-controller 3.0.

Introduction

This adapter is a graphical user interface for managing Docker containers. It allows you to easily create, start, stop, and delete Docker containers directly from the ioBroker admin interface.

The adapter provides a user-friendly way to manage your Docker environment without needing to use command-line tools.

Explanation of the docker image and container

Docker is an open-source platform for automating the deployment, scaling, and management of applications in containers. Containers are lightweight, isolated environments that include all necessary components such as code, runtime, libraries, and configurations to run an application. With Docker, developers can deliver applications consistently and portably, regardless of the underlying infrastructure. This facilitates team collaboration, simplifies running applications on different systems, and improves scalability.

A Docker image is a lightweight, standalone, and executable software package that includes everything needed to run a piece of software, including the code, runtime, libraries, environment variables, and configuration files. Think of it as a snapshot of an application and its dependencies at a specific point in time. In ioBroker notation, it is like an adapter.

A Docker container, on the other hand, is a runtime instance of a Docker image. It is a lightweight, isolated environment that runs the application defined by the Docker image. When you run a Docker image, it creates a container that encapsulates the application and its dependencies, allowing it to run consistently across different environments. In ioBroker notation, it is like an instance of an adapter.

Prerequisites

• You need to have Docker installed and running on your system.
• The user running the ioBroker process must have permission to access the Docker daemon. This is typically done by adding the user to the docker group. Or just call iob fix to set the permissions.

How to install docker

• For installation instructions, please refer to the official Docker documentation: https://docs.docker.com/get-docker/
• After installing Docker, ensure that the Docker service is running. You can check the status of the Docker service using the following command:
  • On Linux: systemctl status docker
  • On Windows and macOS, Docker Desktop should be running.

Using Docker API

The adapter could use the Docker API to communicate with the Docker daemon on other hosts. To enable this feature, you need to configure the Docker daemon to listen on a TCP socket.

Enable Docker API on Linux

1. Open the Docker service configuration file. The location of this file may vary depending on your Linux distribution. Common locations include:
   • /lib/systemd/system/docker.service
   • /etc/docker/daemon.json
   • /etc/systemd/system/docker.service
2. If the file is /etc/docker/daemon.json, add or modify the hosts entry to include the TCP socket. For example:

   {
       "hosts": ["unix:///var/run/docker.sock", "tcp://0.0.0.0:2375"]
   }

   If the file is a systemd service file (e.g., /lib/systemd/system/docker.service), modify the ExecStart line to include the -H tcp://0.0.0.0:2375 option. For example:

   ExecStart=/usr/bin/dockerd -H fd:// -H unix:///var/run/docker.sock -H tcp://0.0.0.0:2375 --containerd=/run/containerd/containerd.sock 

3. Save the changes and exit the editor.
4. Restart the Docker service to apply the changes:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl restart docker

5. Verify that the Docker daemon is listening on the TCP socket by running:

   netstat -tuln | grep 2375

Todo

• BackItUp should support /opt/iobroker/docker-volumes
• Think about js-controller will remove dockers which are not used anymore but has label
• Docker installer: iob docker <remove>
• Progress indicator: add/pull image, create container

Changelog

1.0.1 (2026-08-07)

• (@GermanBluefox) Added an interactive terminal for running containers (xterm.js)
• (@GermanBluefox) Updated GUI to React 19
• (@GermanBluefox) Added better JSON viewer for container configuration
• (@GermanBluefox) Breaking: Node.js 22 is minimum requirement now

0.1.5 (2026-01-09)

• (@GermanBluefox) Updated packages

0.1.3 (2025-10-15)

• (@GermanBluefox) Updated packages

0.1.2 (2025-10-09)

• (@GermanBluefox) Added volume browsing
• (@GermanBluefox) Added a text file read from volume

0.1.1 (2025-09-26)

• (@GermanBluefox) Added network tab

0.0.3 (2025-09-17)

• (@GermanBluefox) Initial commit

License

The MIT License (MIT)

Copyright (c) 2025-2026 bluefox [email protected]