Docker Skill

Type

docker

Variants

Containers Only, Full Control

Purpose: The Docker skill enables agents to interact with Docker daemon to manage containers, images, volumes, and networks programmatically.

Common Use Cases

Container lifecycle managementStart, stop, restart, and monitor Docker containers

Image building and deploymentBuild container images and push to registries

Volume and network operationsManage persistent storage and container networking

Container health monitoringCheck container status, logs, and resource usage

Variants Overview

Variant	Security	Key Permissions	Best For	Create Command
Containers Only 🟡	Recommended	Start, stop, restart, logs only	Container management, deployment	`--variant containers_only`
Full Control 🔴	Unrestricted	All Docker operations	CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code	`--variant full_control`

Choosing a variant: Use Containers Only for production environments. Only upgrade to Full Control when image building or infrastructure management is required. See Variant Configuration for detailed differences.

Configuration

Example Configuration:

{
  "docker_host": "unix:///var/run/docker.sock",
  "allowed_operations": ["start", "stop", "restart", "logs", "inspect"],
  "network_access": false,
  "default_memory_limit": "512MB"
}

📋 Full Configuration Reference

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`docker_host`	string	”unix:///var/run/docker.sock”	Docker daemon socket
`api_version`	string	”auto”	Docker API version
`allowed_operations`	array	variant-specific	Whitelist of Docker operations
`network_access`	boolean	variant-specific	Allow network operations
`volume_management`	boolean	variant-specific	Allow volume management
`registry_auth`	object	Registry authentication credentials
`default_memory_limit`	string	”512MB”	Default container memory limit
`default_cpu_limit`	number	1.0	Default CPU limit

⚙️ Variant-Specific Defaults

Containers Only:

allowed_operations: [“start”, “stop”, “restart”, “logs”, “inspect”, “ps”, “stats”]
network_access: false (locked)
volume_management: false (locked)

Full Control:

allowed_operations: [”*”] (all operations)
network_access: true
volume_management: true
Higher default limits

See: Variant Configuration Guide

Quick Start

# Create skill with variant
kubiya skill create --name "Container Manager" --type docker --variant containers_only --enabled

# Associate with agent
kubiya skill associate agent <agent-id> <skill-id>

View Complete Examples

See full CI/CD pipeline configurations, Docker Compose integration, and troubleshooting guides

Docker Operations

Container Management

# Start/stop containers
docker start my-app
docker stop my-app
docker restart my-app

# View logs and status
docker logs my-app --tail 100
docker inspect my-app
docker ps

Image Operations (Full Control Only)

# Build and push images
docker build -t my-app:latest .
docker push myregistry.com/my-app:latest

# Pull and manage images
docker pull nginx:latest
docker images
docker rmi my-app:old

Volume & Network (Full Control Only)

# Create resources
docker volume create my-data
docker network create my-network

# List and inspect
docker volume ls
docker network inspect bridge

Security Best Practices

Use Containers Only for Production

In production, restrict to container lifecycle operations only.

variant: containers_only
allowed_operations: ["start", "stop", "restart", "logs"]

Secure Docker Socket Access

Docker socket provides root-equivalent access. Use proper permissions and consider socket proxies.

docker_host: "unix:///var/run/docker.sock"
# Ensure worker user is in docker group
# Consider rootless Docker for added security

Set Resource Limits

Define default memory and CPU limits to prevent resource exhaustion.

default_memory_limit: "512MB"
default_cpu_limit: 1.0

Requirements: Docker daemon must be installed and running on the worker. Worker user needs access to the Docker socket (typically by being in the docker group).

Docker Compose Integration

Agents can work with Docker Compose for multi-container applications:

# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  web:
    image: nginx:latest
    ports:
      - "80:80"
  api:
    image: myapp/api:latest

With Full Control variant:

# Start/stop all services
docker-compose up -d
docker-compose down

# View logs and scale
docker-compose logs -f
docker-compose up -d --scale api=3

Cannot Connect to Docker Daemon

Solutions:

Verify Docker daemon is running: systemctl status docker
Add worker user to docker group: sudo usermod -aG docker worker-user
Check Docker socket permissions: ls -la /var/run/docker.sock

Permission Denied

Solutions:

Ensure worker user is in docker group
Verify Docker socket permissions
Review allowed_operations in configuration

Image Pull Fails

Solutions:

Verify network connectivity from worker
Check registry authentication credentials
Ensure network_access: true in configuration

Shell Skill

Execute docker CLI commands via shell

File System Skill

Access Dockerfiles and configurations

Workflow Executor

Orchestrate multi-step Docker operations

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Introduction

Quick Start

Web Interface

Core Concepts

Infrastructure

Type

Variants

Common Use Cases

Variants Overview

Configuration

Quick Start

View Complete Examples

Docker Operations

Container Management

Image Operations (Full Control Only)

Volume & Network (Full Control Only)

Security Best Practices

Docker Compose Integration

Shell Skill

File System Skill

Workflow Executor

View All Skills

Type

Variants

​Common Use Cases

​Variants Overview

​Configuration

​Quick Start

View Complete Examples

​Docker Operations

​Container Management

​Image Operations (Full Control Only)

​Volume & Network (Full Control Only)

​Security Best Practices

​Docker Compose Integration

​Troubleshooting & Related Skills

​Related Skills

Shell Skill

File System Skill

Workflow Executor

View All Skills

Common Use Cases

Variants Overview

Configuration

Quick Start

Docker Operations

Container Management

Image Operations (Full Control Only)

Volume & Network (Full Control Only)

Security Best Practices

Docker Compose Integration

Troubleshooting & Related Skills

Related Skills