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Docker

Docker is an open platform for developing, shipping, and running applications. It allows developers to package applications into containers—standardized executable components combining application source code with the operating system (OS) libraries and dependencies required to run that code in any environment.

What is Docker?

Docker is an open platform for developing, shipping, and running applications inside software containers. It provides an additional layer of abstraction and automation of operating-system-level virtualization on Linux, Mac OS and Windows.

Docker packages software into standardized units called containers that have everything the software needs to run including libraries, system tools, code, and runtime. Using containers, Docker allows applications to run quickly and reliably from one computing environment to another. This avoids dependency conflicts as the software along with dependencies and configuration are bundled together.

Developers can create Docker containers without having to provision and manage infrastructure. Docker provides the tools and platform to build, run and manage containers. With Docker, organizations can accelerate application development by eliminating the friction between development, QA, and production environments. This facilitates continuous development, integration and delivery in software development.

The Best Docker Alternatives

Top Apps like Docker

AWS Firecracker, Deis, Podman, BitNami Application Stacks, OrbStack, FreeBSD Jails, ServBay, Apache Mesos, Crane, Distrobox, LXC Linux Containers, Nanobox, containerd, Libre.sh, Chaperone Process Manager, Colima, Virtual PC, OpenVZ, DataCol, Panamax, Kata Containers, CRI-O, Arkose, Otto by HashiCorp are some alternatives to Docker.

AWS Firecracker

AWS Firecracker is an open source virtualization technology that provides lightweight and secure microvirtual machines (microVMs) optimized for serverless computing. It was developed by Amazon Web Services to enable high-density multi-tenancy, fast startup times, and security for functions and container workloads.Some key features and capabilities of Firecracker include:MicroVM...

Deis

Deis is an open source platform as a service (PaaS) built on top of Kubernetes that allows developers to easily deploy, manage, and scale applications. Some key features of Deis include:Simple Git push deployments - Developers can deploy apps simply by pushing code to a Git repository.Buildpacks -...

Podman

Podman is an open source container management tool meant to be an alternative to Docker. It allows users to run, manage, build, and share Linux containers without relying on a daemon process. Some key features and benefits of Podman include:Podman can run containers without a daemon, unlike Docker which...

BitNami Application Stacks

BitNami Application Stacks are pre-configured, ready-to-run application packages that include the server software like Apache or Nginx and other required dependencies needed to run popular web applications like WordPress, Drupal, or web databases like MongoDB or MySQL. The key benefit of BitNami Stacks is that they greatly simplify the installation...

OrbStack

OrbStack is an open-source application stack focused on enabling developers to build Orb apps and services. It aims to provide a set of reusable components, frameworks, and tools to streamline cross-platform Orb development.Some of the key capabilities and features of OrbStack include:UI frameworks - OrbStack includes JavaScript-based UI...

FreeBSD Jails

FreeBSD Jails is an operating system-level virtualization technology included in the FreeBSD operating system. It allows administrators to partition a FreeBSD system into independent virtual systems called jails. Each jail acts like a separate system with its own files, users, configurations, and installed applications.Some key features and benefits of...

ServBay

ServBay is a cloud-based customer service software designed to help companies deliver exceptional customer support across multiple channels. It brings all customer interactions including emails, chats, calls, and social media conversations into one unified workspace.Some key features of ServBay include:Unified inbox to manage customer queries from multiple channelsSLA-based...

Apache Mesos

Apache Mesos is an open source cluster manager that provides efficient resource isolation and sharing across distributed applications or frameworks. It sits between the application layer and the operating system on a distributed system, and makes it easier to deploy and manage applications in large-scale clustered environments.Some key features...

Crane

Crane is an open-source, self-hosted project management application designed for small development teams. It provides a variety of features to help teams plan, organize, track, and manage work more effectively.Some key features of Crane include:Kanban boards to visualize work and track progressTasks with statuses, assignments, comments, attachments, and...

