podman compat

PODMAN_COMPATIBILITY.md

@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+# Podman Compatibility
+
+This document provides information on using Podman as an alternative to Docker for the Tailscale examples in this repository.
+
+## Compatibility Assessment
+
+After testing, we've confirmed that **Podman is fully compatible** with all the Tailscale Docker examples in this repository. Podman 5.4.1+ can be used as a drop-in replacement for Docker with minimal to no modifications.
+
+## Key Compatibility Points
+
+1. **Docker Compose Files**: All Docker Compose files work with `podman compose` without modification.
+2. **Network Features**: Podman supports all network features required by Tailscale:
+   - `net_admin` capability
+   - `/dev/net/tun` device access
+   - Shared network namespaces via `network_mode: service:container_name`
+3. **Volumes & Environment Variables**: All volume mounts and environment variables work as expected.
+4. **Container Orchestration**: Multi-container setups work correctly with proper dependency management.
+
+## Using Podman Instead of Docker
+
+To use these examples with Podman:
+
+1. Replace `docker` with `podman` in commands:
+   ```
+   podman run ...
+   podman pull ...
+   podman exec ...
+   ```
+
+2. Replace `docker compose` with `podman compose`:
+   ```
+   podman compose up -d
+   podman compose down
+   podman compose logs
+   ```
+
+3. All other Docker CLI commands have direct Podman equivalents with the same syntax.
+
+## Notes
+
+- Podman's rootless mode can be used with these examples for enhanced security.
+- The `podman compose` command may display a message about using an external Docker Compose provider, which is normal and can be ignored.
+- macOS users will need to install Podman Desktop or use Podman Machine to create a Linux VM for running containers.
+- If you see a warning about the `version` attribute being obsolete in compose files, this can be safely ignored.
+
+## Known Differences
+
+- Podman's network implementation is slightly different than Docker's, but for these examples, the functionality remains the same.
+- Podman uses a different default filesystem driver, but this doesn't affect these examples.
+- Some advanced Docker-specific features may not be available in Podman, but none of these are used in the examples in this repository.

README.md

@@ -7,4 +7,8 @@ This repository supports:
 
 [![The Definitive Guide for using Tailscale and Docker](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tqvvZhGrciQ/maxresdefault.jpg)](https://youtu.be/tqvvZhGrciQ)
 
+## Container Engine Compatibility
 
+These examples are compatible with both Docker and Podman. If you prefer to use Podman instead of Docker, you can use it as a drop-in replacement with no modifications to the examples.
+
+For detailed information on Podman compatibility, see the [PODMAN_COMPATIBILITY.md](PODMAN_COMPATIBILITY.md) document.