Top Docker Projects to Sharpen Your Skills and Build Your Docker Portfolio

Docker is an open platform for developers to develop, test, and deploy applications. Developers use it to separate applications for infrastructure to improve software delivery. It works by fragmenting apps and their environments into smaller bits. By learning Docker technologies, you can reduce the delays in the modern application development process.

If you want to become a DevOps engineer, Docker is an essential software to learn. In this article, we will be talking about some of the best Docker projects. These projects have been separated into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Along with certificate programs and online courses, these projects are the best way to learn Docker, major frameworks, and more.

5 Skills That Docker Projects Can Help You Practice

Completing Docker projects introduces practical experience to learning and allows you to convert theoretical Docker concepts into real-life applications. It can also provide you with the necessary hard skills to begin your DevOps career. Below are some skills that Docker projects can help you practice.

• Use of the Docker Software. As you take on Docker projects, you will gradually learn to use the different interfaces of the Docker engine such as Docker image, Docker machine, Docker swarm, Docker login, Docker Hub, and Docker EE. This improves your proficiency with the software.
• Containerization. Projects can teach you how to containerize. Containerization allows developers to deploy applications faster. It is the packaging of software code with the operating system libraries and dependencies. This allows developers to run code in a Docker container on a cloud infrastructure. 
• Automation. Docker projects can teach automation skills. You can learn to use Docker Hub to perform automated repository tests with the containers. 
• Microservices Architecture. Microservices architecture is a style of developing applications in a suite of independently deployable units that communicates with the HTTP resource API.
• DevOps. Docker is an important part of DevOps and software development. Completing Docker projects can improve your hard skills in the software development specialization and help you learn DevOps.

Best Docker Project Ideas for Beginners 

Docker courses can introduce the basics of the Docker application to beginners, but projects can give you practical experience and prepare you for a job. The projects listed below put Docker fundamentals into practice. Below are some of the best sample Docker projects for beginners. 

Build a Portfolio Site with Docker

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, DevOps

This simple project for beginners provides a solid foundation and introduces you to fundamental Docker concepts such as Docker images, containers, registry, client/server model, and the Docker engine. 

In this project, you can learn how to use the Docker application in a command line to create your own portfolio website. You would work with a Bootstrap template in a Docker container. You may also have to do a lot of basic tasks such as basic debugging, linking local files to Docker files, and basic networking.

Dockercraft

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, DevOps

According to Statista, Minecraft had over 140 million active players in March 2021. It is a game where players explore a 3D world to extract raw materials and build structures. Dockercraft is a simple Docker client that allows developers to manage their Docker container environment in Minecraft.

Dockercraft introduces a simple method to visualize and flip the switches in your Docker containers. You’ll have to get the full version of the Minecraft game to access Dockercraft client features. Afterward, you have to run the Dockercraft container and join Cuberite, a custom Minecraft server, to start working on projects.

Dokku

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, DevOps

Another project that you can try out is the Dokku project. The Dokku is a platform-as-a-service solution that enables developers to build and manage the lifecycle of applications. It uses a set of scripts that developers can input their source codes into to run their applications. It is easy to use, and you can install it on any machine. You can also write Dokku plugins in any language. 

Docker-Mon

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, microservices architecture

You could try a project that involves the console Docker monitoring tool. While developers love to work with tools that provide easy access to the essential shell requirement, there are only a few monitoring services for Docker images and the environment variables. A shipyard is a notable example. 

Docker-Mon is a console Docker monitoring tool built on a shell-centered dashboard framework called blessed-contrib. Docker-Mon uses the Docker stats feature on the Docker application. To use Docker-Mon, you would have to use Docker master binaries or a minimum of version 1.5 of the application.

Passenger-Docker

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, DevOps

This project is similar to the Phusion Passenger. The Passenger-Docker project involves the development of an app server that creates an ideal environment where developers can deploy and run their applications. It functions by developing a versatile default image for developers who want to employ Docker in their production environment. 

Passenger-Docker contains a suite of Docker images that can work as a base file for Ruby, Python, Node.js, and Meteor web app images. This makes it easier and quicker to make Docker images for web apps.

Best Intermediate Docker Project Ideas 

After completing a few Docker projects for beginners, you could go a step higher to intermediate projects. Intermediate projects allow you to practice more advanced Docker projects to level up your skills. Read below to start expanding on your beginner skills so you can become a Docker expert.

Container Migration Tool

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, DevOps

This project will teach you how to move containers in a Docker network with the container migration tool. Docker containers are portable in the sense that they can run in any system that has the Docker application. 

The container migration tool creates a command line for the migration of containers between two different clusters without hassle. It also performs per-migration validations and helps to discover suitable hosts for the container.

Memcached SaaS Using Docker

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, DevOps

In this project, you use Docker to create software-as-a-service (SaaS) on the open-source object caching system, Memcached. You will aim to minimize the system’s database load, allowing applications to run at optimal speed. 

You would have to create a Memcached container with a docker image on the Memcached website. You’ll get an IP and a port of the Memcached server. Afterward, you’ll add a layer of security to the Memcached container.

Docket

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, DevOps 

This is one of the most popular Docker projects because it combines Docker and Torrent. By definition, Docket is a custom Docker registry for fast application deployment. It allows you to deploy Docker images across numerous machines at a lightning-fast speed. It can also work with your private docker registry without hassle. 

You’ll have to work with the three main components: Docket Registry, Docket Client, and the BitTorrent Tracker. Docket Registry receives the Docker image tarballs from the clients, stores metafiles, and creates torrents. Docket Client is the user interface. Lastly, BitTorrent Tracker tracks the BitTorrent.

