DEU - Docker Environment Utility

A simple utility to create and manage development containers using Docker Compose. It aims to be a sort of envorment manager for docker compose containers so that you can spin up local containers quickly in any directory.

Overview

deu helps you quickly set up development environments in Docker containers. It creates a Docker Compose configuration and manages container states (start, stop, logs, etc.).

It automatically map the current directory as workspace in the container for quick access.

Installation

chmod +x deu.py
sudo ln -s $(pwd)/deu.py /usr/local/bin/deu

Getting Started

The easiest way to get started is to run:

deu examples

This will show you common usage patterns and examples.

Usage

Initialize a Container

Create a new development container:

# Local container (in current directory)
deu init --image ubuntu:24.04

# Global container (stored in ~/.config/deu/)
deu init -g --image ubuntu:24.04

# With custom service name
deu init --image ubuntu:24.04 --service my_container

Manage Containers

All commands support both local and global containers:

# Activate container shell
deu activate              # Use local container
deu activate my_container # Use specific container (local or global)

# Start container in background
deu background            # Use local container
deu background my_container

# View container logs
deu logs                 # Use local container
deu logs my_container

# Stop container
deu stop                 # Use local container
deu stop my_container

# Remove container
deu rm                   # Use local container
deu rm my_container

# Stop and remove container (combines stop and rm)
deu delete               # Use local container
deu delete my_container

# List all available containers
deu list                 # Shows both local and global containers

Getting Help

• Run deu --help for general help
• Run deu <command> --help for command-specific help
• Run deu examples for common usage patterns

Configuration

deu creates two configuration files:

1. deu.toml - Container configuration (local or in ~/.config/deu/)
2. .container/docker-compose.yml - Docker Compose configuration (local or in ~/.config/deu/.container_name/)

Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• Docker
• Docker Compose

Known Issues

Python virtual envs

If you encounter a ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'yaml' error when working within an environment, be sure to pip install pyyaml in that environment.