Implementation:Interpretml Interpret Powerlift InsecureDocker

Knowledge Sources	Interpretml Interpret
Domains	Benchmarking, Docker, Execution
Last Updated	2026-02-07 12:00 GMT

Overview

Local Docker executor that runs Powerlift benchmark trials in Docker containers on the local machine, using host networking and environment variables for configuration.

Description

The InsecureDocker class extends LocalMachine to run trial workloads inside local Docker containers. It is designed for testing container-based workflows locally before deploying to remote services like Azure Container Instances.

Key characteristics:

• Security warning -- Named "insecure" because it passes the database connection string via environment variables and uses network_mode="host", which means other users on the machine may see the connection string by enumerating processes.
• Docker SDK integration -- Uses the docker Python package to create and manage containers via docker.from_env().
• Container lifecycle -- Each runner spawns a detached container that executes python -m powerlift.run, waits for completion, and then removes the container.
• Multiprocessing dispatch -- Inherits the multiprocessing pool from LocalMachine and dispatches the _run_docker helper function to run containers in parallel.
• Environment variables -- Passes EXPERIMENT_ID, RUNNER_ID, DB_URL, and TIMEOUT as environment variables to each container.

Usage

Use this executor for local testing of Dockerized benchmark workflows. It validates that Docker images work correctly with Powerlift before deploying to remote container services. Only run on fully trusted machines due to the insecure passing of database credentials via environment variables.

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: Interpretml_Interpret
• File: python/powerlift/powerlift/executors/docker.py

Signature

def _run_docker(experiment_id, runner_id, db_url, timeout, image):
    ...

class InsecureDocker(LocalMachine):
    def __init__(
        self,
        store: Store,
        image: str = "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/python:3.12",
        n_running_containers: Optional[int] = None,
        wheel_filepaths: Optional[List[str]] = None,
        docker_db_uri: Optional[str] = None,
    ): ...

    def submit(self, experiment_id, timeout=None): ...

    @property
    def docker_db_uri(self): ...

    @property
    def image(self): ...

Import

from powerlift.executors.docker import InsecureDocker

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
store	Store	Yes	Store instance that houses trials and provides the database URI
image	str	No	Docker image to execute (default: "mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/python:3.12")
n_running_containers	int	No	Maximum number of containers running simultaneously (defaults to CPU count)
wheel_filepaths	List[str]	No	Wheel files to install in the container
docker_db_uri	str	No	Database URI override for container use

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
_run_docker return	dict	Docker container exit code dictionary
join() return	List	List of container exit code results (inherited from LocalMachine)

Usage Examples

from powerlift.bench.store import Store
from powerlift.executors.docker import InsecureDocker

store = Store("postgresql://user:pass@host/db")

executor = InsecureDocker(
    store=store,
    image="mcr.microsoft.com/devcontainers/python:3.12",
    n_running_containers=4,
)

executor.submit(experiment_id=1, timeout=3600)
results = executor.join()

Related Pages

• Interpretml_Interpret_Powerlift_LocalMachine -- Parent class providing multiprocessing pool and join/cancel
• Interpretml_Interpret_Powerlift_Executor -- Abstract base class in the executor hierarchy
• Interpretml_Interpret_Powerlift_AzureContainerInstance -- Remote container executor for production workloads
• Interpretml_Interpret_Powerlift_RunTrials -- The trial runner invoked inside the container via python -m powerlift.run