Dry is an interactive terminal application for Docker and Docker Compose. It keeps containers, images, networks, volumes, logs, live statistics, events, Compose projects and (when available) Swarm objects in one keyboard-driven interface. Use it for fast, visual administration at a terminal; keep the Docker CLI for scripts, CI and other headless work.
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What Dry does
Dry is distributed as a single binary and presents Docker resources in a terminal UI rather than requiring a separate web dashboard. You can browse local or remote Docker daemons, inspect container configuration, follow logs, open a shell, watch CPU and memory readings, and perform lifecycle actions without repeatedly typing resource IDs.
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The interface covers the main Docker object types:
- Containers, including running and stopped instances.
- Images, networks and volumes.
- Docker Compose projects and their services.
- Swarm nodes, services and stacks when the connected daemon runs Swarm.
- Daemon information, disk usage and recent Docker events.
Dry is most useful when you are investigating a problem interactively: select an object, open the relevant view, act on it, and immediately see the result. It is not a replacement for every Docker command. The official CLI remains the better choice for repeatable commands, automation, CI jobs and operations that Dry does not expose in its menus.
Before launching Dry
Check the daemon endpoint
Dry connects in a defined order. A host supplied with the -H option takes priority, followed by the DOCKER_HOST environment variable, followed by Docker’s default Unix socket, unix:///var/run/docker.sock. Decide which daemon you intend to manage before starting the program; otherwise you can end up viewing a different host than the one you expected.
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Check permissions
The account launching Dry must be able to contact the selected Docker daemon. Verify that the Docker service is running and that your user has permission to access its socket or endpoint. If a normal Docker command such as docker container ls fails with a permission error, Dry will not be able to repair that permission problem for you.
Choose an installation method
The project documents several installation routes:
- Run the project’s shell installer.
- Download a release binary and place it on your executable path.
- Install through Homebrew.
- Install through Arch Linux’s package system.
- Run the documented container image with Docker.
The container method is useful when you do not want to place a binary on the host. It mounts the host Docker socket into the temporary Dry container:
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docker run --rm -it -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock moncho/dryThe --rm option removes the temporary Dry container when you exit, while -it allocates the interactive terminal Dry needs. The mounted socket determines which local daemon the program can manage, so confirm that the path matches your Docker installation.
Connect Dry to the intended Docker daemon
Use one of these connection approaches, in priority order:
- Explicit host: launch Dry with
-Hand the daemon endpoint you want to use. - Environment variable: set
DOCKER_HOSTbefore launching Dry. This is convenient for switching between saved environments in a shell session. - Default socket: omit both settings and let Dry use
unix:///var/run/docker.sock.
After launch, verify the result from inside the interface rather than assuming the connection worked. Check that the container list contains the workloads you expect, then open the daemon information view with F7. If the host appears empty, do not immediately conclude that containers were deleted: you may simply be connected to another daemon, another context or a host where no containers are running.
Work with containers
Open and refresh the container list
Press 1 to open the container view. Dry keeps the resource list visible while you move between inspection and operational views. Press F5 to refresh the list after an external Docker command, a deployment, or a lifecycle action that changes state.
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For a large host, press % to filter the current list. Press F1 to change the sort order. Filtering and sorting are local navigation tools: they help you find a container quickly without changing Docker’s configuration.
Inspect configuration
Select a container and press i for inspect. Use this when you need the container’s configured image, command, mounts, environment, networking and state details rather than only its short list row. Inspect is the appropriate first step when a container exits unexpectedly or appears to have the wrong published port or volume.
Read logs
With a container selected, press l to open its logs. Logs show the application’s output and are usually the fastest way to identify a bad configuration, failed migration, missing secret or startup error. If the output is quiet, combine the log view with inspect and stats instead of assuming the process is healthy.
Watch live resource use
Press s for container statistics. The monitor view exposes live status and resource information; recent releases render CPU% and MEM% as visual progress bars, making sustained pressure easier to spot while scanning several containers.
