A Docker container update manager for self-hosters.
Monitor your compose stacks, check for newer versions, and manage updates through a web UI.

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Quick Start

services:
  docksmith:
    image: ghcr.io/chrisae9/docksmith:latest
    container_name: docksmith
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      # Required: Docker socket for container management
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
      # Required: Persistent storage for update history
      - ./data:/data
      # Optional: Docker config for registry authentication (GHCR, private registries)
      - ~/.docker/config.json:/root/.docker/config.json:ro
      # Your compose directories (add as many as needed)
      # Use same path inside/outside so env_file references work
      - /home/user/stacks:/home/user/stacks:rw

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Why I Built This

I was using What's Up Docker with most of my containers running on latest tags and felt like I didn't have much control over updates. I wanted something focused on semantic version detection and management for docker compose stacks.

A few specific problems I kept running into:

• No container dependencies - Updating certain containers (like a VPN) would break others that depended on them. I'd have to SSH into my server and manually restart things. Docksmith handles this with the restart-after label.

• No way to block risky updates - I could never tell if someone was watching Plex before an update kicked off. Now I use pre-update checks to block updates when there are active streams.

• Wanted VS Code Docker on mobile - I love the VS Code Docker extension for managing containers, but wanted that same control from my phone. The Explorer tab is basically that.

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What It Does

Updates - Checks Docker Hub, GHCR, and private registries for newer image versions. Update containers individually or in batches. Rollback if something breaks.

Version Control - Pin to major/minor versions, filter tags with regex, or set version bounds. Useful for databases and other apps where you don't want surprise major upgrades.

Pre-Update Checks - Run scripts before updates. Block an update if Plex has active streams, backup a database first, or check disk space.

Explorer - Browse and manage containers, images, networks, and volumes. Stop, start, restart, remove containers. Prune unused resources.

Dependency Handling - Automatically restart containers that depend on updated services (like apps using a VPN container). See restart-after label.

History - Track all updates, rollbacks, and operations. See what changed and when.

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Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
CHECK_INTERVAL	5m	How often to check for updates
CACHE_TTL	1h	Registry response cache duration
DB_PATH	/data/docksmith.db	Database location
LOG_LEVEL	info	Log level (debug, info, warn, error)
GITHUB_TOKEN	-	For private GHCR images

Registry Authentication

Mount your Docker config to authenticate with registries:

volumes:
  - ~/.docker/config.json:/root/.docker/config.json:ro

This enables access to private images and avoids Docker Hub rate limits. See registry setup for details.

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Security

Docksmith requires access to the Docker socket, which grants full control over your containers. There is no built-in authentication - do not expose it to the internet.

Run it on a trusted network or behind Tailscale.

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More Info

• Labels - Version constraints, pre-update checks, auto-rollback
• Scripts - Pre-update script examples
• Registries - Docker Hub, GHCR, private registries
• Integrations - Homepage widget, Tailscale, Traefik
• API - REST API reference