Dockermix

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, microservices architecture, containerization, DevOps

The Dockermix project, also known as Maestro, involves using a command-line tool for managing multiple containers in Docker environments. Dockermix provides a platform where developers can seamlessly launch and deploy in complex multi-node environments. In this project, you would define the YAML file that works with the options in the Docker API. 

Wine

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, DevOps

Another project you can check out is the Wine Project. Wine, or Docker-Wine, adds cross-platform functionality to Dockerized applications. Dockerized apps are not cross-platform, and a Docker Windows app usually cannot run on Linux OS. Wine solves this issue, allowing Windows apps to run on Linux.

In this project, you would use the Wine compatibility layer to add cross-platform functionality to the application. You would have to configure Wine to adapt to drivers on the new system. Wine comes installed with dynamic video drivers and VirtualGL to support the system’s video.

Advanced Docker Project Ideas

Advanced Docker Project ideas are reserved for experts or people who have considerable knowledge of the Docker application. If you want to work with Docker professionally, these projects can help you. According to PayScale, the average salary for people with Docker skills is $98,000.

Jenkins

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, automation, containerization, DevOps

Jenkins is an open-source project to automate tasks such as software creation, testing, and deployment. It works with a master-slave architecture for the efficient distribution of work across multiple machines. You would have to install it as a Docker container image or run it as a portable installation with Java Runtime Environment (JRE). 

RancherVM 

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, DevOps 

Rancher is a containers-as-a-service vendor that hosts Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, Mesos, and other container orchestration and scheduling frameworks. RancherVM is a project that allows users to run a virtual machine inside Kubernetes pods. Each Kubernetes pod holds a container, which in turn, has a virtual machine running in an instance. 

In this project, you’ll have to use RancherVM to create a virtual machine. You can use KVM images and distribute them into any Docker registry of your choice, then run the VM on RancherVM. You may also set the virtual machine CRD specifications to define the base Docker image and use keypairs to begin a session.

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Dockerfile_lint Application

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, DevOps

This project uses a linter called dockerfile_lint rules to check the file syntax, semantics, and best practice attributes set by the rule file writer. Linters are useful components in the front end development of a toolchain. JavaScript developers use them during teamwork on a shared database. 

You would also use docker_lint linter to check LABEL rules against Docker images. The rules files are in YAML format, and it contains four sections: the profile section, general section, line rule section, and required instruction section. It is implemented with regular expressions and can only run one instruction of dockerfile in an instance.

KubeVirt

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, containerization, DevOps

Kubernetes are used for managing containers. You can add this functionality to support virtual machines by installing a virtual machine management add-on called KubeVirt. KubeVirt allows you to improve the features and functionalities of your Kubernetes.

In this project, you will incorporate additional virtualization resources through Kubernetes Custom Resource Definitions API. KubeVirt can also be used to build, schedule, launch, stop and delete a virtual machine on a Kubernetes Cluster.

Local Development Environment with Docker 

• Docker Skills Practiced: Use of Docker software, microservices architecture

In this project, you’ll learn to use Docker to create two local development environments for two servers and enable them to communicate with each other. You’ll start by building the custom images and containers for HTTP servers. Then, you’ll build the API server in a separate development. 

Docker Compose is used to define and run the multi-container Docker application and add a communication feature. If you want to complete this project in a course setting, you can find the “Build local development environments using Docker containers” project on Coursera.

Docker Starter Project Templates

All of the projects listed above can help you improve your technical skills and gain a solid grasp of fundamental, intermediate, and advanced Docker terminologies. Using Docker starter project templates can also help you learn. Templates contain source codes that you can easily modify to suit your project requirements. Below are a few Docker starter project templates.

• Dockercraft. If you are interested in the Dockercraft project, you can start by checking Dockercraft on Github. This template contains instructions and source code to help you get started.
• Dokku. Dokku is a Docker-powered PaaS for building and managing the lifecycle of applications. You’ll work with Shell, Dockerfile, Python, JavaScript, and Google Go. 
• Docket. The Docket is a private registry that allows you to deploy at fast speeds through BitTorrent.
• Passenger-Docker. This is a template for the Passenger-Docker project. This project aids the seamless deployment of web applications.
• Moby. Moby allows developers to build their containers by choosing from a library or creating custom containers. 

Next Steps: Start Organizing Your Docker Portfolio

A Docker portfolio showcases your projects and serves as proof of your skills and expertise. When it comes to landing a job, a portfolio can be the difference that provides the competitive edge. A portfolio makes it easy to prove to hiring managers that you have the necessary skills to succeed. Below are a few ideas to help you build a perfect portfolio and start a portfolio project.

Include Relevant Skills and Projects

Most tech jobs require a wide mix of skills, including technical ability, interpersonal skills, understanding of good practices, and many other soft skills. You can easily demonstrate all of these skills in your portfolio if you present your projects in a clear, organized way. It is also crucial to include projects that are relevant to the job description.

Provide Direct Access to Your Docker Projects

You should provide direct access to your projects with links and files. This allows the interviewer or hiring manager to see your projects and interact with them to see if they work. You’ll do a lot better when your portfolio directly links to the Docker projects you have worked on. 

Add an “About You” Section

Your skills and projects are undoubtedly the most important part of your portfolio. However, you also want the recruiters to know about you. It is crucial to let your portfolio capture your ambitions, career trajectory, and development journey.

Docker Projects FAQ