Docker Machine Port Forwarding

A small bash script that makes it easier to expose ports between docker-machine (VirtualBox or macOS hypervisor like xhyve, HyperKit etc.) and the host when using Docker Machine on macOS. The script is called pf which stands for "port forward". You can also read more on this blog.

Usage

$ pf 8080

Forwards port 8080 in the container to port 8080 on the host in docker-machine environment default by opening an SSH connection to VirtualBox in the background.

If you run into this error:

Host does not exist: "default"

you'll need to specify the name of your docker-machine environment. For example:

$ pf 8080 -e dev

This will use the dev docker-machine environment.

Stopping the port forwarding

If you've started port forwarding in the background (default) you can easily stop it using:

$ pf 8080 -s

Note that you don't need to specify an environment (-e) for this to work.

Port Mapping

You can map the docker port to another port on the host like this:

$ pf 8090:8080

This will map port 8090 on the host to port 8080 running in the container.

Foreground

You can also start the port forwarding process in the foreground:

$ pf 8080 -f

If you do this you'll see the docker-machine and once it's shutdown the port forwarding is also stopped automatically (i.e. no need to run pf 8080 -s).

Help

Run pf -h to for more options

Advanced

If you need more advanced options just use the vanilla docker-machine command. The purpose of pf is to make it really easy to do the most basic things.