====Starting and linking with containers====

To work with containers, we need docker CLI (command line interface). With N99panel, it comes as default as the same is used to setup other applicatons/features.

With containers you can essentially run any application which can be containerized. Internet has tons of tutorials about docker, images, containers and  containerization 

What N99panel lets you do is
  * Provide the docker environment and tools
  * Link your container end points with VHosts and URLs

N99panel by giving you the ability to link your container with a VHost and URL end point does the heavy lifting job of setting up nginx, provisioning SSL certificate etc.

In CLI, you can run your containers via two methods
  * docker run command
  * docker compose command

For a mature setup, using docker compose setup is advised.

In order for N99panel to link a VHost/URL with your container, your container has to expose the container's network interface, to the host interface/IP 127.0.0.1 in the port range of 26000 to 26999 . So if your app is running on port 8080, the relevant docker compose line will look something like
<code>
ports:
    - 127.0.0.1:26000:8080
</code>  

===Then we come to linking the container to the VHost/URL===

**Step 1 :** Log into N99panel. From under N99panel dashboard, click 'Containers'

{{:c2:click-containers.png?direct&400}}
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**Step 2 :** Now click 'Link a Container'

{{:c2:link-container.png?direct&400|}}
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**Step 3 :** Fill in the form as under, and click 'Submit'

{{:c2:link-container-form.png?direct&400|}}

**Important point :** The system port should be the same as provided by you either via docker compose or docker run.