Generated Jul 9, 2026 by research subagent. Full document at /root/.hermes/references/docker-management-research.md.

## Tools compared

| Tool | Multi-Host | REST API | Free | Web GUI |
|------|-----------|----------|------|---------|
| **Komodo** | ✅ Periphery Agent | ✅ REST + WS + 3 clients | ✅ 100% FOSS | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| **Arcane** | ✅ Agent (Direct+Edge) | ✅ OpenAPI 3.1 | ✅ 100% FOSS | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| **Portainer** | ✅ Agent | ✅ Full API | 3 nodes free | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Dockge | ✅ Agents (v1.4+) | ❌ No API | ✅ FOSS | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Dockhand | ✅ Agent/TLS | ⏳ Roadmap | ✅ Homelab free | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Lazydocker | ❌ Single host | ❌ | ✅ FOSS | ❌ TUI only |

## Recommendation

1. **Komodo** — best API story, GPL-3.0, unlimited servers, built-in backup/restore CLI
2. **Arcane** — BSD-3-Clause, beautiful UI, no MongoDB, Edge mode for NAT'd hosts
3. **Portainer** — most mature, best documented, 3-node free tier

**Ruled out:** Dockge (no API), Dockhand (BSL license, API is future), Lazydocker (single host).