Dockwatch

Dockwatch is a PHP-based web application that helps manage Docker containers by monitoring state changes, scheduling and applying image updates, and sending configurable notifications. It exposes a browser UI for container control, mass actions, task scheduling and interactive shells.

Key Features

• Monitor container lifecycle events and resource thresholds (CPU/memory)
• Detect available image tag updates and apply updates per-container with cron-style schedules
• Send notifications to multiple platforms with per-container triggers and filters
• Mass actions for containers (start/stop/restart/pull/update) and prune orphan images, volumes, and networks
• Interactive web shell access and scheduled command execution for containers
• Grouped container table views, icon matching for containers, and generation of docker run / docker-compose snippets

Use Cases

• Keep Docker hosts up to date by automatically checking and applying image tag updates on a schedule
• Send alerts for container state changes, resource pressure, or completed update tasks to chat platforms
• Perform bulk maintenance across many containers and perform scheduled container-specific commands

Limitations and Considerations

• Focused on Docker Engine; does not provide native Kubernetes orchestration or cluster-aware rolling updates
• Update process is cron/schedule-driven and not intended as a full-featured deployment orchestration tool
• Requires access to the Docker API/socket on the host, which may need careful privilege management

Dockwatch is suited for operators who need a lightweight, UI-driven tool to automate container updates, notifications, and routine maintenance tasks on Docker hosts. It emphasizes per-container control, notification integrations, and simple automation rather than complex orchestration.