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Overview

The Stacks page provides comprehensive management of Docker Compose applications (stacks). It combines local compose file management with powerful Git integration, allowing you to deploy, monitor, and control multi-container applications with ease.

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Key Features

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Stack Management

  • Docker Compose Support: Full support for Docker Compose v2+ specifications
  • Git Integration: Deploy stacks directly from Git repositories
  • Stack Sources: Internal (database-stored), Git-based, or external (file-based)
  • Real-Time Status: Live updates for all containers within a stack
  • Aggregate Metrics: Combined CPU, memory, and network statistics for all stack containers

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Stack Operations

Lifecycle Management:
  • Start: Start all stopped containers in a stack
  • Stop: Stop all running containers without removing them
  • Restart: Restart all containers in a stack
  • Down: Stop and remove all containers, networks, and volumes
  • Deploy: Deploy or redeploy from Git repository
Bulk Operations:
  • Select multiple stacks for batch operations
  • Bulk start, stop, restart, or remove stacks
  • Execute operations in parallel for faster processing

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Git Integration Features

Repository Management:
  • Store multiple Git repositories with credentials
  • Support for public and private repositories
  • SSH and HTTPS authentication
  • Branch selection and automatic updates
Stack Deployment:
  • Deploy from compose files in Git repositories
  • Configure compose file path (default: compose.yaml)
  • Environment variables stored separately from Git
  • Automatic webhook support for CI/CD pipelines
Auto-Update:
  • Schedule automatic pulls from Git
  • Daily, weekly, or custom cron expressions
  • Manual trigger for immediate updates
  • Webhook integration for push-based updates

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Stack Types

Internal Stacks:
  • Compose files stored in Dockhand database
  • Inline YAML editor with syntax highlighting
  • Environment variable management
  • Easy editing and version control
Git Stacks:
  • Linked to Git repositories
  • Automatic synchronization
  • Supports multi-file compose setups
  • Environment variable overrides
External Stacks:
  • Detected from compose files on disk
  • File path stored for future operations
  • Can be “adopted” to convert to internal stack

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Container Details View

Expand stacks to see all containers:
  • Container name and status
  • Image name and tag
  • Health check status
  • Uptime and resource usage
  • IP address and ports
  • Network and volume information
Per-Container Actions:
  • Start/stop individual containers
  • Restart or pause containers
  • View logs for specific container
  • Open terminal session
  • Inspect container details
  • Browse container filesystem
  • Text Search: Filter by stack name or status
  • Status Filter: Running, partial, stopped, created, not deployed
  • Multi-Status Selection: Combine multiple status filters
  • Driver Filter: Filter by network driver type
  • Persistent Filters: Saved to local storage

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UI Features

Expandable Rows:
  • Click stack name to expand/collapse
  • Shows all containers with details
  • Sparkline graphs for resource trends
  • Per-container action buttons
Status Indicators:
  • Running: All containers running (green)
  • Partial: Some containers running (amber)
  • Stopped: All containers stopped (red)
  • Created: Stack created but not deployed (gray)
  • Not Deployed: Git stack not yet deployed (violet)
Layout Modes:
  • Horizontal: Logs panel at bottom
  • Vertical: Logs panel on right side
  • Resizable panel widths
  • Persistent layout preference

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How to Use

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Creating an Internal Stack

  1. Click the Create button
  2. Configure Stack:
    • Enter a unique stack name
    • Paste or write your Docker Compose YAML
    • Add environment variables (optional)
  3. Validation:
    • YAML syntax is validated automatically
    • Errors are highlighted inline
  4. Click Create to save and deploy
  5. Stack deploys automatically after creation

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Deploying from Git

  1. Click From Git button
  2. Select or Add Repository:
    • Choose existing repository
    • Or add new repository with URL and credentials
  3. Configure Deployment:
    • Enter stack name
    • Select branch (default: main)
    • Set compose file path (default: compose.yaml)
    • Add environment variables
  4. Advanced Options:
    • Enable auto-update with schedule
    • Configure webhook for push-based deployment
  5. Click Deploy to start deployment
  6. Monitor progress in real-time

