Docker Integration Commands

Overview

The m87 CLI provides seamless Docker integration, allowing you to run any Docker command on remote devices as if you were working locally. This includes full support for Docker Compose for deploying multi-container applications.

Docker Command

Execute Docker commands on remote devices using Docker passthrough.

Syntax

m87 <device> docker <ARGS>...

All standard Docker commands and flags are supported.

Prerequisites

Before using Docker commands:

Docker must be installed on the remote device
The device user must be in the docker group or have root permissions
Docker daemon must be running

To add user to docker group:

m87 <device> exec -it -- sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Container Management

List and Inspect Containers

# List running containers
m87 rpi docker ps

# List all containers (including stopped)
m87 rpi docker ps -a

# List with custom format
m87 rpi docker ps --format "table {{.Names}}\t{{.Status}}\t{{.Ports}}"

# View container details
m87 rpi docker inspect myapp

# View container logs
m87 rpi docker logs myapp

# Follow logs in real-time
m87 rpi docker logs -f myapp

# View last 100 lines
m87 rpi docker logs --tail 100 myapp

Container Lifecycle

# Run container in detached mode
m87 rpi docker run -d --name nginx -p 80:80 nginx

# Run with environment variables
m87 rpi docker run -d --name app \
  -e NODE_ENV=production \
  -e PORT=3000 \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  myapp:latest

# Run with volume mount
m87 rpi docker run -d --name db \
  -v postgres-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data \
  postgres:15

# Stop container
m87 rpi docker stop myapp

# Start stopped container
m87 rpi docker start myapp

# Restart container
m87 rpi docker restart myapp

# Remove container
m87 rpi docker rm myapp

# Force remove running container
m87 rpi docker rm -f myapp

Bulk Operations

# Stop all running containers
m87 rpi docker ps -q | xargs -r m87 rpi docker stop

# Remove all stopped containers
m87 rpi docker container prune -f

# Kill all running containers
m87 rpi docker ps -q | xargs -r m87 rpi docker kill

Be careful with bulk operations. Always verify which containers will be affected by running m87 <device> docker ps first.

Image Management

# List images
m87 rpi docker images

# Pull image from Docker Hub
m87 rpi docker pull nginx:alpine

# Pull specific version
m87 rpi docker pull postgres:15.3

# Pull from private registry
m87 rpi docker pull myregistry.com/myapp:latest

# Build image from Dockerfile in current directory
m87 rpi docker build -t myapp:latest .

# Build with custom Dockerfile
m87 rpi docker build -f Dockerfile.prod -t myapp:prod .

# Build with build args
m87 rpi docker build \
  --build-arg NODE_VERSION=18 \
  --build-arg ENV=production \
  -t myapp:latest .

# Tag image
m87 rpi docker tag myapp:latest myapp:v1.0.0

# Remove image
m87 rpi docker rmi myapp:old

# Remove unused images
m87 rpi docker image prune -a -f

Docker Compose

Deploy and manage multi-container applications with Docker Compose.

Basic Compose Commands

# Deploy from local directory with docker-compose.yml
cd my-project
m87 rpi docker compose up -d

# Specify compose file location
m87 rpi docker compose --project-directory ./my-app up -d

# Deploy specific services
m87 rpi docker compose up -d web api

# View stack status
m87 rpi docker compose ps

# View logs
m87 rpi docker compose logs

# Follow logs
m87 rpi docker compose logs -f

# View logs for specific service
m87 rpi docker compose logs -f web

# Rebuild and restart services
m87 rpi docker compose up -d --build

# Pull latest images and restart
m87 rpi docker compose pull
m87 rpi docker compose up -d

# Restart specific service
m87 rpi docker compose restart web

# Stop services (keeps containers)
m87 rpi docker compose stop

# Stop and remove containers
m87 rpi docker compose down

# Remove containers and volumes
m87 rpi docker compose down -v

# Remove containers, volumes, and images
m87 rpi docker compose down -v --rmi all

Example: Simple Compose Project

Here’s a working example that demonstrates Docker Compose with m87:

docker-compose.yml

services:
  pause:
    image: registry.k8s.io/pause:3.9
    container_name: test-pause
    restart: unless-stopped

  custom:
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    container_name: test-custom
    init: true
    restart: unless-stopped
    environment:
      - TEST_VAR=hello-from-compose

