Migrating from Docker

Convert your Docker workflow to Volt in minutes.

Command Mapping

Docker	Volt
`docker run`	`volt run`
`docker ps`	`volt ps`
`docker stop`	`volt stop`
`docker rm`	`volt rm`
`docker logs`	`volt logs`
`docker exec`	`volt exec`
`docker images`	`volt image list`
`docker pull`	`volt image pull`
`docker-compose up`	`volt compose up`
`docker build`	`volt build` (or use Volt Studio)

Converting Dockerfiles

Use Volt Studio to convert existing Dockerfiles to Volt manifests:

# Upload your Dockerfile to Volt Studio
# or use the CLI converter:
volt convert --dockerfile ./Dockerfile --output volt-manifest.yaml

The converter analyzes your Dockerfile, strips unnecessary layers, generates a Landlock security policy, and produces an optimized Volt manifest.

Key Differences

No Daemon

Docker requires dockerd running as root. Volt has no daemon — containers are native systemd units.

Smaller Images

Volt uses Stellarium (content-addressed storage) instead of overlay2 layers. Images are typically 80-95% smaller because Stellarium deduplicates at the block level and eliminates the layer bloat inherent in Dockerfile builds.

Security by Default

Docker containers run as root by default with broad capabilities. Volt containers start with zero capabilities and auto-generated Landlock policies that restrict filesystem and network access to only what the workload needs.

VM Option

Docker only does containers. With Volt, you can toggle any workload to run as a microVM when you need kernel-level isolation — same management tools, same storage backend.

Note: You can continue using Docker for development and convert to Volt for production. The install guide will get you running in under 2 minutes.