Podman Has a Free API — Daemonless Container Management Compatible with Docker

Podman is a daemonless container engine that's fully compatible with Docker CLI. It runs containers as rootless by default, provides a Docker-compatible REST API, and can generate systemd units for container management. Free, open source, by Red Hat. Drop-in replacement for Docker. Why Use Podman? Daemonless — no background process, containers run as child processes Rootless by default — enhanced security, no root required Docker-compatible — same CLI commands, same API, same images Pod support — group containers into pods (like Kubernetes) Systemd integration — auto-generate systemd services for containers REST API — full Docker-compatible API Quick Setup 1. Install # Ubuntu/Debian sudo apt install podman # macOS brew install podman podman machine init && podman machine start # Verify podman --version 2. Enable REST API # Start API service (rootless) podman system service --time = 0 unix:///tmp/podman.sock & # Or TCP podman system service --time = 0 tcp:0.0.0.0:8080 & 3. List Containe