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Adopting an External Stack

  1. Click Adopt button
  2. External stacks are listed (detected from compose files)
  3. Select stack to adopt
  4. Review compose file content
  5. Click Adopt to convert to internal stack
  6. Stack is now editable in Dockhand

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Managing Stack Lifecycle

Starting a Stack:
  1. Find stopped stack in the list
  2. Click the Start button or select and use bulk action
  3. All containers start in dependency order
  4. Status updates to “Running” or “Partial”
Stopping a Stack:
  1. Find running stack
  2. Click Stop button
  3. Confirmation dialog appears
  4. Containers stop gracefully (10s timeout, then force kill)
Bringing Down a Stack:
  1. Click Down button (⬇️ icon)
  2. Confirm destructive action
  3. Containers, networks, and anonymous volumes are removed
  4. Named volumes are preserved

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Editing Stacks

Internal Stacks:
  1. Click the stack name
  2. YAML editor opens with current compose file
  3. Make changes and click Save
  4. Stack automatically redeploys with new configuration
Git Stacks:
  1. Click the Git icon to open Git stack modal
  2. View repository, branch, and compose path
  3. Change branch or compose path if needed
  4. Update environment variables
  5. Click Redeploy to pull latest changes

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Viewing Logs

All Stack Logs:
  1. Click Logs icon on stack row
  2. Navigates to Logs page with all stack containers pre-selected
  3. Logs are interleaved by timestamp
  4. Stack name shown in filter
Individual Container Logs:
  1. Expand stack to show containers
  2. Click Logs icon on specific container
  3. Logs panel opens at bottom (or side)
  4. Real-time streaming with search

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Managing Environment Variables

  1. Open stack for editing
  2. Click Environment Variables tab
  3. Add variables:
    • Key=Value pairs
    • Supports multiline values
    • Auto-complete for common variables
  4. Variables are encrypted in database
  5. Variables override .env files from Git

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UI Walkthrough

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Header Section

  • Title: “Compose stacks” with total count
  • Expand/Collapse All: Toggle all stacks at once
  • Search Bar: Filter stacks by name or status
  • Status Filter: Multi-select for stack states
  • Refresh: Manually refresh stack list
  • Layout Toggle: Switch between horizontal/vertical
  • From Git: Deploy stack from Git repository
  • Create: Create new internal stack
  • Adopt: Convert external stack to internal

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Selection Bar

Appears when stacks are selected:
  • Number of selected stacks
  • Clear: Deselect all stacks
  • Start: Start selected stopped stacks
  • Restart: Restart selected running stacks
  • Stop: Stop selected running stacks
  • Down: Remove selected stacks
  • Remove: Delete selected stack definitions

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Stack Table

Columns:
  • Checkbox: Select for bulk operations
  • Expand: Arrow icon to show/hide containers
  • Name: Stack name (clickable for internal stacks)
  • Status: Running/Partial/Stopped/Not deployed
  • Containers: Number of containers in stack
  • Source: Internal/Git/External badge
  • Environment Variables: Count badge (if any)
  • CPU: Aggregate CPU usage
  • Memory: Total memory usage
  • Networks: Number of unique networks
  • Volumes: Total volume count
  • Actions: Quick action buttons
Action Icons:
  • Git: Open Git stack configuration (Git stacks only)
  • Edit: Edit compose file (Internal stacks only)
  • Start/Stop: Control stack lifecycle
  • Restart: Restart all containers
  • Down: Stop and remove stack
  • Logs: View aggregated logs
  • Remove: Delete stack definition

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Expanded Container View

Container Columns:
  • Name: Container name
  • Image: Image name and tag
  • Status: Running/Stopped/Paused/Exited
  • Health: Health check status with icon
  • Uptime: Time since container started
  • IP: Container IP address
  • Ports: Published ports (clickable)
  • CPU/Memory: Resource usage with sparklines
  • Network: Rx/Tx with trend graph
  • Disk: Read/Write with trend graph
  • Actions: Per-container controls

