Install dockerize with Homebrew, apk, MacPorts

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• dockerize

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in October 2014, the same day as Wilder's blog post 'A Simple Way To Dockerize Applications.' That early Docker era often required shell glue to turn environment variables into config files, wait for linked services, and redirect file-based logs into Docker's logging model.

dockerize formalized that glue into one static-style utility. Its first GitHub release, v0.0.1, appeared in October 2014; v0.1.0 followed in January 2016; and v0.13.0 was published in June 2026 with current release artifacts for Linux, Alpine, and macOS architectures.

Adoption history

dockerize became widely referenced because it solved practical Compose-era race conditions and legacy-app containerization problems without requiring application changes. The README links a Docker Compose issue discussion about why waiting for service readiness was outside Compose's own scope.

Its adoption path spans direct release downloads, a `jwilder/dockerize` Docker base image, Alpine packaging, MacPorts, and Homebrew. The Homebrew formula API reported stable version 0.13.0, 115 installs in the previous 30 days, and 1,630 installs in the previous year as of June 30, 2026.

How it is used

Typical usage wraps an application command with `dockerize`, adding `-template` mappings for generated config files, `-wait` URLs for TCP/HTTP/file/unix readiness checks, `-timeout` for fail-fast startup, and `-stdout` or `-stderr` log-tail targets. Templates use Go's `text/template` with environment access through `.Env`.

Why package nerds care

dockerize is significant because it captures a whole genre of container entrypoint shell scripts in a reusable package. It is boring in the best package-manager sense: one small executable that makes old apps behave like cloud-native containers at startup.

Timeline

• 2014: Repository created, introductory blog post published, and v0.0.1 released.
• 2016: v0.1.0 release published.
• 2025: 0.9.x releases show continued maintenance.
• 2026: v0.13.0 released and Homebrew reports stable 0.13.0.

Related projects

• dockerize is historically related to Docker, Docker Compose, Go `text/template`, and container entrypoint/wait-for-it style helper scripts.
• It complements rather than replaces orchestration health checks: its main value is inside container startup for applications that cannot natively read environment variables, wait on dependencies, or log to stdout.

Sources

• https://github.com/jwilder/dockerize#readme
• https://api.github.com/repos/jwilder/dockerize
• https://jasonwilder.com/blog/2014/10/13/a-simple-way-to-dockerize-applications/
• https://github.com/jwilder/dockerize/releases/tag/v0.0.1
• https://github.com/jwilder/dockerize/releases/tag/v0.13.0
• https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/dockerize.json