# docker-java/docker-java

Java Docker API Client

Repository: https://github.com/docker-java/docker-java
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/docker-java
Language: Java
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: docker, api, java, client-library, docker-java
Last push: 2026-08-24T13:23:07+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 87/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 63, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4475, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 168, "gap_med": 42.5, "n_releases_24m": 9}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3201, forks 1080 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:48.514645+00:00)

## What it is
docker-java is a Java client library for the Docker Engine API, allowing Java applications to manage Docker containers, images, and other Docker resources programmatically. It is published on Maven Central and licensed under Apache-2.0.

## Use cases
- manage docker containers from a java application
- build and push docker images programmatically in java
- start and stop containers via the docker engine api
- integrate docker lifecycle management into a java ci tool
- inspect container logs and stats from java

## When to choose
- you need to control Docker from Java or JVM-based code
- you want a mature, Maven-published Docker API client with Apache-2.0 licensing
- you're building tooling like testcontainers-style integrations or deployment automation in Java

## When to avoid
- you're working in another language (use docker-py, go docker client, etc.)
- you only need to run docker commands from a shell script
- you need a high-level orchestration layer rather than a raw Docker API client

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: http-client, sdk, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: jvm, cross-platform
- tags: docker-client, java-library, container-management, docker-engine-api, containers, devops, docker

## Member repositories
- docker-java/docker-java (main) score 87

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:48.514645+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T07:24:49.138884+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/docker-java/docker-java (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:48.514645+00:00, sha f7ba846d7403)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.