runlike
Generates Docker run commands from existing containers, saving time on manual command reconstruction.
What is runlike?
Runlike is a command-line utility that generates the exact Docker run command needed to recreate an existing container. It solves the problem of manually reconstructing complex container configurations by automatically extracting all runtime options—like ports, volumes, environment variables, and network settings—from a running or stopped container. This saves significant time and reduces errors when you need to run a copy of a container without referring to original deployment scripts.
DevOps engineers, system administrators, and developers who work with Docker containers and need to manually recreate or debug container configurations, especially those originally deployed via infrastructure-as-code tools.
Developers choose Runlike because it automates the tedious and error-prone process of manually reconstructing Docker run commands. Its unique selling point is the ability to generate production-ready commands directly from existing containers, saving time and ensuring accuracy compared to manually parsing docker inspect output or digging through deployment scripts.
Overview
Given an existing docker container, prints the command line necessary to run a copy of it.
Use Cases
Best For
- Recreating Docker containers after losing the original run command
- Debugging container configurations by seeing the exact runtime options
- Migrating containers between environments without configuration management tools
- Learning Docker by inspecting how existing containers are configured
- Generating backup commands for containers deployed via Ansible/Chef
- Quickly testing container modifications by tweaking generated run commands
Not Ideal For
- Projects requiring support for all Docker run options, such as health checks or advanced storage configurations
- Production environments where tool reliability is critical, as the author explicitly cautions against production use
- Teams exclusively using Docker Compose or Kubernetes, since runlike only generates single-container run commands and doesn't handle orchestration
Pros & Cons
Pros
Inspects running or stopped containers to generate complete docker run commands with all options like ports, volumes, and environment variables, eliminating the tedious manual reconstruction from docker inspect output.
Can be installed via pip or run as a Docker container with socket mounting, and accepts stdin from docker inspect for flexible usage in scripts or pipelines.
The -p flag breaks down the generated command into pretty, line-by-line format, making it easier to read and debug compared to a single long command line.
Specifically targets users who deploy via configuration management tools like Ansible, saving time when manually recreating containers without original deployment scripts.
Cons
The README lists many docker run options as not yet supported, such as health checks and storage optimizations, which limits its usefulness for advanced container configurations.
Author explicitly states it probably shouldn't be used in production and warns of bugs, indicating potential instability and reliability issues for critical workflows.
Only outputs docker run commands, making it unsuitable for multi-container setups or integration with orchestration platforms like Docker Compose or Kubernetes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
DockerSlimSlim(toolkit): Don't change anything in your container image and minify it by up to 30x (and for compiled languages even more) making it secure too! (free and open source)
BuildKitconcurrent, cache-efficient, and Dockerfile-agnostic builder toolkit
buildahA tool that facilitates building OCI images.
imgStandalone, daemon-less, unprivileged Dockerfile and OCI compatible container image builder.
Found a gem we're missing?
Open-Awesome is built by the community, for the community. Submit a project, suggest an awesome list, or help improve the catalog on GitHub.