Container¶

Remote Browser runs each Google Chrome browser in its own isolated container. It supports either Podman or Docker. Set CONTAINER_RUNTIME to podman or docker, or leave it unset and the app will auto-detect the runtime (Podman first, then Docker). The chosen CLI must be installed and available on the PATH of the user who runs the app.

Browser containers are named chrome-<id> and started with --rm, so the runtime removes them when the browser is terminated.

Docker¶

At startup, the app checks the runtime with docker info. If it is not reachable, the app logs the failure and the server still starts, but browsers cannot be provisioned until it is reachable.

Install Docker, make sure the docker CLI is on the PATH of the user who runs the app, and set CONTAINER_RUNTIME=docker. If it is unset, the app uses Docker only when Podman is not found.

By default, the app talks to the local Docker daemon. For a remote daemon, set DOCKER_HOST (for example unix:///var/run/docker.sock or tcp://host:2375).

In a containerized deployment, mount the Docker socket into the app container and set DOCKER_HOST to its path inside the container.

Podman¶

At startup, the app checks the runtime with podman info. If it is not reachable, the app logs the failure and the server still starts, but browsers cannot be provisioned until it is reachable.

Install Podman, make sure the podman CLI is on the PATH of the user who runs the app, and set CONTAINER_RUNTIME=podman. If it is unset, the app prefers Podman whenever it is found.

By default, the app talks to the local Podman runtime. For a remote Podman socket, set CONTAINER_HOST (for example unix:///run/podman.sock); the app then runs every command as podman --remote.

In a containerized deployment, mount the Podman socket into the app container and set CONTAINER_HOST to its path inside the container.