# docker/docker-py

A Python library for the Docker Engine API

Repository: https://github.com/docker/docker-py
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/docker-py
Homepage: https://docker-py.readthedocs.io/
Language: Python
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: python, docker, docker-engine-api, python-library, docker-swarm
Last push: 2026-08-24T00:11:49+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 86/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 60, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4850, "days_push": 10, "days_rel": 55, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 1}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 7211, forks 1728 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:56.659809+00:00)

## What it is
The official Docker SDK for Python, a client library for the Docker Engine API. It lets Python applications run and manage containers, images, networks, volumes, and Docker Swarm services programmatically.

## Use cases
- manage docker containers from python
- run containers programmatically in a python app
- pull and manage docker images via api
- automate docker workflows in tests
- manage docker swarm services from python
- stream container logs in python

## When to choose
- you need to script or automate Docker operations from Python
- you're building tools that create, inspect, or orchestrate containers
- you want the official, well-maintained Docker client for Python

## When to avoid
- you only need to run docker commands from a shell - the docker CLI is simpler
- you're managing Kubernetes clusters rather than the Docker Engine
- you need a Docker client in another language

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: sdk, container-runtime, developer-tools
- domain: developer-tools, cloud-computing
- platform: python, windows, cross-platform
- tags: docker-engine-api, docker-client, containers, python-sdk, docker-swarm, devops, docker, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- docker/docker-py (main) score 86

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:56.659809+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 2026-08-29T17:39:50.207240+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/docker/docker-py (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:56.659809+00:00, sha db9070382cde)
  - registry_pypi: https://pypi.org/pypi/docker-py/json (fetched 2026-08-29T08:35:17.759233+00:00, sha a3a09649c9c1)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.