dockerdb-cli

CLI tool for managing database servers via Docker. Create, manage, and tear down database instances with a single command.

Table of Contents

• Prerequisites
• Installation
  • From PyPI (recommended)
  • From source (for development)
  • Upgrade
• Quick Start
• Supported Engines
  • MySQL
  • MariaDB
  • PostgreSQL
  • MongoDB
  • Oracle
  • SQL Server
  • CockroachDB
  • ClickHouse
  • Redis
• Commands Reference
  • db-cli create <engine>
  • db-cli list
  • db-cli status [name]
  • db-cli start|stop|restart [name]
  • db-cli start-all | stop-all | rm-all
  • db-cli rm [name]
  • db-cli logs [name]
  • db-cli seed [name]
  • db-cli backup [name]
  • db-cli restore [name]
  • db-cli config show|path
• Configuration
• Sample Data
• SSL/TLS
• Adding a New Engine
• Project Structure
• Development
• License

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• Docker (with docker compose v2)

Installation

From PyPI (recommended)

pip install dockerdb-cli

Or with pipx for isolated install:

pipx install dockerdb-cli

Verify:

db-cli --version
# or use the full name
dockerdb-cli --version

Note: This package installs two CLI commands that are identical: dockerdb-cli (full name) and db-cli (short alias). The rest of this README uses db-cli for brevity.

From source (for development)

git clone <repo-url>
cd dockerdb-cli
uv sync
uv run dockerdb-cli --version

Upgrade

pip install --upgrade dockerdb-cli

Quick Start

# Create a standalone MongoDB server (interactive prompts for version/topology)
db-cli create mongodb

# Create with all options specified (no prompts)
db-cli create mongodb --name my-mongo --version 7.0 --topology standalone

# Create a MySQL master-slave cluster
db-cli create mysql --name my-mysql --topology master-slave --replicas 2

# List all servers
db-cli list

# Check server status
db-cli status my-mongo

# Stop / Start / Restart
db-cli stop my-mongo
db-cli start my-mongo
db-cli restart my-mongo

# View logs
db-cli logs my-mongo
db-cli logs my-mongo --follow

# Seed sample data
db-cli seed my-mongo

# Backup & Restore
db-cli backup my-mongo --output ./mongo-backup.gz
db-cli restore my-mongo --input ./mongo-backup.gz

# Remove server (containers + generated files)
db-cli rm my-mongo

# Remove server AND data volumes
db-cli rm my-mongo --volumes

Supported Engines

Six engines are supported. Default versions are shown in bold; default port is the container port.

Engine	Topologies	Versions	Port
MySQL	standalone, master-slave	5.7, 8.0, 8.4, 9.0, 9.1	3306
MariaDB	standalone, master-slave	10.6, 10.11, 11.0, 11.4, 11.7	3306
PostgreSQL	standalone, master-slave	13, 14, 15, 16, 17	5432
MongoDB	standalone, replica-set	4.4, 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0	27017
Oracle	standalone	18 (XE), 21 (XE), 23 (Free)	1521
SQL Server	standalone	2017, 2019, 2022	1433
CockroachDB	standalone	23.1, 23.2, 24.1, 24.2, 24.3	26257
ClickHouse	standalone	23.8, 24.3, 24.8, 25.3	9000
Redis	standalone, sentinel, cluster	6.2, 7.0, 7.2, 7.4, 8.0	6379

---

MySQL

Topology	Description
standalone	Single instance
master-slave	Master + N read-only slaves with GTID replication

db-cli create mysql --name dev-mysql --version 8.0
db-cli create mysql --name prod-mysql --topology master-slave --replicas 2

Default connection: mysql -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3306 -uadmin -poneforall test

---

MariaDB

Topology	Description
standalone	Single instance
master-slave	Master + N read-only slaves with GTID replication

db-cli create mariadb --name dev-maria --version 11.4
db-cli create mariadb --name prod-maria --topology master-slave --replicas 2

Default connection: mysql -h 127.0.0.1 -P 3306 -uadmin -poneforall test

---

PostgreSQL

Topology	Description
standalone	Single instance
master-slave	Primary + N streaming-replication standbys

db-cli create postgres --name dev-pg --version 17
db-cli create postgres --name prod-pg --topology master-slave --replicas 2

