How To Install Dozzle on Manjaro

Running Docker containers without a proper log viewer is like driving with no dashboard. You can keep the car moving, but you won’t know when something’s about to break. That’s the exact problem Dozzle solves. If you’re managing containers on Manjaro and still relying on docker logs commands in the terminal every time something goes wrong, this guide will change your workflow.

What Is Dozzle?

Dozzle is a lightweight, open-source, real-time log viewer for Docker containers. It runs as its own container and gives you a clean, browser-based interface where you can watch logs stream live from all your running containers. No databases, no extra agents for basic use, no bloated dashboards you’ll barely touch.

The project is sponsored by Docker OSS and built using a Go backend with a Vue 3 frontend. That combination keeps it fast and resource-efficient. It uses SSE (Server-Sent Events) and WebSockets for log streaming, which means you get truly real-time updates without hammering your system with polling requests.

Beyond basic log viewing, Dozzle supports Docker Swarm, Kubernetes, and multi-host monitoring through a distributed agent architecture using gRPC. It automatically detects JSON-formatted logs and color-codes them for readability. You can search logs using regex, split the screen to view multiple containers side by side, and even attach to a running container shell directly through the web UI. As of version 8.9.0 released in December 2024, it also supports user-specific scope filters, letting you control which containers each user can see.

Prerequisites

Before you install Dozzle, make sure your Manjaro system has the following ready:

• Docker installed and running — Dozzle runs as a Docker container, so Docker is non-negotiable
• sudo access — You’ll need it for several commands in this guide
• A terminal emulator — Konsole, GNOME Terminal, or whatever you prefer
• An internet connection — To pull the Dozzle image from Docker Hub or GitHub Container Registry

Step 1: Install Docker on Manjaro

Manjaro uses pacman as its package manager. Installing Docker is straightforward. Open your terminal and run:

sudo pacman -Syu

This updates your package database and upgrades installed packages. Always do this before adding new software on Manjaro. Then install Docker:

sudo pacman -S docker

Once installation finishes, enable and start the Docker service using systemd:

sudo systemctl enable docker
sudo systemctl start docker

Now verify that Docker is running:

sudo systemctl status docker

You should see a green “active (running)” status. If you don’t want to type sudo before every Docker command, add your user to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Log out and log back in for the group change to take effect. After that, verify by running:

docker --version

You’ll see something like Docker version 25.x.x confirming the installation is good.

Step 2: Install Docker Compose (Optional but Recommended)

You can run Dozzle with a single docker run command, but using Docker Compose makes the configuration easier to manage, especially if you plan to add more containers to your stack later. On Manjaro, install Docker Compose with:

sudo pacman -S docker-compose

Verify the install:

docker-compose --version

If you’re running a newer version of Docker (version 20.10+), Docker Compose v2 may already be bundled as a plugin. You can check with docker compose version (no hyphen). Either version works for this guide.

Step 3: Install Dozzle Using Docker CLI

The quickest way to get Dozzle running is a single Docker command. This method requires zero configuration files. Just run:

docker run -d \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  --name dozzle \
  amir20/dozzle:latest

Here’s what each flag does:

• -d — Runs the container in detached mode (background)
• -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock — Mounts the Docker socket so Dozzle can read logs from other containers
• -p 8080:8080 — Maps port 8080 on your host to port 8080 inside the container
• --name dozzle — Gives the container a readable name
• amir20/dozzle:latest — Pulls the latest Dozzle image from Docker Hub

If Docker Hub is blocked on your network, use the GitHub Container Registry alternative instead:

docker run -d \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  --name dozzle \
  ghcr.io/amir20/dozzle:latest

Once the command completes, open your browser and go to http://localhost:8080. You’ll see the Dozzle web interface with all your running containers listed in the sidebar.

Step 4: Install Dozzle Using Docker Compose

If you prefer a cleaner, file-based setup, create a directory for your Dozzle configuration:

mkdir -p ~/docker/dozzle
cd ~/docker/dozzle

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

nano docker-compose.yml

Paste in the following configuration:

services:
  dozzle:
    image: amir20/dozzle:latest
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
    ports:
      - 8080:8080
    environment:
      # Uncomment to enable container actions
      # - DOZZLE_ENABLE_ACTIONS=true
      # Uncomment to allow shell access
      # - DOZZLE_ENABLE_SHELL=true
      # Uncomment to enable authentication
      # - DOZZLE_AUTH_PROVIDER=simple

Save and exit with Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter. Now bring the container up:

docker-compose up -d

Verify it’s running with:

docker ps

Look for a container named dozzle with a status of “Up.” Then open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

Step 5: Use a Custom Port (Optional)

Port conflicts happen, especially if you’re running multiple services on the same machine. Nginx, Apache, or other web apps commonly occupy port 8080. If you hit a conflict, pick a free port. A common alternative is 9999:

docker run -d \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -p 9999:8080 \
  --name dozzle \
  amir20/dozzle:latest

Access Dozzle at http://localhost:9999. The internal port (8080) never changes; only the external one does.

