If you are in the web application development world, you have come across Docker Desktop (or one of its alternatives). Last year, Docker announced that they changed their subscription service agreement to limit the free usage of Docker Desktop, so professional users started looking for alternatives. Let’s read Docker Desktop Alternatives
What is Docker Desktop?
Docker Desktop is an application that can easily be installed on a Mac or Windows environment. It enables users to create and share ‘containerized’ applications and microservices. Docker Desktop allows users to choose their development tools and languages and provides them with an enormous library of images and templates.
Top Seven Alternatives to Docker Desktop
While arguably Docker Desktop is the best tool out there, there are still quite a few excellent and free-of-charge substitutes.
Buildah
Supported Operating System(s): Linux
Buildah is a Docker alternative tool that facilitates building Open Container Initiative (OCI) container images.
The Buildah package on Github offers a command line (CMD) tool that can be utilized to do some features, some of which are:
- Generate a working container from scratch or by using an image as a kickoff
- Create an image from a working container or via requirements in the Docker file
- Build images in either the traditional upstream docker image format or the OCI image format
- Mount and unmount a working container’s root filesystem
Buildah has the advantage of its capacity to commit multiple changes to a single layer, which is a missing feature in Docker.
BuildKit
Supported Operating System(s): Linux, macOS, Windows
Created as an attempt to “assemble specialized container systems without reinventing the wheel.”, BuildKit is an open-source toolkit developed as a part of the Moby project for Docker. It converts source code to efficiently build artifacts. The primary perk of BuildKit is that it utilizes parallel processing of image layers to enhance performance. Moreover, BuildKit provides rootless builds and the ability to skip unutilized stages.
Colima
Supported Operating System(s): Linux, macOS
Another tool that can be used instead of Docker Desktop is Colima. Colima is a container that runs on both macOS and Linux, and it requires minimal setup as it is only available as a command-line (CMD) tool.
Features include:
- Intel and M1 Macs Support
- Docker and Containers Support
- Post Forwarding
- Volume Mounts
minikube
Supported Operating System(s): Linux, macOS, Windows
minikube is the formally supported method to locally run Kubernetes (K8s) on Linux, macOS, and Windows, which facilitates the learning and development of K8s. Moreover, minikube is the only tool that can directly replace Docker Desktop when running Kubernetes and Docker.
Podman
Supported Operating System(s): Linux only but can run on a virtual Linux environment on macOS and Windows.
Podman, a.k.a. the Pod Manager Tool, is a daemon-less container engine created by RedHat. It is one of the most well-known Docker substitutes for building, running, and storing container images. Moreover, similar to Docker, Podman is compatible with the OCI container image spec, which allows it to run Docker container images and vice versa.
The notable advantage Podman has over Docker is that it does not use a daemon to manage the containers under its control. Hence, it removes the persistent connection to process issues found in Docker.
Rancher Desktop
Supported Operating System(s): Linux, macOS, Windows
Rancher Desktop is an open-source desktop application that runs Kubernetes (K8s) and manages containers on desktops. The application offers a user-friendly graphic interface that makes it easy to configure the virtual machine that runs daemons as part of their K8s distribution.
The installation of the Rancher Desktop is straightforward as it only requires turning off Docker Desktop and starting the Rancher Desktop. This web application is the most seamless Docker Desktop replacement out of the ones in the market.
Skopeo
Another gadget that can be used instead of Docker Desktop is Skopeo. Just like Podman, Skopeo is also manufactured by RedHat. It is a command-line tool that performs multiple processes on container images and image repositories. Skopeo can be used with Podman and Buildah to enhance their performance.
The unique feature that Skopeo provides is that it has an ‘inspect’ subcommand that offers low-level information about a container image like Docker’s inspect option. Skopeo stands out from Docker because it allows you to collect useful data about a repository or a tag without requiring you to download it beforehand.
Should You Make the Switch?
A point worth noting before switching to one of the substitutes of Docker Desktop is that it is still free of charge if you:
- are a small business with less than 250 employees and less than $10 million in annual revenue
- are an educational institution
- will use it for non-commercial open-source projects
- will need it for personal use
If this represents you, it would probably be unnecessary to go through the hassle of changing to another tool. In addition, the subscription fee is $5 per month, so you can still benefit from Docker’s features if you can afford to pay this amount monthly. Lastly, you should be aware that setting up some of the alternative tools could be slightly complicated. Therefore, take your time to decide whether you will change to a different gadget and figure out which one will best suit you.
Bottom Line
In conclusion, if you already have a Docker Desktop set up, have $5 to spend monthly, and prefer not to switch to another tool, keep using it! That said, there are still multiple great alternatives if you can no longer use Docker or you do not like it. Tools like Podman and Rancher Desktop are the most agreed on by developers as the best two substitutes that offer similar features as Docker Desktop. However, Colima is also a customer favorite for Mac users. Every gadget has its advantages and disadvantages. Hence, no one size fits all. Nonetheless, picking a suitable tool does not have to be complicated. To choose an appropriate gadget, you ought to know what you are looking for or need in a containerized application.
