Bits of .NET

🔄 One CLI, Multiple Docker Daemons

Docker CLI talks to local daemon. Docker context switches to remote daemon. Build on local, deploy to remote. No SSH or env vars.

📝 Create and Use Contexts

# List contexts
docker context ls

# Create context for remote Docker (with SSH)
docker context create remote --docker host=ssh://user@remote-server

# Create context for Docker Desktop
docker context create desktop --docker host=unix:///var/run/docker.sock

# Create context for cloud VM
docker context create cloud --docker host=tcp://cloud-vm:2376 --docker ca=ca.pem --docker cert=cert.pem --docker key=key.pem

# Switch context
docker context use remote

# Run commands (now on remote)
docker ps
docker build -t myapp .

# Back to local
docker context use default

🎯 Real-World Workflow

# Development (local)
docker context use default
docker build -t myapp:dev .
docker run myapp:dev

# Testing (staging server)
docker context use staging
docker build -t myapp:staging .
docker push myapp:staging

# Production (with SSH)
docker context use prod
docker pull myapp:prod
docker-compose up -d

💡 Use Cases

• Build on powerful local machine, deploy to remote server
• Manage multiple cloud clusters from one CLI
• Test different Docker versions (contexts to different hosts)
• CI/CD runners switching between environments