Remote Hosts (SSH)
Manage remote Docker hosts over SSH tunnels and switch between them from the host selector.
Dockerman connects to remote Docker daemons by forwarding their Unix sockets over SSH. Core Docker operations, logs, and terminals work through the forwarded API, but runtime- and host-dependent features may differ from those available on localhost. For example, Dockerman does not support Compose on Podman targets.
Add a remote host
After adding a host, switch to it like any other Docker target.
Open Hosts
Open the Hosts view or use the Host Switcher in the main window.
Click Add Host
Click Add Host to open the connection dialog.
Fill in the SSH details
Enter the SSH connection details the dialog asks for.
Choose a runtime preference
Select Auto, Docker, or Podman. Auto probes the remote host and connects to the first runtime socket it detects. Podman mode discovers rootless ($XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/podman/podman.sock) and rootful (/run/podman/podman.sock) sockets.
Test and save
Test the connection before saving. Dockerman opens a tunnel for the test, probes the runtime, and displays the detected type.
Switch between hosts
Use the Host Switcher in the top bar to move between localhost and any configured remote host. Switching hosts reloads the data for the newly selected target.
Auto reconnect
Dockerman monitors the SSH tunnel and retries after 3, 5, and 10 seconds. If every attempt fails, it opens the connection failure dialog.
How the SSH tunnel works
Dockerman opens an SSH session and forwards a local Unix socket to the remote runtime socket. It uses /var/run/docker.sock by default for Docker and the detected socket for Podman. Docker API traffic for that host flows through the tunnel. Registry, update, analytics, and other application traffic use separate connections and are not routed through SSH.
Security notes
Configure only trusted remote hosts, and connect to them only over trusted networks.