https://www.solosoft.dev/tags/zig/Recent content in Zig on SoloSoftHugoen-usFri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.solosoft.dev/post/dockerc-container-binary-2026/Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://www.solosoft.dev/post/dockerc-container-binary-2026/<p>Docker containers solved the &ldquo;it works on my machine&rdquo; problem, but they introduced a new one: &ldquo;it works on my machine with Docker installed.&rdquo; Containers require the Docker daemon, containerd, or at minimum a container runtime. For distributing command-line tools, desktop applications, or deployment artifacts, this dependency is a burden. <strong>Dockerc</strong> takes a radically different approach &ndash; it compiles entire Docker images into standalone binary executables.</p> <p>Written in Zig and available at <a href="https://github.com/NilsIrl/dockerc">github.com/NilsIrl/dockerc</a>, Dockerc reads a Docker image&rsquo;s layers and produces a single, self-contained binary that embeds the filesystem, entry point, and runtime configuration. When executed, the binary unpacks itself into an in-memory filesystem (via tmpfs), sets up the process namespace, and runs the application. No Docker, no containerd, no root privileges required.</p>