{
  "slug": "azd-uses-podman-when-docker-is-unavailable-1c2ff3ed8af7",
  "title": "azd uses Podman when Docker is unavailable",
  "tools": [
    "azd"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "agent"
  ],
  "introduced_at": "2026-01-15T05:22:33.000Z",
  "announced_at": "2026-01-15T05:22:33.000Z",
  "effective_at": null,
  "date_basis": "source-publication",
  "status": "unknown",
  "how": {
    "incantation": "When running azd container functionality, azd checks Docker first and falls back to Podman. Set `AZD_CONTAINER_RUNTIME` to `podman` or `docker` to choose explicitly.",
    "examples": [
      "azd provision",
      "AZD_CONTAINER_RUNTIME=podman azd provision",
      "AZD_CONTAINER_RUNTIME=docker azd provision"
    ],
    "gotchas": [
      "Version: 1.23.0",
      "AZD_CONTAINER_RUNTIME: Selects the container runtime; documented values are `docker` and `podman`.",
      "azd provision [<layer>] [flags]: Provisions Azure resources for the project; `<layer>` and flags are optional.",
      "Prerequisite: The selected runtime must be installed and its service running. Minimum versions: Docker 17.09 or Podman 3.0.",
      "Docker 17.09+ or Podman 3.0+ is required.",
      "Cross-platform support applies on platforms where Podman is supported."
    ]
  },
  "why_it_matters": "Run azd container functionality in a development environment where Podman is installed and Docker is unavailable.",
  "before": "Previously, azd required Docker for container functionality; without Docker, running `azd provision` failed its external-tool check.",
  "sources": [
    "https://github.com/Azure/azure-dev/releases/tag/azure-dev-cli_1.23.0",
    "https://github.com/Azure/azure-dev/pull/6436",
    "https://github.com/Azure/azure-dev/blob/azure-dev-cli_1.23.0/cli/azd/pkg/tools/docker/docker.go",
    "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/developer/azure-developer-cli/reference"
  ],
  "rank": 0.97029,
  "judge": {
    "publish": true,
    "judge_model": "codex-cli/gpt-6-luna+typesafe/jev-1.13.0",
    "prompt_version": "extract-v7+enrich-v2+judge-v2x3+jev-publish-v1"
  },
  "review_state": "approved",
  "provenance": {
    "run_id": "wave2a-20261017",
    "verdict_id": "wave2a-20261017:wave2a-20261017-087fa7aa08883283-3:gate",
    "evidence_hash": "bd27cc86027eb8b9683dcf12895d8235b391a5acaa0bed789db58280bf0a5a00"
  },
  "review": {
    "draft_hash": "5d18feca3f576d0b9c6ef18fd2b8e31103c1934fce3918f925f3ba112955556c",
    "reviewer": "publication-gate",
    "reviewed_at": "2026-10-07T00:00:00.000Z",
    "decision": "wave2a-20261017:gate",
    "reason": "3 of 3 judge runs approved with p_yes >= 0.9 (mean 0.97 >= 0.9; 2 needed) and Jev gave 0.68 (>= 0.6 needed)."
  }
}