podup

docker-compose on rootless Podman — one static Rust binary. No daemon. No Python.

Website · Install · Quick start · Benchmarks · Docs

📥 Install

Debian / Ubuntu (apt) — recommended

Register the signed Glyndor repository and install — copy-paste:

curl -fsSLO https://apt.glyndor.net/glyndor-archive-keyring.deb
sudo dpkg -i glyndor-archive-keyring.deb
sudo apt update && sudo apt install podup

The keyring package registers https://apt.glyndor.net and ships the signing key, so podup updates (and key renewals) arrive through apt upgrade — the apt build omits self-update since apt owns upgrades. Signed, SHA-256 verified, fail-closed. Requires Podman ≥ 5.0 (rootless).

apt, one-liner (script)

Same as above via the install script (registers the repo, then installs):

curl -fsSL https://glyndor.net/podup/install/unix | bash -s -- --apt

Linux / macOS (install script)

curl -fsSL https://glyndor.net/podup/install/unix | bash

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://glyndor.net/podup/install/windows | iex

Both installers verify the Ed25519 signature over SHA256SUMS and fail closed otherwise.

Build from source

cargo build --release

Self-update

podup update            # download and install the latest signed release
podup update --check    # report whether a newer release exists, install nothing

podup update replaces the running binary in place only after verifying the release's Ed25519 signature and SHA-256 checksum — it fails closed otherwise. See docs/self-update.md for the trust model.

Podman version

podup tracks the latest stable Podman and supports its last two majors — Podman 5.x and 6.x. It talks to Podman's native libpod API (still versioned 5.x — 5.2.0 on Podman 6), so it needs Podman ≥ 5.0. Validated on Podman 5.x (5.8.1) and 6.0.0 (the latter in CI against Fedora rawhide). Many distributions still ship 4.x — check podman --version and upgrade if needed. Fedora, Debian trixie/sid and recent Ubuntu releases carry 5.x; on an older release, install or upgrade Podman following the official guide: https://podman.io/docs/installation.

Platforms

Linux, macOS and Windows (x86_64 and arm64). On macOS and Windows podup talks to the podman machine VM through its host-side unix:// socket or npipe:// named pipe; the socket must be local (remote tcp:///ssh:// are rejected).

🚀 Quick start

podup up -d      # start the stack in the current directory
podup ps         # see what's running
podup down -v    # tear down and remove volumes

Every command →

⚡ Why

Rootless-native libpod API, real compose-spec (extends, profiles, develop.watch, inline secrets), and systemd Quadlet export — vs alternatives · Rust library.

sequenceDiagram
    autonumber
    participant Y as docker-compose.yml
    participant P as podup
    participant L as Podman · libpod REST
    Y->>P: parse · substitute · resolve depends_on
    P->>L: create networks · volumes · secrets
    P->>L: start containers in order
    L-->>P: health / status
    P-->>Y: stack up

📊 Benchmarks

~7 MiB flat memory  •  near-zero CPU  •  up to 15× faster than podman-compose

Same Podman, same digest-pinned images, median of 10 runs. Full tables & methodology →

📖 Docs

Commands · Migrating from Compose · Benchmarks · Self-update · Security model

License

Apache-2.0 — report vulnerabilities privately via the Security tab, never in a public issue.