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Real Examples

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Example: WordPress Stack

version: '3.8'

services:
  wordpress:
    image: wordpress:latest
    ports:
      - 8080:80
    environment:
      WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db
      WORDPRESS_DB_USER: ${DB_USER}
      WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
      WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: ${DB_NAME}
    volumes:
      - wordpress-data:/var/www/html
    depends_on:
      - db
    restart: unless-stopped

  db:
    image: mysql:8.0
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: ${DB_ROOT_PASSWORD}
      MYSQL_DATABASE: ${DB_NAME}
      MYSQL_USER: ${DB_USER}
      MYSQL_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/mysql
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  wordpress-data:
  db-data:
Environment Variables: 
DB_USER=wpuser
DB_PASSWORD=secret123
DB_NAME=wordpress
DB_ROOT_PASSWORD=rootsecret

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Example: Microservices Stack

version: '3.8'

services:
  frontend:
    image: myapp/frontend:${VERSION}
    ports:
      - 80:80
      - 443:443
    networks:
      - frontend-net
    restart: unless-stopped

  api:
    image: myapp/api:${VERSION}
    ports:
      - 3000:3000
    environment:
      DATABASE_URL: postgresql://db:5432/myapp
      REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379
    networks:
      - frontend-net
      - backend-net
    depends_on:
      - db
      - redis
    restart: unless-stopped

  db:
    image: postgres:15
    environment:
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
      POSTGRES_DB: myapp
    volumes:
      - db-data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
    networks:
      - backend-net
    restart: unless-stopped

  redis:
    image: redis:7-alpine
    networks:
      - backend-net
    restart: unless-stopped

networks:
  frontend-net:
  backend-net:

volumes:
  db-data:

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Example: Git Repository Structure

my-app-repo/
├── compose.yaml          # Main compose file
├── .env.example          # Example environment variables
├── README.md
├── app/
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── src/
└── nginx/
    ├── Dockerfile
    └── nginx.conf
Git Stack Configuration:
  • Repository URL: https://github.com/myorg/my-app.git
  • Branch: main
  • Compose Path: compose.yaml
  • Auto-Update: Daily at 3:00 AM
  • Webhook: Enabled with secret token

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Database Schema

compose_stacks (Internal stacks):
  • Stack name and environment ID
  • Compose file content (YAML)
  • Source type: internal, external, git
  • Compose file path (for external)
  • Repository and branch info (for Git)
  • Created and updated timestamps
stack_environment_variables:
  • Stack-specific environment variables
  • Encrypted values
  • Overrides for Git-based stacks
git_repositories:
  • Repository URL and credentials
  • Branch and compose file path
  • Auto-update schedule and cron expression
  • Webhook configuration
git_stacks:
  • Links stacks to Git repositories
  • Deploy status and last deployment time
  • Error messages from failed deployments

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Technical Details

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Compose File Processing

  • YAML Parsing: Uses js-yaml for syntax validation
  • Variable Substitution: Environment variables expanded at runtime
  • Multi-File Support: Supports compose file inheritance
  • Validation: Pre-deployment validation of compose syntax

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Git Operations

  • Clone: Shallow clone for faster deployment
  • Pull: Fetch latest changes from branch
  • Authentication: SSH keys or HTTPS credentials
  • Webhooks: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket compatible

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API Endpoints

  • GET /api/stacks - List all stacks
  • POST /api/stacks - Create internal stack
  • GET /api/stacks/sources - Get stack sources
  • GET /api/stacks/:name - Get stack details
  • PUT /api/stacks/:name - Update stack
  • DELETE /api/stacks/:name - Remove stack
  • POST /api/stacks/:name/start - Start stack
  • POST /api/stacks/:name/stop - Stop stack
  • POST /api/stacks/:name/restart - Restart stack
  • POST /api/stacks/:name/down - Bring down stack
  • GET /api/git/stacks - List Git stacks
  • POST /api/git/stacks/deploy - Deploy Git stack
  • POST /api/git/stacks/:name/redeploy - Redeploy Git stack

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