Use stats to distinguish different failure patterns:
- High CPU with growing application latency suggests a compute-bound process or runaway loop.
- High memory use or a steadily rising memory bar suggests pressure or a leak.
- Low resource use with repeated restarts points you back to logs, inspect output and Docker events.
These readings are operational indicators, not a performance benchmark. The project does not publish an authoritative comparison showing Dry’s monitoring overhead or speed against another dashboard.
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Open a shell or run a command
Press x to execute a command inside the selected container. Dry uses /bin/sh by default. If the image does not contain that shell, the command will fail; use the command menu opened with Enter to select an available command or shell appropriate to the image.
Remember that an interactive command runs in the container’s current filesystem and namespaces. Changes made manually may disappear when the container is replaced, and a shell is not a substitute for correcting the image, Compose file or deployment configuration that created the container.
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The selected-container shortcuts are:
| Key | Action | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
Ctrl+r |
Start or restart | Start a stopped container, or restart a running one after a recoverable application fault. |
Ctrl+t |
Stop | Request a normal shutdown before maintenance or replacement. |
Ctrl+k |
Kill | Force termination when a container does not respond to a normal stop. |
e |
Remove | Delete the selected container after it is no longer needed. |
Ctrl+e |
Remove all stopped containers | Clean up stopped instances in bulk; review the selection carefully first. |
Enter |
Open the command menu | Choose an available operation or command for the selected object. |
Start with logs or inspect before using stop, kill or remove. A removal action deletes the container object, so preserve any data that was not stored in a named volume or an external system.
Monitor the daemon, disk and events
Daemon information
Press F7 for Docker daemon information. This gives you host-level context when container behavior does not make sense, such as checking whether you are connected to the expected engine or confirming the daemon’s reported state.
Disk usage
Press F8 for disk usage. Use this view when image pulls fail, containers cannot write, or a host is running out of space. Disk pressure can involve images, writable container layers, volumes or build artifacts, so inspect before deleting resources indiscriminately.
Recent Docker events
Press F9 to view the last 10 Docker events. Events provide daemon-level context around starts, stops, creates, destroys and other changes. They are particularly useful when a container disappears, restarts between log checks, or is being recreated by an external Compose or deployment process.
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A practical investigation sequence is to open events first for timing, then select the affected container for logs and stats, and finally use inspect to verify the configuration that produced the behavior.
Manage Docker Compose projects
Find a project
Press 8 to open the Compose project view. Dry discovers projects from Docker labels, including labels on stopped containers, or from a Compose file in the directory where Dry was started. Discovery is not recursive: starting Dry in a parent directory does not make it search every nested project directory.
If a project is missing, check both conditions. Confirm that its containers carry the expected Compose labels, and launch Dry from the directory containing the Compose file when you want file-based discovery. Also refresh with F5 after starting or stopping services outside Dry.
Inspect services and project state
The project view shows services, health, published ports, images and container counts. Select a service to drill into its logs or perform service-level lifecycle operations. This gives you a project-aware view that is easier to scan than a flat list when several services share similar names.
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Start, stop, restart or remove
Dry supports start, stop, restart and remove actions at both service and project levels. Confirmation prompts appear for destructive or broad operations, and the interface reports summaries when some actions fail while others succeed. Read those summaries: a project operation can partially complete, leaving services in different states.
After a project-level action, refresh the project and then inspect the individual service rows. Check health, ports and container counts rather than relying only on the operation’s success message.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Use Dry with Docker Swarm
When the connected daemon runs Swarm, Dry exposes Swarm nodes, services and stacks in addition to ordinary Docker objects. This lets you inspect cluster-oriented resources from the same terminal interface used for standalone containers.
Use the Swarm views to locate the object involved in an incident, then examine its service or task-related state and logs where available. Keep the scope clear: a Swarm service or stack is not the same object as an individual container, so a container-level restart may not address a scheduler or replica problem.
