Status: Decided
Date: 2026-06-01
Decision: Docker (Docker Compose) is the primary container runtime
Context
Both Docker (v29.3.1) and Podman (v5.7.0) are installed on the development
workstation. The infrastructure/container_framework/ directory contains Docker
Compose files for all services (Neo4j, PostgreSQL, Caddy, HedgeDoc/Wiki.js,
Prefect, MLflow, SurrealDB).
Decision
Use Docker Compose as the primary container orchestration tool.
All service definitions use docker-compose.*.yml format
The cyto-service CLI wraps Docker Compose
Podman is available as a fallback but not the default
CI/CD workflows use Docker
Consequences
No migration from Docker Compose to Podman Compose is needed
New services should be added as Docker Compose service definitions
Existing container_framework/ structure is the canonical location