Docker vs DCK Feature Comparison

Audience: Users evaluating DockerKit, contributors

WHAT

Feature-by-feature comparison between native Docker CLI commands and their DockerKit (dck) equivalents.

WHY

Users need to understand which Docker operations DockerKit covers, and contributors need to identify gaps for future development.

HOW

Implemented Features

Container Management

  • List containers (docker ps) → dck containers
  • Search containers with filters → dck search containers
  • Container stats (docker stats) → dck stats
  • Container inspection → dck containers --inspect
  • Container monitoring → dck monitor
  • Health checks → Part of advanced containers

Image Management

  • List images (docker images) → dck images
  • Search images with filters → dck search images
  • Image analysis (size, layers) → dck analyze images
  • Image security scanning → dck security
  • Dangling image detection → dck cleanup --dry-run

Volume Management

  • List volumes (docker volume ls) → dck volumes
  • Search volumes with filters → dck search volumes
  • Volume usage analysis → dck analyze volumes
  • Dangling volume detection → dck search volumes --dangling

Network Management

  • List networks (docker network ls) → dck networks
  • Search networks with filters → dck search networks
  • Network analysis → dck analyze networks
  • Unused network detection → dck search networks --unused

System & Maintenance

  • System info (docker system info) → dck system
  • Cleanup (docker system prune) → dck cleanup
  • Resource monitoring → dck monitor
  • Security audit → dck security

Missing Docker Features

Container Operations

  • Create container (docker create)
  • Start container (docker start)
  • Stop container (docker stop)
  • Restart container (docker restart)
  • Kill container (docker kill)
  • Remove container (docker rm)
  • Execute commands (docker exec)
  • Attach to container (docker attach)
  • Copy files (docker cp)
  • View logs (docker logs)
  • Pause/unpause (docker pause/unpause)
  • Rename container (docker rename)
  • Update container (docker update)
  • Wait for container (docker wait)
  • Export container (docker export)
  • Port mapping display (docker port)
  • Process list (docker top)
  • Diff filesystem (docker diff)

Image Operations

  • Pull image (docker pull)
  • Push image (docker push)
  • Build image (docker build)
  • Remove image (docker rmi)
  • Tag image (docker tag)
  • Save image (docker save)
  • Load image (docker load)
  • Import image (docker import)
  • Image history (docker history)
  • Commit container (docker commit)

Volume Operations

  • Create volume (docker volume create)
  • Remove volume (docker volume rm)
  • Inspect volume (docker volume inspect)
  • Prune volumes (docker volume prune)

Network Operations

  • Create network (docker network create)
  • Remove network (docker network rm)
  • Connect container (docker network connect)
  • Disconnect container (docker network disconnect)
  • Inspect network (docker network inspect)
  • Prune networks (docker network prune)

Registry & Repository

  • Login to registry (docker login)
  • Logout from registry (docker logout)
  • Search Docker Hub (docker search)

Docker Compose

  • Compose operations (docker-compose up/down/ps/logs)
  • Stack management (docker stack)

Swarm Mode

  • Swarm init (docker swarm init)
  • Swarm join (docker swarm join)
  • Service management (docker service)
  • Node management (docker node)
  • Secret management (docker secret)
  • Config management (docker config)

Build & Development

  • Buildx support (docker buildx)
  • Build cache management
  • Multi-platform builds
  • BuildKit features

Context & Machine

  • Context management (docker context)
  • Machine management (docker-machine)

Plugins & Extensions

  • Plugin management (docker plugin)
  • Extension management

Priority Features to Add

Based on common usage patterns, these features should be prioritized:

High Priority

  1. Container Lifecycle Management
    • Start/stop/restart containers
    • Remove containers
    • Execute commands in containers
    • View container logs
  2. Image Management
    • Pull/push images
    • Build images
    • Remove images
    • Tag images
  3. Basic Operations
    • Inspect objects (containers, images, volumes, networks)
    • Prune unused resources

Medium Priority

  1. Volume Operations
    • Create/remove volumes
    • Volume backup/restore
  2. Network Operations
    • Create/remove networks
    • Connect/disconnect containers
  3. Registry Operations
    • Login/logout
    • Push/pull with authentication

Low Priority

  1. Advanced Features
    • Swarm mode operations
    • Stack management
    • Plugin management
    • Context switching

Implementation Status Summary

  • Search & Analysis: ✅ Fully implemented
  • Monitoring & Stats: ✅ Fully implemented
  • Security & Cleanup: ✅ Fully implemented
  • CRUD Operations: ❌ Not implemented
  • Container Lifecycle: ❌ Not implemented
  • Build & Deploy: ❌ Not implemented
  • Registry Operations: ❌ Not implemented
  • Orchestration: ❌ Not implemented

Recommendation

DCK currently excels at:

  • Read-only operations (search, analyze, monitor)
  • Reporting and insights
  • Security auditing
  • Resource cleanup

To be a complete Docker management toolkit, it needs:

  • Write operations (create, modify, delete)
  • Container lifecycle management
  • Image build and management
  • Registry integration

The next phase should focus on adding CRUD operations for containers and images, as these are the most commonly used Docker features.