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Simplecontainer

warning

The project is in alpha version.

Simplecontainer

Simplecontainer is a lightweight orchestrator for Docker containers, capable of running on a single node or managing multiple nodes in a cluster. It sits on top of a container engine and handles related resources such as containers and networks. Using a declarative model, you define container configurations in YAML, and Simplecontainer continuously reconciles the actual state with the desired state.

In summary:

  • Docker orchestrator
  • Enables distributed Docker daemon orchestration
  • GitOps workflow for Docker containers

See the simplecontainer in action.

Features​

  • Single-node or clustered orchestration – works with a single Docker daemon or scales across multiple daemons.
  • Secure overlay networking – built on Flannel with WireGuard encryption enabled by default.
  • Integrated DNS service – container-aware DNS, fully isolated from the Docker daemon.
  • GitOps-driven deployments – manage and deploy containers using the GitOps workflow.
  • Container replication – seamless replication across a cluster of Docker daemons.
  • State reconciliation & lifecycle management – continuously ensures containers match the declared configuration.
  • Reliable deployment sequencing – readiness probes guarantee containers wait for dependencies before starting.
  • SSR (Secrets, Settings, Resources) objects – structured management of secrets, configuration, and resource definitions.
  • Templating: Server side rendering of secrets and local rendering for usage of variables in pack definitions.
  • First-class support for Secrets, Configurations, and Resources – externalize and manage application settings cleanly.
  • Command-line interface (CLI) – direct interaction and management with SimpleContainer.
  • Fast learning curve – simple, deterministic behavior designed for quick adoption.
  • UI Dashboard – real-time visibility and control of containers and gitops objects

Requirements​

Simplecontainer requires privileges to access /var/run/docker.sock in order to function properly.
Simplecontainers API is exposed using mTLS for maximum security and is forwarded to the UNIX socket to orchestrate containers on the specific node.

Contexts​

A context defines the connection and authentication parameters required to interact with a SimpleContainer node or cluster. Contexts make it easy to manage and switch between multiple environments.

Key capabilities:

  • Context switching – seamlessly switch between different contexts by selecting the active context.
  • Secure sharing – export a context in encrypted form for safe distribution.
  • Encrypted imports – import encrypted contexts to quickly connect to new clusters.

Resources​

Checkout examples of containers definition on https://github.com/simplecontainer/examples.

Resources are applied to the specific context using smrctl:

  • Pack (Bundle of related resources - something like helm chart)
  • definition.yaml (Plain YAML file definition describing any resource)
  • https://domain.tld/definition.yaml (URL to the YAML file definition)