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How to Manage and Monitor Docker Containers with Dry

Dry puts Docker containers, logs, stats, Compose projects and lifecycle controls in one interactive terminal interface, with the Docker CLI available for automation.
Length9 min Posted Quest giverVGSources Team
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Dry is an interactive terminal application for Docker and Docker Compose. It gives you a live, keyboard-driven view of containers, images, networks, volumes, Compose projects and, when available, Swarm objects. From one screen you can inspect a container, read its logs, watch CPU and memory, open a shell, and start, stop, restart, kill or remove it. Use Dry for fast interactive work; keep the Docker CLI for scripts, CI and headless machines.

What Dry is and when it is useful

Dry runs in a terminal and connects to a Docker daemon. Its interface keeps the resource list visible while you move through Docker objects and invoke lifecycle actions. That makes it useful when you need context before acting: you can identify the right container, inspect its state, check recent output and resource use, then restart or open a shell without switching between several commands.

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The application is distributed as a single binary. Documentation also covers a shell installer, downloadable binaries, a Homebrew package, an Arch Linux package and a Docker-image method. Dry can work with a local daemon or a remote daemon, provided the Docker endpoint and permissions are correct.

Dry does not replace Docker’s command-line interface. The CLI is scriptable and suited to repeatable automation, while Dry is optimized for interactive navigation and quick operational decisions.

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Install Dry and connect it to the right daemon

Choose an installation method

Use whichever method fits the machine on which you will operate Docker:

  • Single binary: download the binary appropriate for your operating system and place it somewhere on your executable path.
  • Shell installer: use the project’s documented installer when you want the installation steps handled for you.
  • Homebrew: install the package through Homebrew on systems where that package manager is available.
  • Arch Linux: use the documented Arch package.
  • Docker image: run Dry as a temporary container with access to the host Docker socket. The documented pattern is docker run --rm -it -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock moncho/dry.

The Docker-image approach needs an interactive terminal (-it) and removes the Dry container when you exit (--rm). The socket mount lets the Dry process talk to the host daemon; make sure you understand which daemon that socket represents before performing destructive actions.

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Understand endpoint precedence

Dry selects its Docker endpoint in this order:

  1. A host supplied with the -H option.
  2. The DOCKER_HOST environment variable.
  3. The default local socket, unix:///var/run/docker.sock.

This order matters when a shell already exports DOCKER_HOST. A command such as dry -H ... explicitly targets the host supplied on the command line, while an unset option allows the environment variable to control the connection. If neither is present, Dry attempts the default Unix socket.

Verify the connection before changing anything

Before launching the interface, confirm that the endpoint identifies the daemon you intend to manage and that your user can access it. A wrong endpoint can make an empty machine look healthy or, worse, put an unrelated daemon in front of you. Permission failures usually indicate that the account running Dry cannot read the Docker socket or reach the selected remote endpoint. Correct the endpoint or permissions first, then start Dry again.

Navigate the container view

Open and refine the list

Press 1 to open the container list. The list is your operating view: select a container, then use the action keys without leaving the resource screen.

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  • % filters the current list, helping you narrow a long set of names or statuses.
  • F1 changes the sort order.
  • F5 refreshes the data from the daemon.

Refresh after an action when you need to verify the resulting state. Filtering and sorting apply to the list you are viewing, so clear or adjust the filter if an expected container appears to be missing.

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Use the container action keys

Key Action What it is for
i Inspect View the selected container’s detailed Docker configuration and state.
l Logs Read the container’s application output.
s Stats Open live resource readings for the selected container.
x Exec Run a command inside the container; the default command is /bin/sh.
Enter Command menu Open the available actions for the selected container.
Ctrl+r Start or restart Start a stopped container or restart a running one, according to the menu state.
Ctrl+t Stop Request a normal container stop.
Ctrl+k Kill Forcefully terminate the selected container.
e Remove Delete the selected container.
Ctrl+e Remove all stopped containers Bulk-remove containers that are no longer running.

Use Ctrl+t before Ctrl+k when you want a normal shutdown opportunity. Treat e and especially Ctrl+e as cleanup operations: removal is different from stopping, and bulk removal affects every stopped container visible to the connected daemon.

Inspect, troubleshoot and monitor a container

Inspect configuration and state

Select a container and press i to inspect it. Inspection is the right first step when a container has an unexpected status, port mapping, image, command or configuration. It gives you the Docker object details needed to decide whether the problem is the container itself or the service running inside it.

Read application output

Press l for logs. Logs show what the application has written to Docker’s log stream, making them the fastest way to check startup errors, dependency failures and request-level messages. If the output is quiet, use inspection to confirm that the container is running the image and command you expect.

Watch CPU and memory

Press s for live statistics. Dry’s monitor view exposes status and resource information, and recent releases render the CPU% and MEM% columns as visual progress bars. The bars make sustained growth or a sudden spike easy to spot while the container list remains available.

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Use stats to answer “is this container consuming resources now?” rather than as a historical performance report. For daemon-wide context, open the global views described below.

Open a shell or run a diagnostic command

Press x to execute a command inside the selected container. Dry uses /bin/sh by default. From that shell you can examine files, environment variables or processes using the tools present in the image. Minimal images may not include a shell or common diagnostic utilities; in that case, use inspection and logs, or run an appropriate command through the Docker CLI.

