.local-bin/docs/docker_check/Usage.md

docker_check

This script automates the process of ensuring Docker is installed and running before executing Docker-related commands.

Platform Support: macOS (Colima, Docker Desktop), Linux (apt, yum, dnf, pacman)

Usage

Run the script without any arguments to automatically check if Docker is installed and running.

./docker_check

You can also specify a command as an argument to execute Docker-related commands. If the provided command is docker-compose, the script ensures Docker is running before executing docker-compose.

./docker_check [command]

Docker Runtime on macOS

On macOS, the script automatically detects and uses the available Docker runtime:

1. Colima (preferred) - Lightweight container runtime using Lima
2. Docker Desktop - Official Docker application

If both are installed, Colima is preferred. The script checks the runtime status and starts it if needed.

Installation Behavior

macOS

If Colima is installed:

• Checks if Colima is running (colima status)
• Starts Colima if not running (colima start)

If Docker Desktop is installed:

• If Docker is not running, starts Docker Desktop (open -a Docker)

If neither is installed:

• Prompts to choose between:
  1. Install Colima (lightweight, recommended) - brew install colima
  2. Install Docker Desktop (official) - brew install --cask docker

Linux

• Detects package manager (apt, yum, dnf, or pacman)
• If Docker is not installed, prompts to install using the detected package manager
• Installs both docker.io (or docker) and docker-compose
• Enables and starts the Docker service (systemctl enable --now docker)
• Adds the current user to the docker group (requires logout/login)
• If Docker is not running, starts it via systemctl start docker

Example Usage

Automatically check if Docker is installed and running:

./docker_check

Execute a Docker command:

./docker_check docker run hello-world

Execute a Docker Compose command:

./docker_check docker-compose up -d

Installing Colima (macOS)

To install Colima manually:

brew install colima

Then start it:

colima start

Colima provides a Docker-compatible CLI without the overhead of Docker Desktop.