Rustainer: Lightweight Container Management UI

Press Release

Ataiva Releases Rustainer: Simplified Container Management Built in Rust

For immediate release - April 17, 2025

Sub-headline

Rustainer delivers a lightweight, secure container management interface with domain-based routing, making Docker container deployment and management accessible to developers of all skill levels.

The Problem

Container management has become increasingly complex, with many existing solutions being either overly complicated for simple use cases or too resource-intensive for smaller deployments. Developers and small teams often struggle with the steep learning curve and resource requirements of enterprise container management platforms, while still needing the ability to easily deploy and manage containerized applications with domain-based routing. This complexity creates unnecessary barriers to container adoption and efficient application deployment.

The Solution

Rustainer addresses these challenges with a lightweight container management UI built in Rust, inspired by tools like Portainer and Dockge but with a focus on simplicity and efficiency. The solution combines a proxy server that routes traffic to Docker containers based on domain names with an intuitive admin interface for managing containers, applications, and configurations. With its minimal resource footprint and straightforward approach, Rustainer makes container management accessible to developers of all skill levels while providing the essential features needed for effective container deployment and routing.

Community Quote

“Rustainer has completely transformed how our team manages containers,” says Emily Chen, Lead Developer at WebScale Solutions. “Before discovering this tool, we were struggling with overly complex container management platforms that consumed too many resources and required extensive training. With Rustainer, we’ve simplified our workflow dramatically. The domain-based routing is incredibly intuitive, and the lightweight admin UI gives us just what we need without the bloat. Our junior developers can now deploy containerized applications confidently, and we’ve reduced our management overhead by at least 60%. The fact that it’s built in Rust also means it’s incredibly stable and efficient—we’ve had zero issues with the management interface itself since deployment.”

How It Works

Rustainer employs a dual-component architecture that makes container management straightforward:

The system consists of two main components working together seamlessly. First, a proxy server running on port 80 intelligently routes incoming HTTP requests to the appropriate container based on the domain name in the request. This enables easy domain-based routing without complex configuration. Second, an admin UI accessible on port 3000 provides a clean, intuitive web interface for managing containers, applications, and configurations.

Built with Rust using the Axum web framework, Rustainer delivers exceptional performance and security with minimal resource usage. The frontend uses server-side rendered HTML with Askama templates and custom CSS with dark/light theme support. The system integrates directly with the Docker API through the Bollard Rust client, stores configuration in SQLite with SQLx, and implements JWT-based authentication for secure access.

This architecture provides a perfect balance of simplicity and functionality, allowing developers to focus on their applications rather than complex container management.

Availability

Rustainer is available now as an open source project under the MIT license. Developers can access the source code, documentation, and installation instructions on the GitHub repository .

Get Started Today

Start simplifying your container management with Rustainer. Visit the GitHub repository to download the tool and contribute to its development.

Frequently Asked Questions

Project Questions

What is Rustainer?
Rustainer is a lightweight container management UI built in Rust, inspired by tools like Portainer and Dockge. It provides a simple yet powerful interface for managing Docker containers, with a focus on domain-based routing and ease of use. The system consists of two main components: a proxy server on port 80 that routes traffic to containers based on domain names, and an admin UI on port 3000 for managing containers, applications, and configurations.

Why was Rustainer created?
Rustainer was created to address the gap between overly complex enterprise container management platforms and the needs of individual developers or small teams. Many existing solutions are either too resource-intensive or have steep learning curves, creating barriers to efficient container management. Rustainer aims to provide just the essential features needed for effective container deployment and management, with a focus on simplicity, performance, and security through its implementation in Rust.

What features does Rustainer offer?
Rustainer provides several key features:

• Container Management: View, create, start, stop, and restart Docker containers
• Application Management: Deploy applications with domain-based routing
• Domain Routing: Route traffic to containers based on domain names
• Admin UI: Simple and intuitive web interface for management
• Authentication: Secure access with JWT-based authentication
• Docker Integration: Direct integration with Docker API
• Light/Dark Theme: Support for both light and dark UI themes

How does Rustainer compare to other container management tools?
Rustainer differentiates itself from other container management tools in several ways:

• Lightweight: Minimal resource footprint compared to enterprise solutions
• Rust-based: Built with Rust for performance, security, and reliability
• Focused Feature Set: Provides essential features without unnecessary complexity
• Domain Routing: Integrated proxy for simple domain-based routing
• Simple UI: Clean, intuitive interface that’s easy to learn and use
• Low Overhead: Designed to run efficiently even on modest hardware
• Open Source: Free to use and modify under the MIT license

Technical Questions

What is Rustainer’s architecture?
Rustainer consists of two main components:

1. Proxy Server (Port 80): Routes incoming HTTP requests to the appropriate container based on the domain name in the request
2. Admin UI (Port 3000): Web interface for managing containers, applications, and configurations

These components work together to provide a complete container management solution with domain-based routing.

