Lazydocker Terminal UI

beginner

Terminal-based Docker management with ncurses interface.

Overview

Lazydocker is a terminal-based user interface built by Jesse Duffield that transforms Docker container management from complex CLI commands into an intuitive, ncurses-driven experience. This TUI application provides real-time monitoring, log viewing, and container interaction through a keyboard-driven interface that displays container stats, images, volumes, and networks in organized panels. Unlike traditional Docker management tools that require memorizing numerous commands or switching between web interfaces, lazydocker consolidates everything into a single, responsive terminal application. This stack combines lazydocker with Redis 7 and PostgreSQL 15 to create a practical demonstration environment where you can experience managing real database services through the terminal interface. The Redis instance provides fast in-memory caching capabilities while PostgreSQL delivers robust relational database functionality, giving you two distinctly different service types to monitor, restart, and troubleshoot using lazydocker's streamlined interface. This combination showcases how lazydocker handles both lightweight Alpine-based containers and more complex database services with different resource requirements and startup behaviors. Developers working with multi-container applications, system administrators managing development environments, and DevOps engineers who prefer terminal-based workflows will find this stack particularly valuable. The setup eliminates the need to constantly run 'docker ps', 'docker logs', and 'docker exec' commands by providing visual container health monitoring, one-key log access, and instant shell access to running containers. This makes it ideal for debugging application issues, monitoring resource usage during development, and teaching Docker concepts through a more accessible interface than raw CLI commands.

Key Features

Real-time container CPU, memory, and network I/O statistics display with visual graphs
Split-pane log viewing with automatic scrolling and search functionality across multiple containers
One-key container actions: restart, stop, remove, and shell access without typing docker commands
Docker socket mounting enables full Docker daemon access for complete container lifecycle management
Persistent lazydocker configuration storage for custom keybindings and display preferences
Multi-service monitoring dashboard showing Redis connection stats and PostgreSQL process information
Keyboard-driven navigation with vim-like controls for rapid container switching and management
Container inspection views displaying environment variables, port mappings, and volume mounts

Common Use Cases

1Local development environment monitoring where developers need to quickly check database connection status and application logs
2Database administration tasks requiring frequent PostgreSQL container restarts and Redis cache clearing during development cycles
3Docker learning environments where students can visually understand container relationships without memorizing CLI syntax
4Troubleshooting microservice applications by simultaneously monitoring Redis cache hit rates and PostgreSQL query performance
5Development team demonstrations showing container health status and real-time log output during application testing
6CI/CD pipeline debugging where engineers need to quickly inspect container states and logs after deployment failures
7Homelab container management for users running personal Redis and PostgreSQL instances who prefer terminal interfaces over web UIs

Prerequisites

Docker Engine with Unix socket access at /var/run/docker.sock for lazydocker container communication
Minimum 1GB RAM available for PostgreSQL container plus 256MB for Redis and lazydocker operations
Terminal with ncurses support and minimum 80x24 character display for proper lazydocker interface rendering
Basic familiarity with keyboard navigation and vim-style controls for efficient lazydocker usage
Available ports 6379 for Redis external access if connecting applications outside the Docker network
Docker Compose v2.0+ for proper service dependency handling and volume management

For development & testing. Review security settings, change default credentials, and test thoroughly before production use. See Terms

docker-compose.yml

1services: 
2  lazydocker: 
3    image: lazyteam/lazydocker:latest
4    stdin_open: true
5    tty: true
6    volumes: 
7      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
8      - lazydocker_config:/root/.config/lazydocker
9    network_mode: bridge
10
11  # Sample services to manage
12  redis: 
13    image: redis:7-alpine
14    ports: 
15      - "6379:6379"
16
17  postgres: 
18    image: postgres:15-alpine
19    environment: 
20      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=example
21
22volumes: 
23  lazydocker_config:

.env Template

.env

1# Lazydocker
2# Run: docker compose run lazydocker
3# Terminal UI for Docker management

Usage Notes

1Run: docker compose run lazydocker
2Terminal-based UI
3Navigate with arrow keys
4View logs, stats, exec into containers
5Keyboard shortcuts for common actions

Individual Services(3 services)

Copy individual services to mix and match with your existing compose files.

lazydocker

lazydocker:
  image: lazyteam/lazydocker:latest
  stdin_open: true
  tty: true
  volumes:
    - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
    - lazydocker_config:/root/.config/lazydocker
  network_mode: bridge

redis

redis:
  image: redis:7-alpine
  ports:
    - "6379:6379"

postgres

postgres:
  image: postgres:15-alpine
  environment:
    - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=example

Quick Start

terminal

1# 1. Create the compose file
2cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
3services:
4  lazydocker:
5    image: lazyteam/lazydocker:latest
6    stdin_open: true
7    tty: true
8    volumes:
9      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
10      - lazydocker_config:/root/.config/lazydocker
11    network_mode: bridge
12
13  # Sample services to manage
14  redis:
15    image: redis:7-alpine
16    ports:
17      - "6379:6379"
18
19  postgres:
20    image: postgres:15-alpine
21    environment:
22      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=example
23
24volumes:
25  lazydocker_config:
26EOF
27
28# 2. Create the .env file
29cat > .env << 'EOF'
30# Lazydocker
31# Run: docker compose run lazydocker
32# Terminal UI for Docker management
33EOF
34
35# 3. Start the services
36docker compose up -d
37
38# 4. View logs
39docker compose logs -f

One-Liner

Run this command to download and set up the recipe in one step:

terminal

1curl -fsSL https://docker.recipes/api/recipes/lazydocker-cli/run | bash

Troubleshooting

Permission denied accessing Docker socket: Add your user to the docker group with 'sudo usermod -aG docker $USER' and restart your session
Lazydocker interface appears garbled or truncated: Increase terminal size to at least 100x30 characters and ensure TERM environment variable is properly set
PostgreSQL container fails to start with 'database system was interrupted': Remove the postgres data volume with 'docker volume rm' and recreate the container
Redis connection refused errors in logs: Check that port 6379 isn't already in use by another Redis instance with 'netstat -tlnp | grep 6379'
Lazydocker shows no containers or services: Verify Docker daemon is running and socket permissions allow access with 'docker ps' command outside lazydocker
Container stats showing zero or incorrect values: Restart the Docker daemon and recreate lazydocker container to refresh metric collection

Community Notes

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Download Recipe Kit

Get all files in a ready-to-deploy package

Includes docker-compose.yml, .env template, README, and license

Components

lazydockerredispostgres

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