Run PHP, Composer, Node, and NPM via Docker or Podman

Easily run popular developer tools without installing them natively—everything runs in containers for maximum portability and cleanliness.

Requirements

Docker Engine or Podman

Supported

Supported operating systems

• All unixes with kernel over 3.10
• Docker for mac

For OSX limitations and workaround go to OSX Doc

NOTE: the OSX Doc is not up to date

Supported commands

• node
• npm
• yarn
• php
• composer
• go
• python
• uv
• bun

Container Images Used

Script	Base Image	Registry	Notes
node, npm, yarn	node	docker.io/library/node	Official Node.js images
php	php	docker.io/library/php	Official PHP images
composer	composer	docker.io/library/composer	Official Composer images
python	python	docker.io/library/python	Official Python images
go	golang	docker.io/golang	Official Go images
bun	oven/bun	docker.io/oven/bun	Official Bun images
uv	astral/uv	docker.io/astral/uv	Official UV images

All images use explicit docker.io/ registry prefixes for optimal compatibility with both Docker and Podman.

Installation

Clone this repository.

git clone git@github.com:galileo/docker-binaries

Add the bin directory to your PATH by editing your shell profile (e.g. ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile):

export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/this/repository/bin"

Reload your shell or run source ~/.zshrc (or appropriate file) to apply.

Usage

Prerequisites

If you already have local installations of node, npm, php, or composer, you can still use these Docker-based wrappers by ensuring your PATH prioritizes this repo's bin/ directory. No need to uninstall your local tools unless you want to always use the Dockerized versions.

How to Prioritize the Docker Binaries

Your shell uses the first matching executable it finds in the directories listed in your PATH variable, searching from left to right. By placing this repository's bin/ directory at the front of your PATH, you ensure that commands like php, composer, node, and npm run the Dockerized versions instead of any native ones installed elsewhere.

Example:

Add this line to the top of your ~/.zshrc, ~/.bash_profile, or ~/.bashrc:

export PATH="/path/to/this/repository/bin:$PATH"

After saving, reload your shell:

source ~/.zshrc   # or source ~/.bash_profile, depending on your shell

Checking Which Version Will Run

You can check which binary will be used by running:

which php
which composer
which node
which npm
which yarn
which go
which python
which uv

If the output path points to this repository's bin/ directory, the Dockerized version will run. If it points elsewhere, adjust your PATH so that bin/ comes first.

Troubleshooting

• If you want to use the native version for a command temporarily, you can specify the full path (e.g., /usr/local/bin/php -v).
• If you want to revert to the native version by default, move or remove the bin/ directory from the front of your PATH.

Running commands

You can now use the following commands, which will be executed in containers:

npm -v
node -v
php -v
composer -v
yarn -v

Version switching

You can control which version of each tool is used by setting the appropriate environment variable before the command. For example:

DB_NODE_VERSION=20 node -v   # Runs Node.js 20.x
DB_PHP_VERSION=8 php -v      # Runs PHP 8.x
DB_COMPOSER_VERSION=2 composer -v # Runs Composer 2.x

By default, the latest version is used. Most images use the alpine variant for smaller size.

Run very speficic node.js release:

DB_NODE_VERSION=8.0.0 node -v
> v8.0.0

Container Runtime Selection

The scripts automatically detect which container runtime is available on your system:

• Podman is preferred if available (detected first)
• Docker is used as a fallback if Podman is not found
• If neither is found, an error is displayed

You can override the automatic detection by setting the DB_CONTAINER_RUNTIME environment variable:

DB_CONTAINER_RUNTIME=podman node -v    # Force use of Podman
DB_CONTAINER_RUNTIME=docker node -v    # Force use of Docker

The automatic detection makes the scripts work out of the box on most systems without requiring manual configuration.

Enabling the TTY mode

In some cases you need to interact with command. Like for example giving answers on yarn init command.

error An unexpected error occurred: "Can't answer a question unless a user TTY".

You can enable the TTY option with the environment settings:

TTY=enable yarn init