ShellDock is a cross-platform CLI for storing, versioning and executing reusable shell command sets to automate environment setup.
- for
- Developers and ops teams who need repeatable, portable dev-environment provisioning.
- pricing
- open source
- license
- MIT
Key features
- Fast native binary — Compiled Go binary with zero runtime dependencies for quick execution.
- Cross-platform support — Automatic OS detection works on Linux, macOS, Windows and major distros.
- Bundled command sets — Ships with ready-made recipes for Docker, Git, Node.js, Python, Nginx and more.
- Interactive TUI — Full terminal UI to create, edit, and manage command sets.
- Versioning & tags — Multiple versions per set with human-friendly tags.
- Dynamic arguments — Pass runtime parameters via --args or interactive prompts.
Use cases
- Bootstrapping a new dev box with Docker, Neovim and language runtimes in one step
- Standardizing tool installations across a team’s machines or CI runners
- Provisioning short-lived VMs or containers with reproducible setup scripts
- Running a specific version of a command set, e.g., docker@v2, for testing
- Managing custom command sets locally while overriding bundled defaults
shelldock vs alternatives
 shelldock |  Render |  Daytona |  Podman |  Coolify | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Reusable command-set execution | Cloud app deployment | One-click dev environment setup | Daemonless container engine | Self-hosted PaaS |
| Pricing | Open source | Subscription | Free | Free | Free |
| DevHunt upvotes | 0 | 0 | 339 | 0 | 0 |
| Launched | Feb 2026 | — | May 2024 | — | — |
- shelldock vs Render: Render focuses on building and deploying apps in the cloud, not on local command-set automation.
- shelldock vs Daytona: Daytona provisions full development environments on any infrastructure, whereas ShellDock only runs shell recipes.
- shelldock vs Podman: Podman provides daemonless container execution, not reusable install scripts across OSes.
- shelldock vs Coolify: Coolify is a self-hosted platform-as-a-service, while ShellDock is a lightweight CLI for local setup tasks.
shelldock FAQ
How do I install ShellDock?+
Use the quick install script (`curl -fsSL https://shelldock.opsguild.tech/install.sh | bash`) or install via Homebrew, AUR, Chocolatey, Snap, etc.
Can I preview commands before they run?+
Yes, `shelldock show <name>` displays each step and `shelldock` prompts for confirmation unless you use `-a` to run all automatically.
Where are my custom command sets stored?+
In `~/.shelldock`; they take priority over the bundled repository.
Is there any telemetry or hidden scripts?+
No. Commands are plain YAML, fully visible before execution, and the tool has no telemetry or automatic privilege escalation.
How do I manage multiple versions of a command set?+
Use tags like `shelldock docker@v2` and list available versions with `shelldock versions <name>`.
Summarized by DevHunt from github.com · Oct 7, 2026. Details may change; check the official site.
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