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Getting Started

Installation

docker run -d \
  --name updock \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -v $(pwd)/updock.yml:/etc/updock/updock.yml \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  updock

Binary

Download the latest binary from the releases page and run:

updock --policy-file updock.yml

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/huseyinbabal/updock.git
cd updock
make build
./bin/updock

Create Your Policy File

Updock's core differentiator is the updock.yml policy file. Create one in the same directory as your docker-compose.yml:

# updock.yml
policies:
  default:
    strategy: all          # allow any update
    approve: auto          # apply immediately
    rollback: on-failure   # rollback if health check fails

  conservative:
    strategy: patch        # only patch versions (1.2.3 -> 1.2.4)
    approve: auto
    rollback: on-failure

  locked:
    strategy: pin          # never auto-update
    approve: manual        # require approval via Web UI

containers:
  nginx:
    policy: conservative
    schedule: "02:00-05:00"  # only update between 2am-5am

  postgres:
    policy: locked           # never auto-update the database

  legacy-app:
    ignore: true             # completely skip this container

groups:
  web-stack:
    members: [redis, app, nginx]
    strategy: rolling
    order: [redis, app, nginx]

Configuration

Updock supports three configuration layers:

  1. updock.yml — Declarative policies, container overrides, groups
  2. CLI flags — Runtime behavior (--interval, --http-addr, etc.)
  3. Environment variables — Same as flags with UPDOCK_ prefix
Flag Environment Variable Description Default
--policy-file UPDOCK_POLICY_FILE Policy file path updock.yml
--interval UPDOCK_INTERVAL Polling interval 5m
--schedule UPDOCK_SCHEDULE Cron expression (6-field) —
--http-addr UPDOCK_HTTP_ADDR Web UI listen address :8080
--audit-log UPDOCK_AUDIT_LOG Audit log file path /var/lib/updock/audit.json
--log-level UPDOCK_LOG_LEVEL Log verbosity info

See Arguments for the full list.

How It Works

  1. Discover — Updock lists containers, filtered by policy file and labels.
  2. Evaluate — The policy engine checks strategy, maintenance window, and approval mode.
  3. Check — Compares local image digest with the remote registry.
  4. Approve — Auto-approved updates proceed; manual-approval updates are queued.
  5. Update — Pulls the new image, runs lifecycle hooks, recreates the container.
  6. Verify — Waits for health check. If it fails, rolls back automatically.
  7. Record — Every action is written to the audit log.
  8. Notify — Webhook notifications are sent about the result.