docker-kotlin¶

A type-safe Docker CLI wrapper for Kotlin/JVM with clean Java builder APIs and an idiomatic Kotlin DSL.

Why docker-kotlin?¶

Existing JVM Docker libraries all use the Docker HTTP API directly. docker-kotlin wraps the Docker CLI instead, offering distinct advantages:

When to use docker-kotlin¶

• Development tooling - CLI tools, dev scripts, local automation
• Testing - Integration tests, test fixtures, CI/CD pipelines
• Docker Compose workflows - Multi-container orchestration
• Docker alternatives - Podman, Colima, OrbStack, Rancher Desktop

When to use API-based libraries¶

• High-throughput production - Many Docker operations per second
• Low-latency requirements - API calls are faster than process spawning
• No CLI dependency - Embedded or minimal environments

Features¶

• Full Docker CLI coverage - All major commands with type-safe builders
• Dual API surface - Kotlin DSL + Java builder pattern
• Async & blocking - Coroutines for Kotlin, blocking methods for Java
• Platform detection - Auto-detects Docker, Podman, Colima, OrbStack
• Compose support - Native docker compose integration
• Container templates - Pre-configured containers for common services
• Extensible - Escape hatches for unmapped CLI options

Quick Example¶

val docker = Docker()

// Run a container
val containerId = docker.run("nginx:alpine") {
    name("web-server")
    port(8080, 80)
    env("WORKER_PROCESSES", "4")
    detach()
}

// Stop and remove
docker.stop(containerId.value)
docker.rm(containerId.value)

Docker docker = Docker.create();

// Run a container
ContainerId containerId = RunCommand.builder("nginx:alpine")
    .name("web-server")
    .port(8080, 80)
    .env("WORKER_PROCESSES", "4")
    .detach()
    .executeBlocking();

// Stop and remove
StopCommand.builder(containerId.getValue()).executeBlocking();
RmCommand.builder(containerId.getValue()).executeBlocking();

Modules¶

License¶

Apache 2.0