Keep your containers updated with What's up Docker?

Container Cadence

© Lead Image © Ulrich Müller, 123RF.com

© Lead Image © Ulrich Müller, 123RF.com

Article from Issue 301/2025
Author(s):

Keeping multiple Docker containers updated reliably can become quite a challenge. Enter What's up Docker?

When you start running various services in containers on your home servers, you'll need a reliable method to keep them updated. Projects continuously release new versions, not only to introduce new features, but also to address security vulnerabilities. So even if you're satisfied with the current feature set, neglecting updates can expose you to security risks.

However, updating your containers also comes with some risks. A new version might introduce incompatible changes, demanding your attention. In the worst case, you need to spend several hours resolving those issues, and of course this always happens at the most inconvenient times. So it's not recommended to just periodically update all your containers to the latest version or automatically install every new release and hope for the best.

Best Practices

How do you manage these risks? Before performing any updates, you should review the release notes of each new container version to check for breaking changes. However, this requires finding these release notes first. Therefore, you need a system that notifies you when a new update becomes available, preferably with a direct link to the release notes to save time.

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