Opportunities › Docker-compatible container runtime for Windows developers › Proposed app
Berth
Docker-compatible container runtime for Windows, without Docker Desktop
- Score
- 32
- confidence 52
- Evidence
- 5
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 3
- named in sources
- First version
- 60 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 2013
- Mature market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: Windows developers configure Docker-compatible runtime, check compatibility, and monitor connections during development setup at a machine. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Connect
Endpoint is liveReady
About this appAI proposal
Berth is a container runtime for Windows that exposes a Docker Engine API endpoint. Set DOCKER_HOST once and the docker CLI, Compose, Testcontainers, act and buildx connect to it, so you no longer need Docker Desktop installed next to a lighter runtime.
It is made for Windows developers and small teams who want less memory overhead and lower licensing cost, but whose tools expect the Docker API. Berth runs on WSL2, offers a named pipe or a local TCP endpoint, and shows which tool is connected.
Compatibility is the main job. A built-in check runs your Compose files and test setups against the endpoint and lists any API calls that fail, before you remove Docker Desktop.
- Tagline
- Your Docker tools, on a lighter Windows runtime.
- Voice
- PlainCalmPrecise
- Why this name
- A berth is where a vessel docks. Berth gives your existing tools a place to dock on Windows without borrowing Docker's name. It is short and easy to say.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Docker Engine API endpoint
Serves the Docker API over a named pipe or local TCP, so tools that read DOCKER_HOST work without changes.
No member yet
One-step DOCKER_HOST setup
Sets the variable for your shell, PowerShell and WSL distros, and can undo it again.
No member yet
Compatibility check
Runs your Compose files and Testcontainers setups against Berth and lists unsupported API calls.
No member yet
Light WSL2 footprint
Starts the engine on demand and stops it when idle, with a memory cap you set.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#0F5C63Harbor Teal · primary#F4F1EASand · surface#1F2A30Deep Slate · text#E0742BBuoy Orange · accent#4C9A7ATide Green · data and success
Typography
Aa
Berth
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
Your Docker tools, on a lighter Windows runtime.
PricingAI proposal
Docker's pricing page (verified) lists a free plan and three paid plans from $11 to $24 a month. Berth is priced just below that range as a starting point to test, not a validated price.
Personal
Free
- Docker Engine API endpoint
- DOCKER_HOST setup
- Compatibility check
- Single machine
Pro
$9 a month
- Everything in Personal
- Memory and idle controls
- Shareable setup reports
- Priority fixes
Team
$16 a month
- Everything in Pro
- Per-seat price
- Pinned versions and limits
- Team policy dashboard
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- Shared outputs. Berth exports a compatibility report and a one-line setup script for a repo. Developers commit them or paste them into a README or issue, and teammates who open them see Berth and the steps.
- Do they become customers?
- Teammates who run the script can install the free tier and become users. Test whether report viewers install it, and whether team leads then pay for shared policy.
- First customers
- Teams of 5 to 30 developers on Windows who use Compose and Testcontainers and pay for Docker Desktop seats or want to avoid doing so.
- Where to reach them
- GitHub issues and discussions: Answer threads where users ask for a Docker-compatible endpoint for lighter Windows runtimes, and link the compatibility check.
- Developer communities: Post a short guide on dropping Docker Desktop on Windows, with real compatibility results, in relevant forums and subreddits.
- Direct outreach to team leads: Contact engineering leads at small Windows-based software shops with a free pilot for their repos.
- First milestone
- Ten teams run the compatibility check on real repos, and five pay for Team in one month.
Why people already pay for this
- VerifiedOpen GitHub issue has 31 reactions and 6 comments
- Public claimMany tools in the container ecosystem rely on DOCKER_HOST / Docker Engine API and cannot work with container runtimes that don't expose this interface.
- AI inferenceUsers currently must keep Docker Desktop installed alongside lighter alternatives like WSLC, creating duplicate resource usage and defeating the purpose of seeking a lighter alternative.
- Public claimA Docker Engine API-compatible endpoint would enable lightweight runtimes to become true drop-in replacements for Docker Desktop.
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Desktop agentWindows service with a WSL2 engine and API shimThe runtime and the Docker API endpoint run on the machine, not in the PWA.
- This app · Container engineOpen-source OCI engine inside WSL2Avoids writing a runtime from scratch; Berth adds the API layer, setup and checks.
RisksAI inference
- TechnicalThe Docker Engine API is large. Gaps in less-used calls, such as buildx or networking edge cases, could break tools and make Berth a poor drop-in replacement.
- PlatformMicrosoft could add Docker API compatibility to WSLC, or change WSL2 behaviour, which would remove much of the reason to use Berth.
- CommercialPodman and Docker Desktop's free plan already serve many developers. Willingness to pay for a runtime that is partly open source is unproven.
- Intellectual propertyUsing Docker API names and compatibility claims needs a trademark and licence review, and the bundled engine components need licence checks.
- TechnicalA PWA cannot run a runtime. The product needs a native Windows agent with a signed installer, which raises build and support cost.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.