Docklite

Docklite is a local-first VS Code extension for inspecting and managing Docker containers, images, and volumes without leaving the editor.

It is intentionally small: it wraps the Docker CLI, keeps the UI close to Docker Desktop where it helps, and avoids cloud accounts, background indexing, or heavyweight project tracking.

Demo

Features

• Activity Bar view for local Docker resources
• Container groups based on Docker Compose project labels
• Running/stopped status indicators for containers and images
• Container start, stop, restart, and delete actions
• Container detail pages with Info, Logs, Exec, and Inspect tabs
• Live-ish container stats for CPU, memory, disk read/write, and network I/O
• Fixed logs viewer with search, clear, and tail-to-latest behavior
• Interactive shell entry with docker exec -it <container> sh
• Image detail pages with layers, usage, run, stop, and delete actions
• Image run dialog with optional name, command, ports, volumes, and environment variables
• Volume detail pages with stored data browsing, text preview, container usage, and delete
• Friendlier Docker error messages for common failures
• Runtime picker for Docker-compatible engines
• Platform-aware runtime settings for Colima/resources and startup timeouts

Screenshots

Container Overview

Container details with Compose grouping, live stats, port mapping, and quick actions:

Logs Workflow

Fixed logs viewer with the sidebar context still visible for fast navigation:

Requirements

• VS Code 1.90 or newer
• Docker CLI available on your PATH
• A Docker-compatible daemon running locally
• Local Docker permissions for the current user

This extension shells out to docker, so it behaves like your terminal Docker setup.

Runtime Setup

Docklite can help start or configure a local Docker-compatible runtime from the sidebar:

1. Open the Docklite Activity Bar view.
2. Expand Settings.
3. Choose Change Docker Engine.
4. Pick the runtime for your platform.

Docklite marks the detected active runtime as Current in the picker when it can infer it from docker context show.

Runtime Options

macOS:

• Colima, recommended
• Docker Desktop

Linux:

• Docker Engine, recommended
• Colima

Windows:

• Docker Engine in WSL2, recommended
• Docker Desktop

The setup scripts live in scripts/runtimes/. They are intentionally plain shell or PowerShell scripts so they can be inspected and run manually during testing.

Runtime Settings

Open Settings -> Runtime Settings from the Docklite sidebar.

The settings page only shows options that make sense for the current operating system:

• macOS: Colima CPU, memory, disk, VM backend, Colima timeout, Docker Desktop timeout
• Linux: Docker Engine timeout, Colima CPU, memory, disk, VM backend, Colima timeout
• Windows: WSL2 Docker timeout and Docker Desktop timeout

Colima resource settings are applied only when Docklite creates or starts a Colima runtime. They do not change Docker Desktop or native Linux Docker Engine resources.

Saved settings are stored as VS Code configuration under docklite.runtime.* and passed into setup scripts through DOCKLITE_* environment variables.

Useful keys:

• docklite.runtime.colimaCpu
• docklite.runtime.colimaMemoryGiB
• docklite.runtime.colimaDiskGiB
• docklite.runtime.colimaVmType
• docklite.runtime.colimaSetupTimeoutSeconds
• docklite.runtime.dockerDesktopTimeoutSeconds
• docklite.runtime.dockerEngineTimeoutSeconds
• docklite.runtime.wslDockerTimeoutSeconds

Local Development

Install dependencies:

npm install

Compile once:

npm run compile

Or compile in watch mode:

npm run watch

Run the extension locally:

1. Open this folder in VS Code.
2. Press F5.
3. In the Extension Development Host window, open the Docklite Activity Bar view.
4. If Docker is not running, use Configure Runtime.
5. Use the sidebar to inspect containers, images, and volumes.

Package locally:

npm run package

Local Testing

You can test against any local Docker project. For screenshots and demo GIFs, use the included generic fixture so you do not expose real project names or containers:

cd examples/docklite-demo
docker compose up -d

Then refresh Docklite in VS Code.

Useful manual checks:

• Stop and start a container from the sidebar.
• Open a container and verify Info, Logs, Exec, and Inspect tabs.
• Run an image with a custom container name and port mapping.
• Try deleting an image used by a running container and confirm the friendly error.
• Open a named volume and browse stored files.
• Stop Docker and confirm the empty/error state is understandable.
• Open Runtime Settings, change Colima resources, and confirm Configure Runtime passes those values into the setup terminal.

Clean up the demo stack:

cd examples/docklite-demo
docker compose down -v

Runtime setup scripts can also be tested manually:

bash scripts/runtimes/setup-macos-colima-runtime.sh

Reset scripts are provided for repeated setup testing, but they are intentionally manual:

bash scripts/runtimes/reset-macos-colima-runtime.sh

Limitations

• This is a local Docker CLI wrapper, not a complete Docker Desktop replacement.
• Logs are refreshed by polling, not true streaming.
• Exec opens an interactive terminal, but it assumes sh exists in the container.
• Image run options are intentionally basic and do not cover every docker run flag.
• Volume browsing uses a mounted running container when possible, or a temporary BusyBox helper container.
• Docker Compose metadata is displayed from container labels, but Compose file tracking/up/down is not implemented.
• Runtime setup is best-effort and platform-specific. Some installs still require system permissions or first-run prompts.
• No Kubernetes, registries, Docker Hub auth, vulnerability scanning, or remote Docker contexts yet.

Project Structure

src/lib/dockerClient.ts            Docker CLI wrapper and data parsing
src/views/containerTree.ts         Activity Bar tree view
src/views/containerDetailsPanel.ts Container detail webview
src/views/imageDetailsPanel.ts     Image detail webview
src/views/volumeDetailsPanel.ts    Volume detail webview
src/views/runtimeSettingsPanel.ts  Runtime settings webview
resources/                         Icons and visual assets
scripts/runtimes/                  Runtime setup and reset scripts

Name

Docklite is an unofficial local development tool. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Docker, Inc.