doku-cli

Doku CLI

Local development environment manager with Docker, Traefik, and SSL

Doku is a CLI tool that simplifies running and managing Docker-based services locally with automatic service discovery, DNS routing, and SSL certificates.

Features

• 🚀 One-command setup - Get services running in seconds
• 🔒 HTTPS by default - Local SSL certificates that just work
• 🌐 Clean URLs - Access services via service.doku.local instead of localhost:port
• 🔗 Service discovery - Automatic connection string generation
• 📦 Version management - Run multiple versions of the same service
• 🎯 Local development focus - Optimized for developer productivity
• 💪 Resource control - Set CPU and memory limits per service
• 🏗️ API Gateway pattern - Internal-only services for microservices architecture
• 🔐 Environment management - Secure environment variable handling with masking
• 📋 Service catalog - Curated collection of popular development services
• 🔄 Full lifecycle management - Start, stop, restart, and remove services with ease

Quick Start

Installation

# Using Go (recommended)
go install github.com/dokulabs/doku-cli/cmd/doku@latest

# Or install a specific version
go install github.com/dokulabs/doku-cli/cmd/doku@v0.1.0

# Verify installation
doku version

First-Time Setup

# Initialize Doku on your system
doku init

This will:

• Check Docker availability
• Install SSL certificates (mkcert)
• Configure DNS for *.doku.local
• Set up Traefik reverse proxy
• Download service catalog

Install Your First Service

# Install PostgreSQL
doku install postgres

# Install with specific version
doku install postgres:14 --name postgres-14

# Install with custom environment variables
doku install postgres \
  --env POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mysecret \
  --env POSTGRES_DB=myapp

# Install with resource limits
doku install redis --memory 512m --cpu 1.0

# Install as internal service (no external access)
doku install redis --internal

Manage Services

# List running services
doku list

# List all services (including stopped)
doku list --all

# Start a service
doku start postgres

# Stop a service
doku stop postgres

# Restart a service
doku restart postgres

# View logs
doku logs postgres -f

# Get detailed service info
doku info postgres

# View environment variables
doku env postgres

# Remove a service
doku remove postgres

Upgrade Doku CLI

Keep your doku CLI up to date with the latest features and fixes:

# Check current version
doku version

# Upgrade to the latest version
doku self upgrade

# Upgrade without confirmation prompt
doku self upgrade --force

The upgrade command will:

• Check for the latest version on GitHub
• Download the appropriate binary for your platform
• Replace the current binary with the new version
• Verify the installation

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           User (Browser/CLI)            │
│    https://service.doku.local          │
└────────────────┬────────────────────────┘
                 │
                 ▼
      ┌──────────────────────┐
      │   Traefik Proxy      │
      │   (Port 80/443)      │
      └──────────┬───────────┘
                 │
   ┌─────────────┴─────────────┐
   │  doku-network (bridge)    │
   │                            │
   │  ┌────────┐  ┌────────┐  │
   │  │postgres│  │ redis  │  │
   │  └────────┘  └────────┘  │
   └────────────────────────────┘

Available Services

Browse the full catalog:

doku catalog

Databases:

• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• MongoDB
• Redis
• MariaDB

Message Queues:

• RabbitMQ
• Apache Kafka
• NATS

Search:

• Elasticsearch
• Meilisearch
• OpenSearch

Monitoring:

• Prometheus
• Grafana

And many more...

Usage Examples

Multiple Versions

Run multiple versions of the same service simultaneously:

# Install PostgreSQL 14
doku install postgres:14 --name postgres-14

# Install PostgreSQL 16
doku install postgres:16 --name postgres-16

# Both are now running on the same network
# Access via:
# - https://postgres-14.doku.local
# - https://postgres-16.doku.local

Service Discovery

Automatic connection string generation:

$ doku info postgres-14

Connection:
  postgresql://postgres@postgres-14.doku.local:5432

# Use this in your application
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://postgres@postgres-14.doku.local:5432

Environment Variables

View and export environment variables configured for services:

# View environment variables (sensitive values masked)
$ doku env postgres-14

Environment Variables: postgres-14
==================================================

  POSTGRES_DB=myapp
  POSTGRES_PASSWORD=po***es (masked)
  POSTGRES_USER=postgres

# Show actual values
doku env postgres-14 --raw

# Export format for shell sourcing
doku env postgres-14 --export --raw > .env

# Or source directly
eval $(doku env postgres-14 --export --raw)

# JSON format for scripts
doku env postgres-14 --json

API Gateway Pattern

Build microservices architectures with internal-only services:

# Install backend services as internal (not exposed externally)
doku install user-service --internal
doku install order-service --internal
doku install payment-service --internal

