Overview

Docker

Stacks179.0K

Followers143.8K

Votes3.9K

Kitematic

Stacks67

Followers116

Votes14

Docker vs Kitematic: What are the differences?

Introduction

Docker and Kitematic are two tools that can be used for containerization and managing Docker containers. While Docker is a command-line tool, Kitematic provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for Docker. Here are the key differences between Docker and Kitematic:

Installation and Setup: Docker requires manual installation and setup, which involves downloading and installing the Docker Engine, along with configuring various settings. On the other hand, Kitematic provides a straightforward installation process with a GUI installer that takes care of setting up Docker and its dependencies automatically.
User Interface: Docker is a command-line tool, which means that it is primarily used through the command line by executing commands. Kitematic, on the other hand, offers a user-friendly GUI that allows users to interact with Docker containers and images without the need for command line knowledge. It provides a visual representation of containers, making it easier to manage and work with Docker.
Container Management: Docker provides comprehensive features for managing containers, such as creating, starting, stopping, and removing containers. It also offers functionality for managing container networks, volumes, and Docker swarm clusters. Kitematic, while having a more user-friendly interface, focuses primarily on managing containers and images, with limited support for other advanced features of Docker.
Container Discovery: Docker allows users to search and discover container images from the Docker Hub registry using the command line. Kitematic, being a GUI tool, provides a built-in search feature within its interface, allowing users to explore and discover container images right from the graphical interface. This makes it easier for users to find and pull container images without relying on command-line searches.
Container Configuration and Deployment: Docker provides a powerful command-line interface for configuring containers through Dockerfiles and deploying them using Docker Compose or Kubernetes. Kitematic, though lacking the advanced command-line capabilities, allows users to configure and deploy containers using environment variables, port mappings, and volume bindings through its GUI interface. This makes it suitable for users who prefer a more visual approach to container configuration.
Platform Compatibility: Docker is a cross-platform tool that can be installed and used on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux. Kitematic, on the other hand, is primarily designed for macOS and Windows systems, with limited support for Linux. It provides an intuitive GUI experience specifically tailored for these platforms.

In Summary, Docker and Kitematic differ in terms of installation and setup, user interface, container management capabilities, container discovery, configuration and deployment methods, as well as platform compatibility. While Docker provides extensive command-line functionality and can be used on multiple platforms, Kitematic offers a beginner-friendly GUI experience with simplified container management primarily targeted towards macOS and Windows users.

Advice on Docker, Kitematic

Florian

IT DevOp at Agitos GmbH

Oct 22, 2019

Decided

lxd/lxc and Docker aren't congruent so this comparison needs a more detailed look; but in short I can say: the lxd-integrated administration of storage including zfs with its snapshot capabilities as well as the system container (multi-process) approach of lxc vs. the limited single-process container approach of Docker is the main reason I chose lxd over Docker.

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Detailed Comparison

Docker	Kitematic
The Docker Platform is the industry-leading container platform for continuous, high-velocity innovation, enabling organizations to seamlessly build and share any application — from legacy to what comes next — and securely run them anywhere	Simple Docker App management for Mac OS X
Integrated developer tools; open, portable images; shareable, reusable apps; framework-aware builds; standardized templates; multi-environment support; remote registry management; simple setup for Docker and Kubernetes; certified Kubernetes; application templates; enterprise controls; secure software supply chain; industry-leading container runtime; image scanning; access controls; image signing; caching and mirroring; image lifecycle; policy-based image promotion	Mac App with GUI for Docker;Create images from any folder with a Dockerfile in it;Configure environment variables;Check App logs;Easily terminal into apps;Restart apps
Statistics
Stacks 179.0K	Stacks 67
Followers 143.8K	Followers 116
Votes 3.9K	Votes 14
Pros & Cons
Pros 823 Rapid integration and build up 692 Isolation 521 Open source 505 Testability and reproducibility 460 Lightweight Cons 8 New versions == broken features 6 Unreliable networking 6 Documentation not always in sync 4 Moves quickly 3 Not Secure	Pros 8 I like it because it sucks 3 No command line, Docker in one app, gui, easy to set up 2 Good for first timer 1 Easy to get started
Integrations
Java Docker Compose VirtualBox Linux Amazon EC2 Container Service Docker Swarm boot2docker Kubernetes Docker Machine Vagrant	No integrations available

What are some alternatives to Docker, Kitematic?

Kubernetes

Kubernetes is an open source orchestration system for Docker containers. It handles scheduling onto nodes in a compute cluster and actively manages workloads to ensure that their state matches the users declared intentions.

Rancher

Rancher is an open source container management platform that includes full distributions of Kubernetes, Apache Mesos and Docker Swarm, and makes it simple to operate container clusters on any cloud or infrastructure platform.

Docker Compose

With Compose, you define a multi-container application in a single file, then spin your application up in a single command which does everything that needs to be done to get it running.

Docker Swarm

Swarm serves the standard Docker API, so any tool which already communicates with a Docker daemon can use Swarm to transparently scale to multiple hosts: Dokku, Compose, Krane, Deis, DockerUI, Shipyard, Drone, Jenkins... and, of course, the Docker client itself.

Tutum

Tutum lets developers easily manage and run lightweight, portable, self-sufficient containers from any application. AWS-like control, Heroku-like ease. The same container that a developer builds and tests on a laptop can run at scale in Tutum.

Portainer

It is a universal container management tool. It works with Kubernetes, Docker, Docker Swarm and Azure ACI. It allows you to manage containers without needing to know platform-specific code.

LXD

LXD isn't a rewrite of LXC, in fact it's building on top of LXC to provide a new, better user experience. Under the hood, LXD uses LXC through liblxc and its Go binding to create and manage the containers. It's basically an alternative to LXC's tools and distribution template system with the added features that come from being controllable over the network.

Codefresh

Automate and parallelize testing. Codefresh allows teams to spin up on-demand compositions to run unit and integration tests as part of the continuous integration process. Jenkins integration allows more complex pipelines.

LXC

LXC is a userspace interface for the Linux kernel containment features. Through a powerful API and simple tools, it lets Linux users easily create and manage system or application containers.