Azure / Azure/containerization-assist

✨ [FEATURE]: Support for Podman Desktop

Open
#215 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
enhancement
Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
41
Forks
19
Avg merge
1d 9h
Merged PRs (30d)
2

Description

### Pre-submission checklist

- [x] I have searched existing issues and discussions to ensure this feature hasn't been requested
- [x] I have read the [Contributing Guidelines](https://github.com/Azure/container-kit/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)
- [x] I have considered if this fits the project's scope and goals

### Feature Summary

Enable support for Podman as a local development environment for running the Container Kit MCP server, leveraging Podman’s Docker compatibility mode. This would provide users with a fully open-source, license-free alternative to Docker Desktop, especially for environments where Docker licensing restrictions are a concern such as large enterprises.

A sufficient alternative may also be to not directly support Podman Desktop but any docker compatible provider (e.g. Colima on Mac or Rancher Desktop on Windows).

### Feature Category

Docker Integration

### Problem Statement

Docker desktop, currently suggested dependency for Container Kit users, potentially has adoption implications for larger enterprise customers.

### Proposed Solution

Alter the dependency detection for Docker Desktop and focus on just docker cli ignoring what local dev construct is providing a docker local socket and CLI so that CK would not care whether Docker Desktop, Podman Desktop, Colima, or any other docker local provider is being used.

### Alternative Solutions

_No response_

### Use Cases

Enterprise customers or other larger customers where Docker Desktop requires a valid license for commercial use potentially blocking adoption of CK for these customers.

### Priority Level

Medium - Would improve my workflow

### Implementation Effort (if known)

Unknown

### Acceptance Criteria

GHCP and the CK MCP would **not** output a message like this and work in a manner that is agnostic to the docker provider

I see the issue! Docker is not installed or running on your system. The error message indicates that the docker command is not found in your PATH. Let me check if Docker is installed and running:

Interesting! You have Podman installed instead of Docker. Podman is a Docker-compatible container engine. Let me check if we can use Podman as a Docker replacement:

Perfect! You have Podman installed. We can use Podman instead of Docker. Let me check if there's a docker alias or if we need to use podman directly. First, let me read the generated Dockerfile to see what we're working with:

### Mockups or Examples

_No response_

### Impact Assessment

Licensing Flexibility: Docker Desktop now requires commercial licensing in many enterprise contexts. Podman offers a free and open-source alternative.

Developer Choice: Many developers prefer Podman for its daemonless architecture and rootless container support.

Compatibility: Podman’s Docker compatibility mode (alias docker=podman) allows most Docker CLI commands to work seamlessly.

### Contribution

- [ ] I'm willing to implement this feature myself
- [x] I can help with testing and feedback
- [ ] I can help with documentation
- [ ] I can provide domain expertise

### Additional Context

_No response_

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by tracing the Docker dependency detection and the MCP/CK error path described in the issue. Determine how the Docker CLI and local socket are identified, then verify that the server works with Docker-compatible providers without provider-specific error messages.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
docker, typescript
Domain
devops, tooling
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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