Deploy Example

cd examples/features/docker-compose/simple
m87 rpi docker compose up -d

# View running containers
m87 rpi docker compose ps

# View logs
m87 rpi docker compose logs -f

# Stop and remove
m87 rpi docker compose down

Advanced Docker Commands

Network Management

# List networks
m87 rpi docker network ls

# Create network
m87 rpi docker network create mynetwork

# Connect container to network
m87 rpi docker network connect mynetwork myapp

# Inspect network
m87 rpi docker network inspect mynetwork

Volume Management

# List volumes
m87 rpi docker volume ls

# Create volume
m87 rpi docker volume create mydata

# Inspect volume
m87 rpi docker volume inspect mydata

# Remove unused volumes
m87 rpi docker volume prune -f

System Information

# Check Docker version
m87 rpi docker version

# View system info
m87 rpi docker info

# View disk usage
m87 rpi docker system df

# Clean up everything
m87 rpi docker system prune -a --volumes -f

Real-World Workflows

Deploy Web Application

# 1. Sync application code
m87 sync ./myapp rpi:myapp --exclude node_modules

# 2. Build and run containers
m87 rpi docker compose --project-directory ~/myapp up -d --build

# 3. Check status
m87 rpi docker compose --project-directory ~/myapp ps

# 1. Sync code changes
m87 sync ./myapp rpi:myapp --exclude node_modules

# 2. Rebuild and restart
m87 rpi docker compose --project-directory ~/myapp up -d --build

# 3. View logs
m87 rpi docker compose --project-directory ~/myapp logs -f

Database Backup

# Create database backup
m87 rpi docker exec postgres pg_dump -U postgres mydb > backup.sql

# Download backup
m87 cp rpi:backup.sql ./backups/mydb-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql

Development with Hot Reload

# Terminal 1: Watch and sync code
m87 sync ./src rpi:project/src --watch --exclude node_modules

# Terminal 2: Watch application logs
m87 rpi docker compose --project-directory ~/project logs -f web

Container Debugging

# Execute shell in running container
m87 rpi docker exec -it myapp /bin/bash

# View container processes
m87 rpi docker top myapp

# View container resource usage
m87 rpi docker stats myapp

# View container filesystem changes
m87 rpi docker diff myapp

Docker with Port Forwarding

Access containerized services locally:

# 1. Deploy application
m87 rpi docker run -d --name web -p 8080:80 nginx

# 2. Forward port to local machine
m87 rpi forward 8080

# 3. Access at http://localhost:8080

Troubleshooting

Check Docker Status

# Verify Docker is running
m87 rpi exec -- systemctl status docker

# Check Docker daemon logs
m87 rpi exec -- journalctl -u docker -n 50

Permission Issues

# Add user to docker group
m87 rpi exec -it -- sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

# Verify group membership (requires re-login)
m87 rpi exec -- groups

Container Won’t Start

# Check container logs
m87 rpi docker logs myapp

# Inspect container configuration
m87 rpi docker inspect myapp

# Check resource usage
m87 rpi docker stats --no-stream

Performance Tips

Optimize Docker operations:

Use .dockerignore to exclude unnecessary files from build context
Use multi-stage builds to reduce image size
Clean up unused images and containers regularly with docker system prune
Use specific image tags instead of latest for reproducibility
Mount volumes for persistent data instead of storing in containers

Deployments - Automated deployment management
Device Access - Execute commands on devices
Port Forwarding - Access container ports locally
File Transfer - Sync application code to devices

Get Started

Core Concepts

CLI Commands

Guides

Advanced

Docker Integration Commands

Overview

Docker Command

Syntax

Prerequisites

Container Management

List and Inspect Containers

Container Lifecycle

Bulk Operations

Image Management

Docker Compose

Basic Compose Commands

Example: Simple Compose Project

docker-compose.yml

Deploy Example

Advanced Docker Commands

Network Management

Volume Management

System Information

Real-World Workflows

Deploy Web Application

Database Backup

Development with Hot Reload

Container Debugging

Docker with Port Forwarding

Troubleshooting

Check Docker Status

Permission Issues

Container Won’t Start

Performance Tips

​Overview

​Docker Command

​Syntax

​Prerequisites

​Container Management

​List and Inspect Containers

​Container Lifecycle

​Bulk Operations

​Image Management

​Docker Compose

​Basic Compose Commands

​Example: Simple Compose Project

​docker-compose.yml

​Deploy Example

​Advanced Docker Commands

​Network Management

​Volume Management

​System Information

​Real-World Workflows

​Deploy Web Application

​Database Backup

​Development with Hot Reload

​Container Debugging

​Docker with Port Forwarding

​Troubleshooting

​Check Docker Status

​Permission Issues

​Container Won’t Start

​Performance Tips

​Related Commands

Overview

Docker Command

Syntax

Prerequisites

Container Management

List and Inspect Containers

Container Lifecycle

Bulk Operations

Image Management

Docker Compose

Basic Compose Commands

Example: Simple Compose Project

docker-compose.yml

Deploy Example

Advanced Docker Commands

Network Management

Volume Management

System Information

Real-World Workflows

Deploy Web Application

Database Backup

Development with Hot Reload

Container Debugging

Docker with Port Forwarding

Troubleshooting

Check Docker Status

Permission Issues

Container Won’t Start

Performance Tips

Related Commands