Docker on your VPS, without wrestling with commands

Docker is enabled from the panel and the host permissions are adjusted for you: no wrestling with the storage driver or with cgroups. After that you see and control everything that's running — images, containers, their logs, volumes and networks — in clear lists with one-click actions. And over SSH you still have the same old docker, with real root, for everything else.

  • One-click install
  • Logs with date filters
  • Isolated by default

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Here's what it looks like in the panel

Docker: Running containers
Running containers. The n8n stack running on Docker, seen from the panel terminal.

The Docker you use every day, in plain sight

And over SSH you still have the same old docker for everything else.

  • Guided install: The permissions Docker needs on the host are checked and enabled, Docker ends up installed and running, and you watch the progress step by step from the panel.
  • Engine status: Whether the host is ready, the state of the service, the version and the storage driver actually in use. No guessing why something won't come up.
  • Images: Repository, tag, size, date and digest. Delete by name or by ID, with a force option when stopped containers are still hanging off the image.
  • Containers: All of them, stopped ones included. Detail view with state, published ports, processes, networks, volumes and source image. Stop, restart or remove in one click.
  • Per-container logs: Split into date and message, up to 1000 lines, with a range filter — the last 10 minutes or between two dates — and near real-time refresh. It's what you look up most over SSH and what's least comfortable to read there.
  • Volumes: Create and delete volumes with their driver, labels and options, and see which ones each container is using.
  • Networks: Create and delete networks, choosing the driver, subnet, gateway, whether other containers can attach and whether the network is internal only.
  • Isolated out of the box: Each container runs with its own network namespace and with user namespace remapping (userns-remap): root inside the container is not root on the VPS.
  • docker compose with no restrictions: You have root over SSH and the full Docker. The panel doesn't lock you into an interface: it shows and controls whatever you bring up, however you bring it up.
  • n8n containers, protected: If you installed n8n from the panel, its stack is managed from its own section so an absent-minded delete doesn't break the installation.

Docker ready in five steps

  1. Enable Docker: One click in the panel. The host permissions are configured for you and the VPS may reboot once to apply them.
  2. Check the engine status: The panel shows you the version, the service and the storage driver in use. If something didn't come out right, you see it here and not buried in a log.
  3. Bring up your containers: With docker or docker compose over SSH, or by letting your GitHub deploy bring them up.
  4. Control them from the panel: State, ports, logs with date filters, restarts, volumes and networks, without opening a terminal.
  5. Publish them with a domain and HTTPS: The VPS's nginx proxies to the container's port and the certificate is issued and renewed for you.

How it works underneath, and what to keep in mind

  • Your VPS is a system container, so Docker runs nested. That's why it uses fuse-overlayfs as the storage driver instead of overlay2: it's what lets you have containers inside a container without host privileges.
  • Enabling Docker changes host permissions and can reboot the VPS. The panel asks you to confirm: do it in a maintenance window, not with traffic on top of you.
  • It needs systemd running and a Debian or Ubuntu base. It's verified in production on Ubuntu 22.04 and compatible with 20.04, 24.04 and 26.04.
  • It isn't available on Ubuntu 16.04 or 18.04, for a specific reason: neither one packages fuse-overlayfs, which is exactly the driver Docker needs to run nested.
  • User namespace remapping (userns-remap) is on out of the box. It's the difference between a compromised container that stays inside and one that gets out to the VPS.
  • The panel is for inspecting and managing what's already running. Containers are created with docker or docker compose over SSH, or from your deploys: there's no "create container" form, on purpose.
  • Docker asks for real memory. On the smallest plan it's a tight fit; from VPS 2 up it's among the plan's recommended applications, alongside Docker Compose.
  • Logs are read from the daemon itself, with a limit of 1000 lines per query. For a service that spits out a lot, filter by date range instead of asking for everything.
  • If you installed n8n from the panel, its containers are marked as protected and are handled from the n8n section, not from the general list.
  • Real root over SSH: the panel is a shortcut, not a cage. Anything it does with a button, you can also do by hand.

Or just ask Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor

Everything you see in the panel, your AI agent can do through the ArduMaker MCP server: with your authorization, within the scope you grant, and with every action audited. See what the MCP does

Frequently asked questions

Can I run Docker on my VPS?

Yes. You enable it from the panel in one click and the host permissions are adjusted for you. There's nothing to install by hand and no storage driver to choose.

Is there a web panel to manage Docker without SSH?

Yes, that's exactly this: images, containers with their detail and their ports, logs with date filters, volumes and networks, all from the browser. Containers are created with docker or docker compose, which is where having the real command is worth it.

Can I use docker compose?

Yes, with no restrictions. You have root over SSH and the full Docker; the panel shows and controls what you bring up without forcing you to go through it.

Why fuse-overlayfs and not overlay2?

Because your VPS is a system container and Docker runs nested inside it. overlay2 needs host privileges that make no sense to hand a VPS; fuse-overlayfs does the same job in user space. It's also why Docker isn't available on Ubuntu 16.04 or 18.04: neither one packages it.

Can I read a container's logs without SSH?

Yes, up to 1000 lines, split into date and message, filtered by the last 10 minutes or between two dates, with near real-time refresh.

Can I create networks with my own subnet?

Yes, choosing the driver, subnet, gateway, whether other containers can attach and whether the network is internal only, which is what you want for a database.

Does enabling Docker reboot the VPS?

It can, because it changes host permissions. The panel asks you to confirm first: enable it in a maintenance window.

Which plan do I need to run containers?

Docker works from the smallest plan, but it's a tight fit there. From VPS 2 up it's listed among the plan's recommended applications, alongside Docker Compose, because that's where the memory is comfortable for several containers.

Are the containers isolated from the VPS?

Each one runs with its own network namespace and with user namespace remapping on out of the box, so root inside the container is not root on the VPS.

Services that go well together

  • n8n: Automations with queue-mode workers, Postgres and Redis included, a custom domain with HTTPS, and updates with rollback.
  • GitHub deploys: Link a repo and every push to your chosen branch updates your app on the VPS, with build and restart scripts.
  • Web terminal: Persistent in-browser terminals built on tmux that survive dropped connections and disconnects.

Containers under control from day one Enable Docker in one click, without configuring the storage driver or the permissions. See plans