Default connection: PGPASSWORD=oneforall psql -h 127.0.0.1 -p 5432 -U admin test

---

MongoDB

Topology	Description
standalone	Single instance
replica-set	1 primary + N replicas with keyfile auth

db-cli create mongodb --name dev-mongo --version 7.0
db-cli create mongodb --name prod-mongo --topology replica-set --replicas 2

Default connection: mongosh "mongodb://admin:oneforall@localhost:27017/test?authSource=admin"

---

Oracle

Topology	Description
standalone	Single instance (gvenzl/oracle-free 23c, gvenzl/oracle-xe 18/21)

db-cli create oracle --name dev-oracle --version 23

Default connection (service name FREEPDB1 on 23c, XEPDB1 on 18/21):

sqlplus admin/oneforall@//localhost:1521/FREEPDB1

---

SQL Server

Topology	Description
standalone	Single instance (mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server, Developer edition)

The only login is sa. The SA password must be strong — at least 8 characters and 3 of 4 classes (uppercase, lowercase, digits, symbols) — so the default is OneForAll!23, not oneforall. The SQL Server image has no init entrypoint, so the target database is created the first time you seed:

db-cli create mssql --name dev-mssql --version 2022 --password 'OneForAll!23'
db-cli seed dev-mssql   # creates the `test` database and sample tables

Default connection: sqlcmd -S 127.0.0.1,1433 -U sa -P 'OneForAll!23' -d test -C

---

CockroachDB

Topology	Description
standalone	Single node, start-single-node --insecure (PostgreSQL wire-compatible)

Runs in insecure mode: the user is root with no password, so create skips the username/password prompts. Being PostgreSQL wire-compatible, you can connect with psql or any Postgres driver. Like SQL Server, there is no init entrypoint, so the target database is created the first time you seed:

db-cli create cockroachdb --name dev-crdb --version 24.3
db-cli seed dev-crdb   # creates the `test` database and sample tables

Default connection: psql "postgresql://root@localhost:26257/test?sslmode=disable"

---

ClickHouse

Topology	Description
standalone	Single instance (columnar OLAP), native protocol on 9000

The user, password, and database are created at startup from the flags (CLICKHOUSE_USER/PASSWORD/DB), so the database exists immediately (empty until you seed). Sample tables use the MergeTree engine:

db-cli create clickhouse --name dev-ch --version 24.8
db-cli seed dev-ch   # loads sample tables + order_summary view

Default connection: clickhouse-client --host 127.0.0.1 --port 9000 --user admin --password oneforall --database test

---

Redis

Topology	Description
standalone	Single instance
sentinel	Master + N replicas + 3 sentinels
cluster	6 nodes (3 masters + 3 replicas)

db-cli create redis --name dev-redis --version 7.4 --password secret
db-cli create redis --name prod-redis-ha --topology sentinel --replicas 2 --password secret
db-cli create redis --name prod-redis-cl --topology cluster --password secret

Default connection: redis-cli -h 127.0.0.1 -p 6379 -a oneforall

Commands Reference

db-cli create <engine>

Create and start a new database server.

Arguments:
  engine                Database engine: mysql, mariadb, postgres, mongodb, oracle, mssql, cockroachdb, clickhouse, redis

Options:
  -n, --name TEXT       Server instance name (prompted if omitted)
  -v, --version TEXT    Database version (prompted if omitted)
  -t, --topology TEXT   standalone, master-slave, replica-set, sentinel, cluster (prompted if omitted)
  -p, --port INT        Host port (auto-detected if omitted)
  -u, --username TEXT   Database username          [default: admin]
  --password TEXT       Database password          [default: oneforall]
  -d, --database TEXT   Default database name      [default: test]
  --ssl                 Enable SSL/TLS with auto-generated certs
  --replicas INT        Number of replicas         [default: 2]
  --no-seed             Skip seeding sample data
  --no-start            Generate files only, don't start containers

Hybrid mode: If you provide all flags, the command runs non-interactively. If you omit flags, it prompts you interactively.

db-cli list

List all managed servers in a table.

