Best Docker TUIs
Compare lazydocker, ducker, dtop, dive and ctop: Docker TUIs for containers, Compose, logs, stats and image layer analysis.
Updated
short verdict
Pick lazydocker as the default: one TUI covers containers, images, volumes, networks, logs and Compose stacks. Choose ducker for vim-style keys in Rust, dtop for deeper log filtering and stats, ctop for a top-style metrics grid. Add dive when the question is image size rather than running containers.
Docker TUIs fall into three jobs: managing containers and Compose stacks, monitoring resource usage, and inspecting image layers. lazydocker and ducker cover broad management, dtop and ctop focus on live metrics with some control actions, and dive analyzes image contents and wasted space. Most developers end up with one general tool plus dive.
this page is for
- Developers running multi-container Compose stacks locally
- Readers who want keyboard-driven container logs and stats in a terminal
- Engineers trying to shrink Docker image size
- Admins watching per-container CPU and memory
Best default: separate panes for containers, images, volumes and networks, with Compose stack support.
best for
- Compose-heavy development
- One tool for day-to-day Docker tasks
strengths
- Start, stop and remove containers, and exec into them, from the TUI
- Streaming logs and resource stats with real-time updates
- Handles both single containers and Docker Compose stacks
- Installs with brew install lazydocker
weaknesses
- No image layer analysis; dive covers that
- Log filtering is not documented beyond streaming, unlike dtop's AND/OR/NOT expressions
A Rust TUI with vim-style navigation and dedicated pages for containers, images, volumes and networks.
best for
- Vim users
- Readers who want a YAML-configurable interface
strengths
- j/k and g/G navigation, a to exec, l for logs, Ctrl+d to delete
- YAML config for themes, custom prompts and Docker daemon settings
- Packaged for Homebrew, pacman, Cargo and Nix
weaknesses
- Exec into containers requires bash in the container
- Compose support and live resource stats are not documented by the project
- Checks for updates by default
Container monitor with streaming CPU, memory, network and disk I/O stats plus a searchable log viewer.
best for
- Debugging through logs
- Monitoring with lifecycle controls
strengths
- Log filtering with AND/OR/NOT expressions, time ranges, follow mode and export
- Start, stop, pause, restart, shell, remove and recreate with docker-compose support
- Inspect containers in tree or JSON view, with mouse support
- Config saved in ~/.docker_tui.json; --legacy curses fallback
weaknesses
- Installs through pip or an install script rather than a system package manager
- Covers containers only; no image, volume or network pages documented
- Default Textual UI can have compatibility issues on some terminals
A top-style grid of CPU, memory, network and block I/O for running containers, with no setup needed.
best for
- Quick resource checks
- Readers used to process monitors
strengths
- Sort and filter containers; toggle between running and all
- Open logs or exec into a shell from the interface
- Connects using standard Docker host variables with no arguments
- Installs via Homebrew, Pacman and Scoop
weaknesses
- Monitoring-first; no image, volume or network management
- Built-in support covers Docker and runC only
The only tool here that explores image layers and estimates wasted space.
best for
- Shrinking images
- CI checks on image efficiency
strengths
- File tree per layer showing added, modified and removed files
- Efficiency percentage and wasted bytes
- CI=true mode gives pass/fail against configurable thresholds
- dive build replaces docker build; works with Docker and Podman on Linux, macOS and Windows
weaknesses
- Does not manage or monitor running containers
- No Compose support
How to choose
- Compose stack management: lazydocker, which covers containers, images, volumes and networks in one view.
- Vim-style keys: ducker, with j/k, g/G and page-based navigation.
- Log search and filtering: dtop, with AND/OR/NOT expressions and time ranges.
- Live resource grid: ctop, a top-style view sorted by metric.
- Image size and layers: dive, with per-layer file trees and a CI threshold mode.
When not to use these
- You need to manage remote clusters or orchestrators; these tools target a Docker daemon.
- You only run one-off docker commands and don't need a persistent interface.
FAQ
- What is the best Docker TUI overall?
- lazydocker is the best default. It shows containers, images, volumes and networks, streams logs and stats, and supports Docker Compose stacks.
- Which tool analyzes Docker image layers?
- dive. It shows the file tree of each layer, estimates wasted space, and can fail CI builds with CI=true when efficiency falls below a threshold.
- Which Docker TUI has vim keybindings?
- ducker uses j/k for up and down and g/G for top and bottom, with a to exec and l for logs.
- Is ctop or dtop better for monitoring?
- ctop shows a top-style grid of CPU, memory, network and block I/O. dtop adds log filtering, container inspection and lifecycle controls such as pause and recreate.