Step 6: Verify Dozzle Is Working

Open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:8080. You should see the Dozzle dashboard with all your running Docker containers listed in the left sidebar. Click on any container name to stream its logs in real time.

To confirm via the terminal, run:

docker logs dozzle

You should see output similar to:

time="2026-03-02T06:00:00Z" level=info msg="Dozzle version X.X.X"
time="2026-03-02T06:00:00Z" level=info msg="Listening on :8080"

If the container fails to start, check for port conflicts with:

sudo ss -tulpn | grep 8080

Step 7: Configure Authentication

By default, Dozzle has no authentication. Anyone who can reach port 8080 can view all your container logs. For a local workstation this might be fine, but for a server accessible on a network, you’ll want to lock it down.

Enable the simple authentication provider by adding the environment variable to your Docker Compose file:

environment:
  - DOZZLE_AUTH_PROVIDER=simple

Then create a users.yml file in the same directory:

users:
  admin:
    name: Admin
    password: $2y$10$yourbcrypthashedpasswordhere
    filter:
  guest:
    name: Guest
    password: $2y$10$guestpasswordhashhere
    filter: "label=com.example.app"

Generate bcrypt password hashes using:

docker run --rm amir20/dozzle:latest generate --name "Admin" --password yourpassword --email admin@example.com

Mount the file into the container by updating your compose file:

volumes:
  - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
  - ./users.yml:/data/users.yml

Restart the container with:

docker-compose down && docker-compose up -d

Now when you open Dozzle in the browser, you’ll be prompted for credentials.

Step 8: Enable Container Actions (Optional)

With container actions enabled, you can stop, start, and restart containers directly from the web UI. This is disabled by default for security. To enable it, add this to your environment block:

environment:
  - DOZZLE_ENABLE_ACTIONS=true

You can also enable shell access, which lets you attach to a running container’s terminal through the browser:

environment:
  - DOZZLE_ENABLE_SHELL=true

Be careful with both of these options on shared or networked systems. Pairing them with authentication is strongly recommended.

Step 9: Set Dozzle to Auto-Start on Boot

Add a restart policy to your Docker Compose file so Dozzle starts automatically every time your Manjaro machine boots:

services:
  dozzle:
    image: amir20/dozzle:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock
    ports:
      - 8080:8080

The unless-stopped policy means the container restarts automatically after a reboot or crash, but won’t restart if you manually stop it. Apply the change:

docker-compose down
docker-compose up -d

Now Dozzle survives reboots without any extra configuration on your end.

Updating Dozzle

Dozzle gets updated frequently. The project upgraded to Go 1.25 in a recent release for improved performance and more efficient JSON serialization inside containers. Staying current means you get bug fixes, performance improvements, and new features.

To update Dozzle using Docker Compose:

docker-compose pull
docker-compose up -d --force-recreate

If you used the plain docker run method:

docker stop dozzle
docker rm dozzle
docker pull amir20/dozzle:latest
docker run -d \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  --name dozzle \
  amir20/dozzle:latest

Troubleshooting Common Issues

• Container won’t start: Run docker logs dozzle to see the exact error. The most common cause is a port conflict. Check with sudo ss -tulpn | grep 8080.
• No containers showing in the UI: This usually means the Docker socket isn’t mounted correctly. Verify with docker inspect dozzle and look for the Mounts section.
• Permission denied on Docker socket: On Manjaro, you may get a permissions error if your user isn’t in the docker group. Run sudo usermod -aG docker $USER, then log out and back in.
• Browser shows connection refused: Make sure the container is actually running with docker ps. Also check your firewall with sudo ufw status if ufw is active.
• Logs not streaming in real time: This is sometimes a browser caching issue. Try a hard refresh with Ctrl+Shift+R or open an incognito window.

Why Dozzle Over docker logs

The standard docker logs command works, but it’s tedious at scale. You have to specify the container name, manage separate terminal windows for each container, and there’s no visual search or regex filtering built in. Dozzle replaces all of that with a single browser tab.

Version 8.10.0, released in January 2025, added the ability to merge logs from all containers on a host into a single view, along with a dropdown to jump directly to containers by name. That feature alone saves significant time when you’re monitoring more than five containers simultaneously.

For anyone managing a homelab, a development environment, or a lightweight production stack on Manjaro, Dozzle gives you visibility without overhead. The entire image weighs in at a fraction of what heavier monitoring solutions like Grafana+Loki require, and you’re up and running with a single command rather than hours of configuration.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Dozzle. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing Dozzle container monitoring and logging on your Manjaro Linux system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official Dozzle website.