Skip to main content

Docker Import

Docker import lets you adopt resources that already exist on a node — containers, volumes, and networks created by hand or by another tool — and bring them under Miabi management. It's the bridge between an existing Docker setup and a Miabi-managed one, with no need to tear anything down.

Docker import flow

Why import​

If you're moving an existing host into Miabi, you likely have workloads already running:

  • Containers you started with docker run or Compose.
  • Volumes holding real data you can't recreate.
  • User-defined networks wiring services together.

Rather than recreating these from scratch, import lets Miabi discover them and take over their lifecycle — so they show up in the console, count toward drift reconciliation, and can be managed like anything else.

What you can import​

ResourceResult after import
ContainersAdopted as managed workloads with their current config
VolumesTracked by Miabi and protected from accidental pruning
NetworksRecognized so connected workloads are wired correctly

How import works​

  1. Open the node's Import panel in the console (a platform-admin area — see Platform Administration).
  2. Miabi scans the node's Docker engine and lists resources it found that aren't yet managed.
  3. Select the containers, volumes, and networks you want to adopt. Miabi reads their existing configuration so it can manage them in place.
  4. Confirm. The selected resources become managed and appear alongside everything else Miabi runs.
note

Import is non-destructive. Your containers keep running and your volume data is untouched — Miabi simply starts tracking and managing the resources you select.

After importing​

Once adopted, imported resources behave like any Miabi workload:

  • They appear in the console and are subject to drift reconciliation.
  • Their volumes are protected from disk-reclaim pruning.
  • You can update, restart, or remove them through Miabi.
tip

Import early when onboarding an existing host, then run a reconcile. Anything still flagged as unmanaged drift afterward is a candidate for import or cleanup.