Question 1

How do I add Microcheck to my Dockerfile for health checks?

Accepted Answer

Copy the binary from the Microcheck Docker image using COPY --from, then set it in the HEALTHCHECK instruction. For example: COPY --from=ghcr.io/tarampampam/microcheck:1 /bin/httpcheck /bin/httpcheck and HEALTHCHECK CMD ["httpcheck", "http://localhost:8080"].

Question 2

Microcheck vs curl for Docker health checks?

Accepted Answer

Microcheck is optimized for minimal size and zero dependencies, making it ideal for scratch/distroless images, while curl offers broader HTTP features but adds ~9MB. Choose Microcheck for image efficiency, curl for advanced functionality.

Question 3

Does Microcheck work with Kubernetes?

Accepted Answer

The README notes it's generally unnecessary in Kubernetes because kubelet has built-in probes. Microcheck is best for vanilla Docker or runtimes without native health checks, though it could be used in sidecar containers if needed.

Question 4

How to check HTTPS endpoints with Microcheck?

Accepted Answer

Use the httpscheck tool, which supports TLS with mbedTLS but does not verify certificates. It can auto-detect protocol by trying HTTPS first and falling back to HTTP on TLS errors, as described in the README.

Question 5

Can Microcheck handle multiple health checks at once?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the parallel tool runs commands concurrently and exits with the first failure's code. This is useful for checking multiple endpoints or ports in a single HEALTHCHECK, though argument parsing can be complex with quoting rules.

Question 6

What are the size differences between Microcheck tools and curl?

Accepted Answer

httpcheck is ~75KB, httpscheck ~500KB, and others under 100KB, while curl is ~9MB with apt. The README shows this visually, emphasizing Microcheck's role in reducing image bloat.

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