docker-app-launcher 0.5.0

Configurable desktop launcher for Docker-based applications

docker-app-launcher

Configurable desktop launcher for Docker-based applications. One persistent window. It opens, shows progress, and never closes itself — no dialog chains.

🇩🇪 Deutsche Version

Quick Start

pip install docker-app-launcher

Python API (3 lines)

from docker_app_launcher import LauncherConfig, launch

launch(LauncherConfig(
    app_name="My App",
    container_name="my-app",
    default_port=8080,
))

CLI

docker-app-launcher --config launcher.json   # open the window
docker-app-launcher --version                 # print the launcher version and exit
docker-app-launcher --check                   # is Docker running?
docker-app-launcher --status                  # print state and exit
docker-app-launcher --install --port 9000     # build + start headless
docker-app-launcher --start                   # start the stopped app
docker-app-launcher --stop                    # stop the running app
docker-app-launcher --uninstall               # remove containers/images
docker-app-launcher --cleanup                 # remove stale leftovers
docker-app-launcher --open                    # open the app in the browser
docker-app-launcher --debug ...               # verbose logging to stdout + launcher-debug.log

launcher.json

Everything is configurable. Only app_name is required — the rest is derived (slug, container/image names, compose project, config dir) or defaulted.

{
  "app_name": "My App",
  "container_name": "my-app",
  "default_port": 8080,
  "compose_file": "docker-compose.prod.yml",
  "install_dir": "/opt/my-app",
  "health_check_path": "/api/health",
  "health_check_key": "status",
  "health_check_value": "ok",
  "repo_url": "https://github.com/owner/repo",
  "app_version": "0.4.0",
  "update_check_enabled": true,
  "internal_ports": { "nginx": 80 },
  "env_internal_port_keys": { "nginx": "NGINX_PORT" },
  "show_advanced_ports": true,
  "locale": "en"
}

internal_ports, env_internal_port_keys, and show_advanced_ports are optional expert fields — omit them and the launcher behaves exactly as before (single host port, no advanced panel).

Features

• One persistent window — never closes itself; only the X closes it.
• Docker check on startup — distinguishes not installed / running / stopped / no Docker.
• Live build progress — the Docker build is streamed line-by-line into the window.
• Configurable port — editable in the GUI and via --port, validated and persisted (to launcher.json and the .env next to the compose file, so the launcher and Compose can't disagree).
• Live port changes — the port field stays editable while the app runs; "Apply port" validates, rewrites .env, and recreates the stack in seconds (no rebuild — only the published host port changed), then health-checks on the new port.
• Advanced internal ports (experts) — optional internal_ports / env_internal_port_keys let you remap in-container ports (full 1–65535 range, e.g. nginx :80); a collapsed "Advanced settings" panel (gated by show_advanced_ports) applies them with an image rebuild + health check. Empty by default: no extra .env keys, no UI, no behaviour change.
• Verified actions — install runs a health check; uninstall re-lists the containers to confirm they are gone.
• Install manifest + startup cleanup — finds and offers to remove stale leftovers of older installs.
• Verbose uninstall / cleanup — every step reported with a ✓ / ✗ result.
• Single-instance guard — a PID-based lockfile refuses a second launch with an "already running" notice instead of opening a duplicate window.
• Background update check — checks GitHub Releases (derived from repo_url) and notes in-window when a newer release exists. Opt-out via update_check_enabled; silent on any network error.
• File logging — a rotated launcher.log plus a per-run install.log under the config dir, and a launcher-debug.log on --debug. Best-effort: an unwritable dir degrades gracefully rather than crashing.
• Concurrency-safe UI — every button is disabled for the full duration of an action and the window is held on top, so a second action can't be launched in parallel.
• Quiet on Windows — every Docker subprocess runs with CREATE_NO_WINDOW, so an install no longer flashes a swarm of console windows (no change on Linux/macOS).
• PyInstaller-ready — a bundled spec template, hidden-imports list, and build-time version injection for shipping frozen single-file builds.
• System tray + "Run in background" (optional) — pip install docker-app-launcher[tray]; while running, the window minimizes to the tray (a visible Run in the background button and the X both use it). When the tray can't dock it falls back to a taskbar-minimized window, so it never silently closes.
  • Linux note: the reliable tray uses pystray's AppIndicator backend, which needs gi (PyGObject) plus the AppIndicator typelib. The [tray] extra pip-installs PyGObject (Linux-only; needs libgirepository1.0-dev, libcairo2-dev, pkg-config to build), and you also need the typelib at runtime — on Ubuntu: sudo apt install gir1.2-ayatanaappindicator3-0.1. If you instead rely on the system python3-gi (apt), create the venv with --system-site-packages so gi is importable. Without any of this the launcher still works — it just minimizes to the taskbar. Run with --debug to see which backend was selected.
• DE / EN i18n — with per-app custom-string overrides via custom_strings.
• Actions architecture — all business logic is GUI-free and unit-tested without a display.
• CLI ↔ GUI parity — both call the exact same actions layer.

Architecture

Module	Responsibility
config.py	LauncherConfig dataclass — the single source of truth.
actions.py	All business logic. No tkinter. Fully testable.
gui.py	LauncherApp(tk.Tk) — a thin window over the actions.
tray.py	Optional system tray (pystray + Pillow).
i18n.py	DE/EN strings with custom-string overrides.
lockfile.py	PID-based single-instance guard.
update_check.py	Background GitHub Releases update check.
logging_setup.py	Rotated file logging (launcher.log / install.log).
subprocess_utils.py	Windows CREATE_NO_WINDOW kwargs for all subprocesses.
pyinstaller/	Spec template + helpers for frozen builds.
__main__.py	CLI entry point + GUI router.

Configuration reference

See LauncherConfig for the full field list (app identity, network/health, Docker timeouts, paths, GUI, links, cleanup, tray, i18n, and lifecycle callbacks).

Development

poetry install --with dev --all-extras
make ci        # lint + format-check + typecheck + tests
make test      # tests with coverage
make fix       # auto-fix lint + format

Used by

• Adaptive Learner

License

MIT © Asterios Raptis