Options:
  --json    Output as JSON (machine-readable, for scripting)

With --json, the full config of every server is printed as a JSON array ([] when there are none), so you can pipe it into tools like jq:

db-cli list --json | jq -r '.[].name'

db-cli status [name]

Show detailed status for a server, including Docker container state and connection info.

Options:
  --json    Output as JSON (machine-readable, for scripting)

The JSON payload is the server's full config plus a status field (running/stopped) and a connection object. A server name is required in --json mode (no interactive picker). JSON goes to stdout; any errors go to stderr, so stdout stays clean for parsing:

db-cli status my-mongo --json | jq -r '.connection.connection_string'

db-cli start|stop|restart [name]

Manage server lifecycle. If name is omitted, an interactive prompt lets you choose.

db-cli start-all | stop-all | rm-all

Act on every managed server at once.

• start-all — start all servers (uses up -d so --no-start instances come up too). Non-destructive, so no confirmation is asked; exits non-zero if any server fails to start.
• stop-all — stop all running servers.
• rm-all — remove all servers.

Options (stop-all, rm-all):
  -y, --yes        Skip confirmation prompt
  -v, --volumes    Also remove data volumes (rm-all only)

db-cli rm [name]

Remove a server. Stops containers and deletes generated files.

Options:
  -v, --volumes    Also remove Docker data volumes
  -y, --yes        Skip confirmation prompt

db-cli logs [name]

View Docker container logs.

Options:
  -f, --follow     Stream logs in real-time
  -t, --tail INT   Number of lines to show [default: 100]

db-cli seed [name]

Seed sample data into a running server. Uses the bundled seed scripts by default.

Options:
  -f, --file PATH  Use a custom seed data file instead

db-cli backup [name]

Dump database contents to a file.

Options:
  -o, --output PATH  Output file [default: backup.sql]

db-cli restore [name]

Restore data from a backup file.

Options:
  -i, --input PATH   Input backup file [required]

db-cli config show|path

Show global configuration or print the config file path.

Configuration

All data is stored under ~/.dockerdb/:

~/.dockerdb/
├── config.yaml          # Global defaults (credentials, data dir)
├── registry.yaml        # Server instance registry
└── instances/
    └── my-mongo/
        ├── docker-compose.yml   # Generated
        └── init/
            └── mongodb_seed.js  # Seed data

Default credentials (can be overridden per-server via --username, --password):

Setting	Default
Username	admin
Password	oneforall
Database	test

Sample Data

When creating a server without --no-seed, sample data is automatically seeded on first startup:

Tables/Collections: users, products, orders View: order_summary (join of all three)

This provides a ready-to-use dataset for development and testing.

SSL/TLS

Add the --ssl flag to enable TLS with auto-generated self-signed certificates:

db-cli create postgres --name secure-pg --version 17 --ssl
db-cli create mysql    --name secure-mysql --ssl
db-cli create mariadb  --name secure-maria --ssl
db-cli create mongodb  --name secure-mongo --ssl
db-cli create redis    --name secure-redis --ssl

Certificates are generated at ~/.dockerdb/instances/<name>/ssl/:

ssl/
├── ca-cert.pem         # CA certificate (use this on the client)
├── ca-key.pem          # CA private key
├── server-cert.pem     # Server certificate
├── server-key.pem      # Server private key
└── server-combined.pem # Cert + key concatenated (used by MongoDB)

The CLI prints SSL-aware connection strings after create. Example for PostgreSQL:

connection_string: postgresql://admin:oneforall@localhost:5432/test?sslmode=require
cli_command:       PGPASSWORD=oneforall psql "host=127.0.0.1 port=5432 ... sslmode=require"
ssl_ca_path:       /Users/.../ssl/ca-cert.pem

Engine support matrix

Engine	TLS Version	Notes
PostgreSQL	TLS 1.3	sslmode=require
MySQL	TLS 1.3	--require-secure-transport=ON (plain rejected)
MariaDB	TLS 1.3	--require-secure-transport=ON
MongoDB	requireTLS	uses combined cert+key file
Redis	TLS-only	plain port disabled, use rediss:// scheme
Oracle	✗	not implemented (requires Oracle Wallet)

Caveats

• Standalone topology only. Using --ssl with master-slave, replica-set, sentinel, or cluster will print a warning and disable SSL.
• Self-signed certs are not trusted by clients by default. The generated cli_command includes flags to skip verification (--insecure, tlsAllowInvalidCertificates, etc.). For production-grade certs, replace files in ssl/ and restart the container.

