FAQ

Can it break my containers?

Not on its own. It starts in observe mode and changes nothing until you set suggest (it asks before every action) or auto (it acts only where you allowed it). Even then the model can only pick one of five fixed actions - restart, stop, prune dangling images, notify, or nothing - and a deterministic policy engine decides whether that action may run, inside per-container and host-wide rate limits and cooldowns. The socket proxy makes creating a container impossible whatever the mode, and the dashboard refuses every request until a password or OIDC sign-in is configured. See How it works.

What is sent to the model?

The evidence for one incident: the rule that fired, the container’s state and configuration, what changed on it, its stack’s neighbours, the host’s state, and a tail of its logs with secrets redacted by pattern, best effort. Nothing is sent until a rule has already opened an incident, and identical failures reuse a cached diagnosis. Every request sent can be read back on the dashboard’s LLM page. See Models and cost and Security.

What does it cost?

One diagnosis is roughly 1,500 tokens in and 200 out. A model is only called when a rule has opened an incident, so a normal week is a handful of calls - cents a month on a cheap model, nothing on a free tier or a local one. A daily budget (DOCTOR_DAILY_USD_BUDGET) and call cap stop new calls either way; the budget is checked against recorded spend, so for an absolute ceiling also set a limit with the provider.

Does it work without a model?

Yes. It still detects incidents, folds and resolves them, and shows everything on the dashboard; it just cannot explain them.

Does it need internet access?

Only for what you use: the model’s API (unless the model is local), the registries for the update check, your ntfy server, GitHub for Redeploy, and the internet and DNS checks you configure.

Which hosts and Docker setups does it support?

One Linux host running Docker, deployed however you like - plain docker compose, Portainer, Coolify, Komodo, Dockge. A Synology is detected and its DSM layout handled. Swarm and Kubernetes are not supported. See Installation.

Why does it need a socket proxy?

Because the raw Docker socket is root on the host. The proxy lets the doctor list, inspect, read logs and restart, and nothing that could escape a container. See The socket proxy.

How do I update it?

Pin a release, ghcr.io/sebastianbuechler/container-doctor:X.Y.Z@sha256:..., and let Dependabot or Renovate propose the next one - or track latest, which moves only with a release. Every release is listed on GitHub.