Organizing Docker Apps for Easy Terminal Access

04/01/2026

Docker

I've been setting up more self-hosted applications lately on my pc and I found myself constantly wondering: where should I actually put all these Docker projects? After doing some research, I've landed on a structure that makes managing containers from the terminal much easier.

When I started self-hosting apps with Docker, things started to get messy fast. I had compose files scattered across random directories, data volumes in unexpected places, and no consistent way to quickly jump into a project and manage it.

What did I want? Something that lets me quickly navigate.

I created ~/docker/. It's:

  • Short to type
  • Always in the same predictable location
  • Easy to back up

For production servers, /opt/docker/ is the most recommended location.

The Directory Structure

Here's what I settled on:

~/docker/
├── .env.shared             
├── some-app/                   
│   ├── docker-compose.yml
│   ├── .env
│   └── data/

Each app gets its own directory containing:

  • docker-compose.yml - the service definition
  • .env - environment variables (secrets, ports, paths)
  • data/ - persistent storage using relative bind mounts

Shell Functions for Quick Access

I found the script below pretty useful.

# Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
export DOCKER_HOME="$HOME/docker"

# Jump to docker home
alias dhome='cd $DOCKER_HOME'

# Jump to specific app and optionally run command
d() {
  if [ -z "$1" ]; then
    cd "$DOCKER_HOME" && ls -la
    return
  fi

  cd "$DOCKER_HOME/$1" || return

  # If second argument provided, run docker compose command
  if [ -n "$2" ]; then
    shift
    docker compose "$@"
  fi
}

# Quick docker compose commands (run from app directory)
alias dcu='docker compose up -d'
alias dcdown='docker compose down'
alias dcl='docker compose logs -f'
alias dcp='docker compose pull'
alias dcr='docker compose restart'

# List all docker apps
dls() { ls -1 "$DOCKER_HOME"; }

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