Portainer Encounters Compatibility Issues with Docker 26 Release

Portainer, the well-known container management platform, has recently acknowledged compatibility issues with the latest Docker release, version 26.0.0, which was rolled out a week ago, on March 20, 2024. The issues have affected all versions of Portainer, hindering users from viewing image details or accessing the container console when running on Docker 26.0.0.

The crux of the problem lies in Docker’s decision to remove the Container and ContainerConfig fields from the response of the GET /images/{name}/json API endpoint. Since Portainer’s functionality depends on these fields being present in the Docker API response, their removal has led to errors within the Portainer platform.

Portainer’s development team has been caught off guard by this change, primarily because the deprecated status of these fields was only announced in the preceding Docker version 25.0.0, released in January 2024. Given that Portainer’s stable version 2.19.4 was released in December 2023, prior to Docker’s deprecation notice, the team was unaware of the forthcoming removal.

In response, Portainer is actively developing fixes for these issues. A patch release, version 2.20.1, is currently in testing for the 2.20 STS branch and is expected to be available within the next week. Additionally, comprehensive support for Docker 26 is planned for the next Long-Term Support (LTS) release, 2.21 LTS, scheduled for release in a few months.

Portainer advises users against upgrading to Docker 26.0.0 so soon after its release, recommending that users adhere to the Docker versions listed as supported on Portainer’s “Requirements and Prerequisites” documentation page. These versions have been tested and verified to function with Portainer, ensuring reliability, especially in production environments.

For users anticipating the upgrade to Docker 26, the forthcoming 2.20.1 patch will address the immediate compatibility issues described, although it will not constitute full support for Docker 26. Full compatibility will be achieved with the release of Portainer 2.21 LTS.

Source: Portainer.