# YelpArchive/dockersh

A shell which places users into individual docker containers

Repository: https://github.com/YelpArchive/dockersh
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/dockersh
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Archived: true
Last push: 2019-08-27T20:34:28+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4423, "days_push": 2563, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1274, forks 79 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:12.726996+00:00)

## What it is
dockersh is a login shell written in Go that places each interactive user into their own individual Docker container when they log in. It can be set as a user's shell in /etc/passwd or used as an ssh ForceCommand, giving per-user isolation on a shared machine via a single ssh daemon.

## Use cases
- give multiple ssh users isolated containerized environments on one shared server
- replace per-user sshd-in-container setups with a single ssh port
- use as a login shell in /etc/passwd to sandbox each user
- configure ssh ForceCommand to drop users into their own docker container
- isolate user processes and network stacks with kernel namespaces while persisting home directories

## When to choose
- you run a multi-user Linux box and want lightweight per-user isolation without running separate ssh daemons per container
- you want users' home directories mounted from the host so data persists across container restarts
- you need a single ssh entry point that routes each user into their own container

## When to avoid
- you need actively maintained software - the project is officially archived and unmaintained
- you need strong security guarantees - the suid binary and privilege-dropping design carry known root-exploitation risk
- you want user namespace hardening or modern Docker isolation features that postdate this tool
- you are not on Linux with Docker available

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: abandoned
- function: container-runtime, security, cli, ssh
- domain: security, developer-tools, self-hosted
- platform: cli
- tags: login-shell, docker-containers, user-isolation, ssh-forcecommand, archived, go, containers, linux, docker

## Member repositories
- YelpArchive/dockersh (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:12.726996+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 2026-08-30T05:03:05.940135+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/YelpArchive/dockersh (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:12.726996+00:00, sha 2f03404c23f9)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.