Check daemon-level context

Dry provides three global views:

  • F7 shows Docker daemon information.
  • F8 shows disk usage.
  • F9 shows the last 10 Docker events.

Events are particularly useful when a container changes state and its own logs do not explain why. Disk usage helps identify pressure from images, containers, volumes or other Docker data. Daemon information confirms which engine you are connected to before you continue troubleshooting.

Start, stop, restart and remove safely

  1. Press 1 and use % or F1 to locate the target container.
  2. Press i to verify its identity and current state.
  3. Press l or s if you need application output or live resource readings before acting.
  4. Use Ctrl+r to start or restart, Ctrl+t to stop, or Ctrl+k to kill.
  5. Press F5 and confirm the new state in the list.
  6. Use e only when you intend to remove that container. Use Ctrl+e only after checking that every stopped container on the connected daemon is disposable.

Dry keeps the resource list visible during these operations. Compose-level actions provide confirmation prompts and summaries for partial failures, which is useful when several services are involved.

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Manage Docker Compose projects

Open project navigation

Press 8 to open Compose projects. Dry can display each project’s services, health, ports, images and container counts. Select a project or service to drill into its logs and lifecycle actions.

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Understand how projects are discovered

Dry discovers projects from Docker container labels, including labels on stopped containers. It can also use a Compose file in the directory where Dry was started. Directory discovery is not recursive: a Compose file in a child directory will not be found merely because Dry was launched from its parent.

If a project is absent, check that you connected to the expected daemon, that its containers carry the relevant labels, and that Dry was started in the directory containing the Compose file. Refresh after correcting the condition.

Operate at service or project level

Release documentation describes start, stop, restart and remove actions at both service and project levels. Use a service action when one component needs attention without disturbing its peers. Use a project action when the whole application must move together. Dry presents confirmation prompts and summarizes partial failures, so read the result instead of assuming that every service completed successfully.

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Use Dry with Docker Swarm

When the connected daemon runs Swarm, Dry exposes nodes, services and stacks in addition to ordinary Docker objects. This gives you a terminal view of Swarm resources without changing the container workflow: connect to the correct daemon, navigate to the relevant object, inspect its state and then choose the available lifecycle or diagnostic action.

Swarm visibility depends on the daemon you selected. A local standalone engine will not show Swarm objects simply because another engine in your environment uses Swarm.

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When the Docker CLI is the better tool

Docker’s official container commands cover the same operational fundamentals in a form that is easy to script. The documented command family includes docker container ls, inspect, logs, exec, stats, start, stop, restart and rm.

Need Dry Docker CLI
Interactive navigation Keyboard-driven lists for containers and other Docker objects. Each view is requested with a command.
Repeatable scripts and CI Not its primary use. Designed for scriptable, headless operation.
Container inspection Select a container and press i. Run docker container inspect.
Logs Press l on the selected container. Run docker container logs.
Live resource readings Press s; CPU and memory columns can render as progress bars. Run docker container stats.
Lifecycle actions Use the displayed key bindings and menus. Use explicit start, stop, restart, kill and rm commands.
Compose and Swarm overview Dedicated Compose navigation and Swarm nodes, services and stacks when supported by the daemon. Use the Docker commands appropriate to the object and workflow.
Installation footprint Single binary, package options or a temporary Docker image. Part of the Docker command-line tooling.

Choose Dry when a human is investigating or making a quick, informed change. Choose the CLI when the same operation must run reliably from a script, scheduled job, CI pipeline or machine without an interactive terminal. You can use both: investigate in Dry, then encode the confirmed procedure as CLI commands.

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A practical terminal runbook

Investigate a container that appears unhealthy

  1. Confirm the daemon with F7 and refresh with F5.
  2. Open the container list with 1, filter with %, and select the intended container.
  3. Press i to verify its image, command and state.
  4. Press l to read startup or application errors.
  5. Press s to check current CPU and memory use.
  6. Press x to open the default /bin/sh shell if the image provides one.
  7. Restart with Ctrl+r only after recording the evidence you need, then press F5 and check logs again.

Clean up stopped containers

  1. Open the list with 1 and refresh.
  2. Inspect individual stopped containers with i if you are unsure whether they are still needed.
  3. Remove one with e, or remove all stopped containers with Ctrl+e after confirming the scope.
  4. Use F8 to review disk usage after cleanup.

Diagnose a Compose service failure

  1. Press 8 and select the project.
  2. Check the service health, image, ports and container count.
  3. Open service logs to identify the failing component.
  4. Restart the service rather than the entire project when the failure is isolated.
  5. If several services are affected, use the project-level action and read the confirmation summary for any partial failure.

Limits and evidence boundaries

Dry’s documented feature set establishes interactive management, monitoring, Compose navigation and Swarm visibility, but it does not establish a performance advantage over the Docker CLI or another dashboard. No authoritative benchmark, adoption statistic or independent performance figure is available in the cited primary material. Treat the choice as a workflow decision rather than a speed claim.

The interface can only show what the connected daemon exposes and what your account is permitted to access. A missing container, project or Swarm object is therefore a connection, discovery or permission question before it is a Dry-interface problem.

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