Configuration

All options are defined in config/docker-php.php and can be overridden with environment variables.

Config reference

Config key	Env variable	Default	Description
connection	DOCKER_CONNECTION	unix	One of unix, tcp, tls.
unix_socket	DOCKER_UNIX_SOCKET	'/var/run/docker.sock'	Socket path when connection is unix.
host	DOCKER_HOST	'localhost'	Host for tcp or tls.
port	DOCKER_PORT	2375	Port for tcp or tls.
version	DOCKER_API_VERSION	'v1.53'	Docker Engine API version.
tls_cert	DOCKER_TLS_CERT	null	Path to client certificate (TLS).
tls_key	DOCKER_TLS_KEY	null	Path to client key (TLS).
tls_ca	DOCKER_TLS_CA	null	Path to CA certificate (TLS).
tls_verify	DOCKER_TLS_VERIFY	true	Verify TLS peer (TLS).
connect_timeout	DOCKER_CONNECT_TIMEOUT	10	Connection timeout in seconds.
timeout	DOCKER_TIMEOUT	30	Request timeout in seconds.
headers	—	['User-Agent' => 'Docker-PHP-Client/1.0']	Default request headers. DOCKER_USER_AGENT overrides User-Agent.
cache.enabled	DOCKER_PHP_CACHE_ENABLED	true	Enable Saloon cache for read-only requests.
cache.store	DOCKER_PHP_CACHE_STORE	null	Laravel cache store name; null uses default.
ui.enabled	DOCKER_PHP_UI_ENABLED	true	Register UI routes and Livewire components.
ui.prefix	DOCKER_PHP_UI_PREFIX	'docker'	URL prefix for UI routes (e.g. /docker).
ui.middleware	—	['web']	Middleware applied to UI routes (e.g. add auth).

Connection types

flowchart LR
  subgraph app [Laravel app]
    Connector[DockerConnector]
  end
  subgraph unix [Unix]
    Socket["/var/run/docker.sock"]
  end
  subgraph tcp [TCP]
    Host["host:2375"]
  end
  subgraph tls [TLS]
    HostTLS["host:2376"]
  end
  Connector --> Socket
  Connector --> Host
  Connector --> HostTLS

• Unix: Uses CURLOPT_UNIX_SOCKET_PATH. No network port; ideal for local daemon.
• TCP: Plain HTTP to host:port. Use only in trusted networks or with a reverse proxy.
• TLS: HTTPS with client certificates. Set tls_cert, tls_key, tls_ca; use tls_verify: true in production.

Cache

When cache.enabled is true, the following requests use Laravel’s cache (or the configured store):

• InfoRequest — 60 seconds
• VersionRequest — 300 seconds
• InspectImageRequest — 120 seconds
• ImageHistoryRequest — 120 seconds

Container list, image list, logs, stats, and events are not cached. See Caching.

UI

• Prefix: All UI routes are under /{prefix} (e.g. /docker).
• Middleware: Default is ['web']. Add 'auth' to require login.
• Disable UI: Set ui.enabled to false if you only use the API.