Dry versus the Docker CLI
Docker’s official container reference includes commands such as docker container ls, inspect, logs, exec, stats, start, stop, restart and rm. Docker describes its CLI as scriptable and suitable for automation and headless operation. The choice is therefore about workflow, not a claim that one tool is universally faster.
| Decision axis | Dry | Docker CLI |
|---|---|---|
| Interaction model | Interactive terminal navigation with keyboard shortcuts and visible lists. | Commands that you type, compose, redirect and script. |
| Quick inspection | Convenient selection-based access to inspect, logs, exec and stats. | Explicit commands; ideal when you already know the resource name or ID. |
| Live monitoring | Container monitor with CPU% and MEM% progress bars, plus daemon and event views. | Command output that can be redirected, parsed or collected by another monitoring system. |
| Compose management | Dedicated project and service navigation with confirmation and partial-failure summaries. | Separate Compose commands and scripts, depending on the operation you need. |
| Swarm visibility | Nodes, services and stacks are exposed when the daemon runs Swarm. | Swarm commands are available directly and can be automated. |
| Remote daemon choice | Uses -H, DOCKER_HOST or the default socket, in that order. |
Uses Docker’s command-line connection options and environment settings. |
| Automation | Not the natural choice for repeatable, non-interactive jobs. | Best fit for CI, cron, deployment scripts and headless servers. |
| Installation footprint | Single binary, package options or a temporary container invocation. | Part of the Docker command-line workflow. |
| Performance benchmark | Not stated; no authoritative comparative benchmark is published. | Not stated; no matching benchmark is supplied for comparison. |
Choose Dry when you are at a terminal and need to explore relationships quickly: which service owns a container, what it is logging, whether it is consuming CPU, and what changed recently. Choose the CLI when the same operation must run identically many times or without a person watching the terminal. Many administrators use both: Dry for diagnosis and ad-hoc recovery, and CLI commands for the eventual runbook or automation.
Troubleshoot common problems
Dry opens but shows no containers
- Open the daemon information view with F7 and verify the connected host.
- Check whether the selected daemon actually has containers, including stopped ones.
- Confirm the
-Hargument,DOCKER_HOSTvalue and default socket order. - Run
docker container lsagainst the same environment to separate a connection problem from an empty host. - Press F5 after creating or starting a container elsewhere.
The connection is denied
Check that the Docker daemon is running and that your user can access its socket or endpoint. If the socket is mounted only for a containerized Dry invocation, verify the mount path and launch permissions. Fix the daemon or operating-system permission first, then restart Dry.
A Compose project is not listed
Start Dry from the directory containing the Compose file, because file discovery is not recursive. If the project should be discovered from existing containers, confirm that those containers have Compose labels; stopped containers can still provide discovery data. Refresh the project view after correcting the source.
A command fails inside the container
Dry defaults to /bin/sh, but minimal images may not contain it. Open the command menu with Enter and select a shell or command that the image actually provides. If the command exists but returns an application error, use logs and inspect to diagnose the container rather than repeatedly opening shells.
A project operation reports partial failure
Read the failure summary and refresh the project. Identify which services changed and which did not, then operate on the failed service individually. Check health, logs, ports and container counts before retrying a project-wide action.
A practical operating routine
- Launch Dry against the intended daemon and verify the host with F7.
- Press
1, filter with%and sort with F1 to locate the workload. - Open logs with
land stats withsto establish symptoms before changing state. - Use
ito confirm image, command, mounts and networking. - Apply the least disruptive lifecycle action: restart before kill, and remove only when replacement or cleanup is intentional.
- Refresh with F5 and check the resulting state.
- For Compose, switch to
8and verify service health and counts; for Swarm, inspect the relevant node, service or stack view. - Once the remedy is understood, encode repeatable steps with Docker CLI commands for automation or a runbook.
This routine keeps diagnosis separate from intervention and leaves you with a reproducible command-line path when the same incident occurs again.
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