# Install API Gateway as public service
doku install spring-gateway --name api \
  --env USER_SERVICE_URL=http://user-service:8081 \
  --env ORDER_SERVICE_URL=http://order-service:8082 \
  --env PAYMENT_SERVICE_URL=http://payment-service:8083

# Now only the API Gateway is accessible externally:
# https://api.doku.local

# Backend services communicate internally via container names

This pattern mirrors enterprise microservices architectures where:

• API Gateway handles authentication, authorization, and routing
• Backend services are isolated and only accessible within the network
• Services communicate using container names (service discovery)

Configuration

Doku stores configuration in ~/.doku/:

~/.doku/
├── config.toml          # Main configuration
├── catalog/             # Service catalog
├── traefik/             # Traefik config
├── certs/               # SSL certificates
└── services/            # Service definitions

Custom Domain

By default, Doku uses doku.local. You can customize:

doku init --domain mydev.local

Commands Reference

Command	Description
doku init	Initialize Doku on your system
doku version	Show version information
CLI Management
doku self upgrade	Upgrade doku to the latest version
Catalog
doku catalog	Browse available services
doku catalog search <query>	Search for services
doku catalog show <service>	Show service details
doku catalog update	Update catalog from GitHub
Service Management
doku install <service>	Install a service from catalog
doku list	List all running services
doku list --all	List all services (including stopped)
doku info <service>	Show detailed service information
doku env <service>	Show environment variables
doku start <service>	Start a stopped service
doku stop <service>	Stop a running service
doku restart <service>	Restart a service
doku logs <service>	View service logs
doku logs <service> -f	Follow service logs in real-time
doku remove <service>	Remove a service and its data
Cleanup
doku uninstall	Uninstall Doku and clean up everything

Common Flags

• --help, -h - Show help for any command
• --verbose, -v - Verbose output
• --quiet, -q - Quiet mode (minimal output)
• --yes, -y - Skip confirmation prompts (for remove/uninstall)
• --force, -f - Force operation

Uninstalling

To completely remove Doku from your system:

# Uninstall with confirmation prompt
doku uninstall

# Force uninstall without prompts
doku uninstall --force

# Uninstall and remove mkcert CA certificates
doku uninstall --all

What Gets Removed Automatically:

• ✅ All Docker containers managed by Doku
• ✅ All Docker volumes created by Doku
• ✅ Doku Docker network
• ✅ Configuration directory (~/.doku/)
• ✅ Doku binaries (doku and doku-cli)

Manual Cleanup (Optional):

The uninstall command provides OS-specific instructions for:

1. DNS entries - Remove *.doku.local entries from /etc/hosts or resolver
2. mkcert CA certificates - Optionally remove with mkcert -uninstall

Complete Removal:

# Run uninstall and immediately remove the binary
doku uninstall --force && rm -f ~/go/bin/doku ~/go/bin/doku-cli

Requirements

• Docker (Desktop or Engine)
• macOS, Linux, or Windows
• Ports 80 and 443 available

Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/dokulabs/doku-cli
cd doku-cli

# Install dependencies
go mod download

# Build
make build

# Run
./bin/doku version

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Support

• 📖 Documentation
• 🐛 Report Issues
• 💬 Discussions

Project Status

Status: ✅ Production Ready (v0.1.0)

Completed Features ✅

Core Infrastructure:

• ✅ Configuration management (TOML-based)
• ✅ Docker SDK integration with full container lifecycle
• ✅ SSL certificate generation (mkcert)
• ✅ Traefik reverse proxy setup with automatic routing
• ✅ DNS configuration (hosts file integration)
• ✅ Network management (doku-network bridge)

Service Catalog:

• ✅ GitHub-based catalog system
• ✅ Version management for services
• ✅ Service metadata (icons, descriptions, tags, links)
• ✅ Catalog browsing and search
• ✅ Automatic catalog updates

Service Management (Phase 4 Complete!):

• ✅ Service installation with interactive prompts
• ✅ Service listing with filtering and status
• ✅ Service lifecycle (start, stop, restart)
• ✅ Service removal with cleanup
• ✅ Service information display
• ✅ Environment variable management with masking
• ✅ Log viewing with follow mode
• ✅ Resource limits (CPU/memory)
• ✅ Volume management
• ✅ Internal-only services (API Gateway pattern)

Utilities:

• ✅ Complete uninstallation with automatic cleanup
• ✅ Version information
• ✅ Help system

Planned Enhancements 📋

• 📋 Service health checks and monitoring
• 📋 Multi-project workspace support
• 📋 Dependency management between services
• 📋 Service templates and custom definitions
• 📋 Environment profiles (dev/staging/prod)
• 📋 Backup/restore functionality
• 📋 Service update command
• 📋 Dashboard UI (web-based management)

---

Made with ❤️ for developers who want a better local development experience.