Migration Project

Apply everything you’ve learned by migrating a Docker-based application to Podman, including Compose conversion, systemd integration, and rootless configuration.

It’s time to put your knowledge into practice! In this hands-on project, you’ll migrate a simple Docker-based application to Podman, step by step.

You’ll see how to:

• Convert a Docker Compose setup to Podman
• Use podman-compose or pods directly
• Add systemd integration
• Run everything rootlessly

🎯 Project Goals

By the end of this project, you will have:

• Replaced docker commands with podman
• Converted a docker-compose.yml to podman-compose
• Created a rootless pod
• Generated a systemd service to manage your container

📁 Step 1: Clone the Sample App

git clone https://github.com/kevinmcaleer/docker-migration-demo.git
cd docker-migration-demo

This app contains:

• docker-compose.yml
• A simple web app (Node.js or Flask)
• A Redis backend

🔁 Step 2: Run with Podman Compose

Install podman-compose if you haven’t already:

pip3 install podman-compose

Then run:

podman-compose up

Inspect the generated pod:

podman pod ps

Check logs:

podman logs <container-id>

🛠 Step 3: Migrate to Native Podman Commands (Optional)

Create a pod manually:

podman pod create --name myapp -p 8080:80

Start your containers inside the pod:

podman run -dt --pod myapp --name redis redis
podman run -dt --pod myapp --name webapp myapp-image

⚙️ Step 4: Add Systemd Integration

Generate a systemd unit file:

podman generate systemd --name webapp --files --restart-policy=always

Move it into place:

mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
mv container-webapp.service ~/.config/systemd/user/
systemctl --user daemon-reexec
systemctl --user enable --now container-webapp.service

Repeat for other services as needed.

🔐 Step 5: Verify Rootless Configuration

Ensure no root privileges are required:

whoami
podman ps

You should see your containers running under your user.

✅ Project Complete

You’ve now fully migrated a Docker-based app to Podman:

• ✅ Replaced Docker CLI
• ✅ Used podman-compose or pods
• ✅ Enabled rootless containerization
• ✅ Integrated with systemd for background service management

🚀 Challenge

Try deploying another project with:

• Kubernetes YAML (via generate kube)
• A more complex docker-compose.yml
• Additional features like volume mounts, secrets, or health checks

Next up: Wrap-up and Future Outlook

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