Connecting to Docker host MySQL from Docker Container: Linux Ubuntu

Let’s face it. Connecting to the host machine from Docker containers in Linux is frustrating. After hours of googling + trial and errors + crying, I came up with this solution which I’m happy to share it with you.

Photo by Oliver Hihn on Unsplash

Why bother?

Both windows and mac version of Docker offers a convenient method of resolving the Dockerhost IP by calling host.docker.internal. Unfortunately at the time of writing this article, host.docker.internal does not work for Linux users.

Prerequisite

• Familiarity with Docker network and basic docker commands.
• Basic knowledge on TCP/UDP ports

1. Add Dockerhost to your docker-compose file:

Add and install this awesome docker container to your project. This container will forward any traffic to your host machine.

# docker-compose.yml
dockerhost:
  image: qoomon/docker-host
  cap_add:
    - NET_ADMIN
    - NET_RAW
  restart: on-failure
  networks:
    - backend
    - frontend

2. Enable firewall rules to allow dockerhost to connect to your host machine

Set up UFW…