Distrobox

Distrobox is an open-source container-based application that enables users to run various Linux distributions and software natively on their host Linux system without requiring dual booting or virtual machines. It works by leveraging container technology to isolate distros and software into containers that operate using the host's Linux kernel.With...

LXC Linux Containers

LXC (Linux Containers) is an operating-system-level virtualization technology that allows multiple isolated Linux systems to run on a single Linux host. LXC relies on cgroups and namespaces functionality in the Linux kernel to provide strong isolation of resources like CPU, memory, block I/O and network between containers.Some key...

Nanobox

Nanobox is a development platform designed to simplify and standardize the development and deployment of applications. It allows developers to create consistent development environments that mimic the production infrastructure, making the transition from dev to deploy seamless.Key features of Nanobox include:Creates isolated environments for each app, ensuring all...

Containerd

containerd is an open source container runtime that is designed to manage the complete container lifecycle for its host system or server. This includes pulling container images, managing storage and network resources, executing containers, monitoring them, and more.Some key things to know about containerd:It is lightweight, portable and...

Libre.sh

Libre.sh is an open source platform that provides free cloud hosting for open source web applications. It was created with the goal of making it easy for anyone to deploy open source software without needing to manage their own servers.Some key features of Libre.sh include:Free hosting...

Chaperone Process Manager

Chaperone Process Manager is a small utility application developed specifically for use with Oculus VR headsets. It runs in the background and monitors the processes and services associated with Oculus VR software.The main purpose of Chaperone Process Manager is to provide more control over these background processes to improve...

Colima

Colima is an open-source container runtime for Docker desktop environments. It allows you to run Docker containers and images without the overhead of a traditional virtual machine.Some key features of Colima include:Lightweight and fast - Runs as a single container instead of a VM so it starts instantly...

Virtual PC

Virtual PC is virtualization software from Microsoft that allows you to run multiple operating systems as virtual machines on a Windows host computer. It provides an easy way to set up isolated environments for testing software, running alternate operating systems, or compartmentalizing different tasks.Some key features of Virtual PC...

OpenVZ

OpenVZ is an open source container-based virtualization platform for Linux operating systems. It provides operating system-level virtualization that allows multiple isolated virtual containers, called Virtual Private Servers (VPSs), to run on a single physical server.With OpenVZ, each VPS runs its own operating system and applications separate from the other...

DataCol

DataCol is an open-source data catalog and metadata management software designed to help organizations track, manage and gain insights from their data more efficiently. Here are some key capabilities:Automated data discovery and indexing - DataCol can crawl different data stores like databases, file shares, cloud storage etc. to automatically...

Panamax

Panamax is an open-source container management platform built on Docker and CoreOS. It allows users to easily deploy, monitor, manage, and scale Docker containers through a simple graphical user interface.Some key features of Panamax include:Graphical container management - Easily create, run,and link Docker containers without touching the...

Kata Containers

Kata Containers is an open source container runtime that launched in late 2017. It focuses on providing strong workload isolation and security guarantees for containerized applications. Some key aspects of Kata Containers include:Speed - Uses extremely lightweight virtual machines to minimize overhead vs traditional VMsSecurity - Workloads run in hardware...

CRI-O

CRI-O (Container Runtime Interface for OCI) is an open-source container runtime specifically designed for Kubernetes. It implements the Kubernetes Container Runtime Interface (CRI) to enable native Kubernetes support for Open Container Initiative (OCI)-based runtimes and containers.Some key features of CRI-O include:Minimal footprint and dependencies - CRI-O has...

Arkose

Arkose is an anti-fraud and bot detection service designed to protect websites and mobile apps from automated attacks like account takeover attempts, fake account registrations, scraping attacks, and payment fraud.It works by analyzing user behavior and interactions to identify signs of automation and malicious intent. When risky activity is...

Otto by HashiCorp

Otto by HashiCorp is an open source automation tool and framework that enables developers to treat infrastructure like code. It allows you to provision, secure, connect, and run any infrastructure or application across multiple cloud environments.Some key features of Otto include:Infrastructure as Code - Define infrastructure in a...