Docker users dislike Portainer’s complexity, prefer Dockhand
18 posts across 2 communities in the last 60 days; 94% from r/selfhosted.
“Why do you want to switch? [re: Best Docker management tool?]”
“Isn't dockhand moving the way of portainer too? [re: Apparently Dockge is dead. How do I migrate to Arcane?]”
“One of the things I loved best about Swarmpit was the composing of a stack file from the running stack. Portainer does not have this and it's such a PIA to keep a stack and its compose syncd. Yeah, I know having a process using git works - but try telling that to my ADHD. What…”
Users are seeking simpler alternatives to Portainer for Docker management, with Dockhand gaining popularity due to its ease of setup and plain Compose compatibility.
SOURCES (60)
“+1 for dockhand, solid and easy to setup [re: What do you use to get notified about outdated Docker containers (Docker Compose setup)?]”
“Switched to Dockhand a few weeks ago, from Portainer also. Happy with it so far, like the interface and functions. [re: Best Docker management tool?]”
“Dockhand ! Fuck portainer and time I wasted with this piece of shit software compared to dockhand 😄 [re: Best Docker management tool?]”
“I just made the switch. Tried a few, but Dockhand was easily the winner for me. Clean and intuitive interface. The Hawser agent works well, like Portainer agent, if you have multiple docker hosts. [re: Best Docker management tool?]”
“The following setup has been working great for me: https://zackreed.me/posts/automated-docker-updates-renovate-komodo-forgejo/ [re: Moving from Komodo: Do Dockhand or Arcane Support Two-Way Git deployment for Docker Stacks?]”
“I've been using Komodo for Docker management for a while now, but it feels more geared towards GitOps than day-to-day container and environment management. It works really well, but I find its features for managing Docker images, networks, volumes, updates, etc., a bit lacking. I currently run Portainer alongside it to fill that gap. I've recently heard good things about Dockhand and Arcane, and I'm wondering how well they handle Git-based deployments. One of the amazing features fro”
“Isn't dockhand moving the way of portainer too? [re: Apparently Dockge is dead. How do I migrate to Arcane?]”
“I'd not go back to Portainer. IMO DockGE still does what it should do. OK, it's stale, but as long as it works, I use it. If you'd want or need to leave DockGE one day, I'd look around for the likes of Dockhand, Arcane,... Portainer is corporate software with a community variant. Not something I'm particularly fond off, especially if there are alternatives or if they start paywalling... [re: Apparently Dockge is dead. How do I migrate to Arcane?]”
“Not sure why you got down voted? Nothing wrong with dockhand, people should use what works best for them. Luckily there's plenty of options to choose from atm [re: Apparently Dockge is dead. How do I migrate to Arcane?]”
Dockhand ftw [re: From Dockerhand to Komodo or Arcane? OpenBao support?]
“Looks interesting. Coming off dockhand I don’t like the interface of arcane. [re: From Dockerhand to Komodo or Arcane? OpenBao support?]”
“One of the things I loved best about Swarmpit was the composing of a stack file from the running stack. Portainer does not have this and it's such a PIA to keep a stack and its compose syncd. Yeah, I know having a process using git works - but try telling that to my ADHD. What are people using for this - is a problem for you submitted by /u/popcorn-french-fries [link] [comments]”
“I switched from Portainer to Komodo a month or so ago. Why did you leave Komodo for Dockhand?”
“That didn’t age well… https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/1wwl40o/dockhand_changed_its_license_model_instead_of/”
“Got it. Yeah I was under the impression I did because its looking for a stack file config…”
“you don't have to switch anything. It will run along side dockge. I run both just fine”
“I had just read that portainer community edition is not going to develop anymore. They are switching to enterprise only dev. So the current version of portainer ce is the last. I guess with some time, switching is inevitable”
“I believe but double check this, the free version is being frozen and will no longer get updates.”
“Me too! When I build a new server a year ago, I switched to Komodo. Added my old server, auto updating my old portainer container with Komodo. This post reminds me that I probably just should destroy it, because I can’t remember when I used it..”
“I switched from Portainer to Dockhand a few months ago and I LOVE it! It has also replaced What's Up Docker? now that Dockhand itself can inform me about newer images being available. The interface is clean, I love being able to switch hosts in the upper left corner while staying on the same page, and there's no enterprise version to steer me towards.”
Komodo is hella underrated. Love updating my containers with a gitpush.
“How difficult was your migration? I'm concerned because I have a bunch of containers that are using docker volumes. Did you try Arcane before switching as well? Or podman? Been searching for an alternative to Portainer in the event that I need to switch.”
“I made long time ago the switch never liked very very much portainer welcome to the club. I find it similar as the background of how its work from truenas docker sort of. And in bonus Dockhand have the store for stack template like for portainer and truenas.”
“Thanks for this post. Had no idea about it. Decided to try it myself and I'm impressed.”
