5 Docker Extensions You Need To Know as a Developer

Docker has become a very popular tool for simplifying application containerization and packaging their dependencies into standardized units. It has become indispensable as it helps developers simplify the process of building, shipping, and running applications, and as such, it has become an essential tool in modern software development, enabling greater consistency, portability, and efficiency in the development and deployment processes.

The Rise of Docker Extensions

Developing apps today is not limited to writing code. Tons of languages, frameworks, architectures and discontinuous interfaces between tools for each lifecycle stage create enormous complexity. Integration and User Experience are crucial to a frictionless developer workflow. For this reason, Docker created Docker Extensions to help developers reduce context switching and increase productivity. Using Extensions, developers can integrate seamlessly with external tools — and even create brand-new ones! Thanks to Docker Extensions SDK, now you have a quick start guide that gives you a jumpstart to building your extensions for smooth, fast, and native integration directly into Docker Desktop.

Do check out the list of 200+ Docker extensions maintained by the Collabnix community 

A Quick Look at the Top 5 Docker Extensions

In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the top 5 Docker extensions you should be aware of as a developer. Plus, stick around until the end for a bonus extension that you’ll find particularly useful.

Registry Explorer

The Registry Explorer plugin is designed to work with Docker. It allows you to view the contents of your Docker registry directly in your IDE. This plugin is compatible with various IDEs, including Android Studio and Visual Studio Code.

This plugin helps you manage the process of managing Docker images and registries. This can make it easier to perform common tasks from the IDE, helping you save time and improve productivity as a software developer.

Use Cases

1. Manage Registry Entries: You can perform actions on registry entries, refresh registry nodes to load changes, and delete a registry entry from the explorer.
2. List Repositories/Images, Tags, and Layers: You can list repositories/images, tags, and layers.
3. Manage Images: You can also perform actions on image tags, pull images to a local Docker host, remove images from a local Docker host, and delete images from a remote repository.

Disk Usage

The Disk Usage plugin can help you understand how much disk space is being used by Docker. It shows the disk space used by different Docker resources like images, volumes, and more. It also tells you how much disk space you can get back.

Use Cases

1. Check Disk Space: You can use this plugin to check how much disk space is being used by Docker images, containers, and volumes.
2. Reclaim Disk Space: The plugin provides an easy one-click experience to reclaim disk space used by Docker.
3. Optimize Disk Space: You can use this plugin to optimize your disk space by removing unused objects from Docker Desktop.
4. Visibility of Space Usage: If you need more visibility about how much space Docker resources are using and how much of it is reclaimable, this plugin can be useful.
5. Resource Monitoring: Monitor the evolution of resource usage by containers over time.

Logs Explorer

The Logs Explorer is a Docker plugin that allows you to view all your container logs in one place. This can help you debug and troubleshoot faster. The Logs Explorer plugin can be a helpful tool for developers working with Docker. It provides deeper insight into your logs. This can save time and help manage resources better.

Use Cases

1. Multiple Filters: This feature allows you to browse logs by status or log type, or they can select individual containers.
2. Advanced Search Functionality: You can search for logs that have occurred after a certain amount of time or since a given date. You can also use regular expressions or exact matches when you search.
3. Save Search Queries: You can save each search query you enter into the search bar to help narrow their search with “sticky” search filters.
4. Improved Scrolling Experience: When containers are running, scrolling is locked to the bottom by default so you can see the latest logs.

Resource Usage

This is a Docker plugin that helps you monitor and manage the live data stream for running containers. It allows you to find out which containers or Docker Compose projects consume the most resources. You can also see how much CPU, Memory, Network, and Disk space your containers are using.

Use Cases

1. Analyze Resource-Intensive Containers: You can analyze the most resource-intensive containers or Docker Compose projects.
2. Monitor Resource Usage Over Time: You can monitor the evolution of resource usage by containers over time.
3. View Resource Usage: You can view how much CPU, memory, network, and disk space their containers use.
4. Filter by CPU Usage: You can sort containers by the most CPU-intensive, then filter by CPU usage over 80%.

Volume Backup and Share

The plugin that allows you to back up, clone, restore, and share Docker volumes. It helps you back up, restore, or migrate data from one Docker host to another. You can stop containers using the volume, then back up the volume’s directory. It provides a simple way to back up and share Docker volumes. This can save time and help manage resources better.

Use Cases

1. Back Up Data: You can back up data that is persisted in a volume (for example, database data from Postgres or MySQL) into a compressed file.
2. Upload Backup to Docker Hub: You can upload their backup to Docker Hub and share it with anyone.
3. Transfer Volumes: You can transfer their local volumes to a different Docker host (through SSH)

Open Source management tool for PostgreSQL (BONUS)

This Docker plugin is known as PGAdmin4 Desktop Extension. It is designed to monitor and manage multiple PostgreSQL and EDB Advanced Server database servers, both local and remote, through a single graphical interface.

If you are working with PostgreSQL, this plugin provides a user-friendly interface to interact with your PostgreSQL databases, allowing you to save time and manage resources more efficiently.

Use Cases

1. Monitor and Manage Databases: Monitor and manage multiple PostgreSQL and EDB Advanced Server database servers, both locally and remotely.

2. Create and Manage Database Objects: Easily create and manage database objects.

3.Export/Import Servers connections: Export or Import all Servers connections, except passwords, using the menu.

Conclusion

In this article, you have learned about six of the most important Docker extensions you need to know as a developer. Use these extensions to streamline your workflow and improve your efficiency. Happy Coding!