What technologies does Rustainer use?
Rustainer is built with a modern tech stack:

• Backend: Rust with Axum web framework
• Frontend: Server-side rendered HTML with Askama templates
• Styling: Custom CSS with dark/light theme support
• Docker API: Bollard Rust client
• Database: SQLite with SQLx
• Authentication: JWT tokens

This combination provides excellent performance, security, and reliability with minimal resource usage.

How does Rustainer’s domain routing work?
Rustainer’s proxy server examines the domain name in incoming HTTP requests and routes them to the appropriate container based on configuration stored in the database. This allows you to:

1. Configure domain names for your applications in the admin UI
2. Point DNS records for those domains to your Rustainer server
3. Have requests automatically routed to the correct container

This approach simplifies deployment by eliminating the need for complex reverse proxy configurations.

Is Rustainer secure?
Yes, Rustainer implements several security measures:

• JWT-based authentication for the admin interface
• Secure default configurations
• Memory safety through Rust’s ownership model
• Regular security updates
• Minimal attack surface due to focused feature set
• Careful handling of Docker API access

However, as with any management tool that interfaces with Docker, it’s important to control access to the Rustainer interface itself.

Implementation Questions

What are the prerequisites for running Rustainer?
To run Rustainer, you need:

• Rust (latest stable)
• Docker Engine
• SQLite

How do I install Rustainer?
Installation is straightforward:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ao/rustainer.git
cd rustainer

# Build the project
cargo build --release

# Run the application
./target/release/rustainer

After installation, you can access the web interface at http://localhost:3000 and log in with the default credentials (username: admin, password: admin).

How do I deploy applications with Rustainer?
Deploying applications with Rustainer is simple:

1. Log in to the admin UI at http://localhost:3000
2. Navigate to the “Applications” section
3. Click “Create Application”
4. Provide application details including the Docker image and domain name
5. Configure any required environment variables, volumes, or network settings
6. Click “Deploy”

Rustainer will create and start the container, and configure the proxy to route requests for the specified domain to your application.

What is the project structure of Rustainer?
Rustainer follows a well-organized project structure:

rustainer/
├── src/
│   ├── api/           # API handlers for REST endpoints
│   ├── auth/          # Authentication and authorization
│   ├── config/        # Configuration management
│   ├── db/            # Database operations and migrations
│   ├── docker/        # Docker API interactions
│   ├── models/        # Data models
│   ├── proxy/         # Proxy server implementation
│   ├── static/        # Static assets (CSS, JS)
│   ├── templates/     # HTML templates
│   ├── web/           # Web handlers for UI pages
│   └── main.rs        # Application entry point
├── data/              # Application data (database)

This structure makes it easy to understand and contribute to the project.

Community & Support Questions

How can I contribute to Rustainer?
Contributions to Rustainer are welcome in many forms:

• Code contributions via pull requests
• Bug reports and feature requests via GitHub issues
• Documentation improvements
• Testing across different environments
• Sharing use cases and examples
• UI/UX improvements
• Security reviews

Where can I get help with Rustainer?
Support resources include:

• GitHub issues for bug reports and feature requests
• Documentation in the GitHub repository
• Community discussions in the repository’s Discussions section
• Example configurations and tutorials

Is Rustainer production-ready?
Rustainer is being actively developed and tested. While many users successfully deploy it in production environments, we recommend thorough testing in your specific environment before critical deployments. The project follows semantic versioning, and releases marked as stable are suitable for production use.

What’s on the Rustainer roadmap?
Upcoming features and improvements include:

• Enhanced monitoring and metrics
• Additional authentication methods
• Support for Docker Swarm and Kubernetes
• Backup and restore functionality
• Advanced networking options
• Plugin system for extensibility
• Multi-user support with role-based access control

Key Features

Architecture

Tech Stack

Getting Started

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ao/rustainer.git
cd rustainer

# Build the project
cargo build --release

# Run the application
./target/release/rustainer

# Access the web interface
# URL: http://localhost:3000
# Default login:
# - Username: admin
# - Password: admin