“I started with Portainer and used for a while. Then switched to Arcane after seeing someone share. I also briefly tested Dockage and Komodo too. Dockage way to simple, Komodo felt like it was geared more for developer (lots of Github stuff). I used Arcane for a couple of months but always heard Dockhand referred so finally had to try. I can them side by side for a couple of weeks. They are both really good and hard to give winnder too, but Dockhand comes out slightly ahead as the log viewer and”
“A problem I am having moving to DockHand, and hoping for a quick answer I have a stack that is using GitOps, they all do. But when I update ANY compose file in that Git directory, EVERY stack pointing to that directory redeploys! So, say I have `root_dir/aaa-compose.yml` and `root_dir/bbb-compose.yml`, If I push/update `aaa-compose.yml` then DockHand redeploys BOTH `aaa-compose.yml` and `bbb-compose.yml`. Which means if I have 10 compose files in my git's `media/` directory, they all redeplo”
“It's a new option released in dockhand 1.0.49 left sidebar Containers / tag option tab at the top right middle of the page.”
“How do you separate them by tag? kinda awesome this way, i'm testing Dockhand to get out of Portainer and i'ts licenses”
“Just did this myself. One small machine yesterday to learn how to do it well and the more involved machine today which took just maybe 15 minutes after the learned lessons of the smaller one.”
“Does it have inbuilt auth and user roles? I would switch to arcane soon. It ticks my boxes. Dockhand has paid version it will go down hill one way or another atleast the free version.”
“It is until you update a compose file from git and it restarts every container. Over. And over. And over.”
“Dockhand is fine also there is Komodo and arcane doing good work...there is even dockge”
“Dockhand has been fantastic for a year for me. Favorite thing is the git-sync tool to manage compose stacks: everything is version controlled and automatically pulled from a private repo so I can nuke a stack and have it running again right after a sync. The only stack I have not managed by dockhand is dockhand.”
“After years of solid service, it’s time for a change. I’ve moved to Dockhand in my home setup (mariushosting) and damn, it just feels right. Cleaner interface, smoother workflow, and that fresh energy the selfhosted world always needs. No hard feelings, guys, just evolution. Thanks for everything, Portainer. Welcome home, Dockhand. Anyone else already made the switch? submitted by /u/mariushosting [link] [comments]”
“If you want something really simple for a beginner, Dockge is good for this. It's super-simple, but is missing a lot of useful features so you'll probably outgrow it eventually, but it's a good starting point for many people I think.”
“Yup. I wish them the best, but as a homelab user, i'm gonna try dockhand and komodo this weekend.”
“I tried it briefly, but Komodo was overkill for my needs. I was using Dockge which I really liked as a beginner, but it's just so barebones and I outgrew it pretty quickly. Dockhand is the sweet spot for me.”
Oh well...there's https://github.com/Finsys/dockhand shrug
“For anybody looking to move I can highly recommend Dockhand.. I switched from Portainer last year and never looked back.. It gets new features nearly weekly - very impressed.”
“I've got Dockhand syncing to a private Github repo with my compose files. So if I want to change something with a container and I'm not at home, I just log in to GitHub and edit the compose file and Dockhand redeploys with the changes.”
“I'll have to try dockhand. I don't need much. It's just a UI for stacks and basic container mgmt. I don't use any of the advanced permissions controls, app...store or integration or whatever it has. Just annoying. I hate when companies slowly kill off free components they're largely supporting with their paid stuff anyway.”
“shame - but honestly I ended up using dockge as it was quicker and easier to troubleshoot containers when all I realistically need is a quick interface for managing/editing/starting/stopping etc.”
“Quadlets make sense when services need separate users, restart policies, resource limits, startup dependencies, or journal logs. If the entire stack always starts and stops together, ten separate files add unnecessary ceremony. I'd keep one stack file and split out only the services that have their own lifecycle or need failure isolation.”
“The implementation of podman-compose is way behind the compose spec and lacks a lot of new and useful features. It works, but it’s a pain sometimes.”
“Actually it's the way around, but people got used to compose first. If you do Quadlets with a pod, you don't even have to think about networking, because all the containers beneath the pod will be able to communicate internally. Quadlets will get converted to systemd units, which than basically can be used like local systmd services. I was late on the containerization tech, directly started with podman and can't stand the compose approach. I rather build my own pods, which also gives”
“Exactly, hence the question. How mature is Podman Compose? It's just a community project, right?”
“Yes I use Podman, i use quadlets for my containers and run them as rootless for the most part. I have dockhand simply for a management interface for when I'm on my phone and can't access my computer, mainly for updating containers in a pinch or restarting dead containers.”
“Moving from copying files to 3 docker lxc containers and using CLI im testing the shiny new tools like Komodo, Dockhand and Arcane. Komodo was nice as it had all environments in one pane, dockhands gui wins for me oveall, and i liked arcane aswell, but it had bulky stacks mgmt im hosting compose files in github and i configured variable substitution in komodo with secrets etc. but in dockhand? am i understanding it correctly that secrets here are injected in runtime and if i patch or boot the ho”
“I run everything on podman quadlets, could not be happier. Tight integration with systemd, no custom bs, quadlet definitions in private git, podman secrets work great as well.”
“https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Podman https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Cockpit Installed the podman cockpit package, the requirements and then setup a minecraft pod, works fine”