Adding a New Engine

The tool uses the Strategy Pattern to make adding new database engines straightforward. No changes to the CLI commands or core logic are needed.

Step 1: Create the engine class

Create db_cli/engines/postgresql.py:

from db_cli.engines.base import DatabaseEngine
from db_cli.models.compose import ComposeContext
from db_cli.models.engine import EngineDefaults, TopologySpec
from db_cli.models.server import ServerConfig, Topology


class PostgreSQLEngine(DatabaseEngine):
    def get_defaults(self) -> EngineDefaults:
        return EngineDefaults(
            default_version="16",
            supported_versions=["13", "14", "15", "16", "17"],
            default_port=5432,
            container_data_path="/var/lib/postgresql/data",
            docker_image="postgres",
            supported_topologies={
                Topology.STANDALONE: TopologySpec(
                    template_name="standalone.yml.j2",
                    description="Single PostgreSQL instance",
                ),
            },
        )

    def get_supported_topologies(self) -> list[Topology]:
        return [Topology.STANDALONE]

    # ... implement remaining abstract methods

Step 2: Register the engine

In db_cli/engines/__init__.py, add:

from db_cli.engines.postgresql import PostgreSQLEngine
register_engine("postgresql", PostgreSQLEngine)

Step 3: Add templates

Create db_cli/templates/postgresql/standalone.yml.j2:

services:
  {{ server_name }}:
    image: {{ image }}
    container_name: {{ server_name }}
    ports:
{% for port in ports %}
      - "{{ port.host }}:{{ port.container }}"
{% endfor %}
    volumes:
      - {{ server_name }}_data:{{ data_path }}
    environment:
      - POSTGRES_USER={{ credentials.username }}
      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD={{ credentials.password }}
      - POSTGRES_DB={{ credentials.database }}

volumes:
  {{ server_name }}_data:

That's it. db-cli create postgresql now works with all existing commands (list, start, stop, rm, etc.).

Project Structure

db_cli/
├── main.py                  # Typer app entry point
├── commands/                # CLI commands (thin layer, delegates to core)
│   ├── create.py
│   ├── lifecycle.py         # start, stop, restart, rm
│   ├── status.py            # list, status
│   ├── logs.py
│   ├── data.py              # seed, backup, restore
│   └── config.py
├── core/                    # Business logic
│   ├── config.py            # Global config (~/.dockerdb/config.yaml)
│   ├── registry.py          # Server instance CRUD
│   ├── docker.py            # Docker Compose subprocess wrapper
│   ├── compose_generator.py # Jinja2 template rendering
│   ├── ssl.py               # Self-signed certificate generation
│   └── data.py              # Seed/backup/restore orchestration
├── engines/                 # Strategy pattern: one class per database
│   ├── base.py              # Abstract base class (DatabaseEngine)
│   ├── mongodb.py
│   └── mysql.py
├── models/                  # Pydantic v2 data models
│   ├── server.py            # ServerConfig, Topology, Credentials, ...
│   ├── engine.py            # EngineDefaults, TopologySpec
│   ├── config.py            # GlobalConfig
│   └── compose.py           # ComposeContext (template rendering)
├── templates/               # Jinja2 templates for Docker Compose
│   ├── mongodb/
│   ├── mysql/
│   └── seed_data/
├── ui/                      # Rich console + Questionary prompts
│   ├── console.py
│   ├── prompts.py
│   └── tables.py
└── utils/                   # Validators, port checking, formatters
    ├── validators.py
    ├── ports.py
    ├── formatters.py
    └── completers.py

Development

# Install dependencies
make install

# Run linter
make lint

# Run tests
make test

# Format code
make format

# Run all checks
make check

License

GPL-3.0-or-later