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

ports:
    - 127.0.0.1:26000:8080

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

Step 2 : Now click 'Link a Container'

Step 3 : Fill in the form as under, and click 'Submit'

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