From the Captain’s Chair: Mohammad-Ali A’râbi

In this edition of From the Captain’s Chair, we’re interviewing Mohammad-Ali A'râbi, author, public speaker, and software engineer. Docker Captains are leaders from the developer community that are both experts in their field and are passionate about sharing their Docker knowledge with others. “From the Captain’s Chair” is a blog series where we get a closer look at one Captain to learn more about them and their experiences. Today we are interviewing Mohammad-Ali A’râbi, a Docker Captain based in the sunniest German city, Freiburg. He is the author of the book “ Docker and Kubernetes Security ,” a Best DevOps Book of the Year finalist in 2025. He is also a software engineer, public speaker, and community builder, organizing Docker meetups in Freiburg since 2022. Mohammad-Ali is originally from Iran and has a BSc in Mathematics and an MSc in Computer Science. Caption: Docker Captains Summit in Istanbul, I’m the one with a red hat Can you share how you first got involved with Docker? In 2015, I was working at Cafe Bazaar, a tech company in Iran, as a backend engineer. Our backend was running on Django, so for a whole week, I listened to Django Reinhardt while trying to spin up the project. I was failing because of the dependency hell. A colleague casually mentioned, “You can perhaps try using Docker; we’re using it in the CI.” Docker was 2 years old at the time, and I had never heard of it before. So, I disappeared for one week, learning Docker, and next thing you know, I was creating CI pipelines for other projects. Caption: Cafe Bazaar in Iran, I’m the one in the red T-shirt (middle) What inspired you to become a Docker Captain? Between 2018 and 2019, I was working in Amsterdam. We had tech meetups quite often there, and I loved it about Amsterdam. We moved back to Freiburg in 2019, and I started working at a smaller company, where I introduced git, CI/CD pipelines, and Docker. People would come to me with their git and Docker questions. So, I decided to write them

In this edition of From the Captain’s Chair, we’re interviewing Mohammad-Ali A'râbi, author, public speaker, and software engineer. Docker Captains are leaders from the developer community that are both experts in their field and are passionate about sharing their Docker knowledge with others. “From the Captain’s Chair” is a blog series where we get a closer look at one Captain to learn more about them and their experiences. Today we are interviewing Mohammad-Ali A’râbi, a Docker Captain based in the sunniest German city, Freiburg. He is the author of the book “ Docker and Kubernetes Security ,” a Best DevOps Book of the Year finalist in 2025. He is also a software engineer, public speaker, and community builder, organizing Docker meetups in Freiburg since 2022. Mohammad-Ali is originally from Iran and has a BSc in Mathematics and an MSc in Computer Science. Caption: Docker Captains Summit in Istanbul, I’m the one with a red hat Can you share how you first got involved with Docker? In 2015, I was working at Cafe Bazaar, a tech company in Iran, as a backend engineer. Our backend was running on Django, so for a whole week, I listened to Django Reinhardt while trying to spin up the project. I was failing because of the dependency hell. A colleague casually mentioned, “You can perhaps try using Docker; we’re using it in the CI.” Docker was 2 years old at the time, and I had never heard of it before. So, I disappeared for one week, learning Docker, and next thing you know, I was creating CI pipelines for other projects. Caption: Cafe Bazaar in Iran, I’m the one in the red T-shirt (middle) What inspired you to become a Docker Captain? Between 2018 and 2019, I was working in Amsterdam. We had tech meetups quite often there, and I loved it about Amsterdam. We moved back to Freiburg in 2019, and I started working at a smaller company, where I introduced git, CI/CD pipelines, and Docker. People would come to me with their git and Docker questions. So, I decided to write them down on a Medium blog for my own later reference. But I learned the content is useful for the community, so I kept on writing. At some point, I was writing a blog post on git every week. When the pandemic hit, I got depressed, so I decided to start a meetup group in Freiburg, because otherwise, there was none. I attended an online Docker Community All Hands and an online KubeCon, and in the meantime, I was looking for venues to host my first meetup. I will bring my coffee! In 2022, I got a LinkedIn message from a CEO trying to hire me. I told him, “I just got a new contract, but we can talk about other collaborations.” We set up a meeting, and I wrote, “I will bring my coffee!” It was because their office was in the same building as where I live. I went down there, having a Docker-branded mug filled with coffee (caffè crema with a stain of milk), saying, “Hello, neighbors!” They agreed on hosting an in-person Docker meetup. Our first meetup was in November 2022, and we had only one attendee, who came all the way from Strasbourg, France. In the end, it was him, my wife, me, one of the founders and her boyfriend, and an engineer from the company. Our second meetup was a watching party, watching Docker Community All Hands. By that time, I had two blog posts published on Docker’s blog, I had a talk at that particular event, and I won the title of best Docker Community Leader. When I applied to become a Captain in early 2023, many already knew me at Docker. What are some of your personal goals for the next year? I want to double down on education and storytelling. I recently published Black Forest Shadow , a fantasy story set in 1865 Freiburg that teaches container security through narrative. It’s part of a bigger idea I’m exploring: making complex DevOps concepts memorable through story, visuals, and characters. One other project I’m working on is the workshop series Docker Commandos , with which I introduce different Docker commands. On the technical side, I’m working on the second edition of Docker and Kubernetes Security, especially covering Docker Hardened Images . Caption: Docker Commandos Pack And on the community side, I want to grow the Freiburg meetup into something more consistent and connected to the broader ecosystem. It’s already a CNCF chapter as well, but I have been playing with the idea of starting a Java User Group (JUG) to attract a wider audience. If you weren’t working in tech, what would you be doing instead? I would probably have become a mathematics professor researching logic. I did an unfinished master’s in Iran researching Categorial Grammar, which models natural languages using mathematical logic. My master’s thesis in Computer Science was also basically mathematical logic. Or I would have become a researcher in ancient languages. I can read Old Persian cuneiform and Book Pahlavi, which is currently not fully deciphered, to be added to the Unicode. If I weren’t doing tech, I would dedicate my time to answering the remaining questions . Can you share a memorable story from collaborating with the Docker community? Publishing the book Docker and Kubernetes Security would not have been possible without the Docker community. So, the story goes like this: Shortly after I became a Docker Captain, Packt, the tech publisher, reached out to me and suggested that I write a book with them. I declined at first, as I didn’t feel I was knowledgeable enough to write a book. But they were very persuasive. Two years later, I finished my manuscript and threw it over the fence. As I was waiting for them to do their magic, they went through a reorganization, and they finally said they can’t prioritize my title. They wrote to me, “You can find a new publisher.” I found a new publisher, and that was me. Caption: Docker booth at WeAreDevelopers conference I started asking Docker Captains to review the work. I gave beta versions to our little Freiburg community. And when it came out, many Docker Captains, Docker employees, and

In this edition of From the Captain’s Chair, we’re interviewing Mohammad-Ali A'râbi, author, public speaker, and software engineer. Docker Captains are leaders from the developer community that are both experts in their field and are passionate about sharing their Docker knowledge with others. “From the Captain’s Chair” is a blog series where we get a closer look at one Captain to learn more about them and their experiences. Today we are interviewing Mohammad-Ali A’râbi, a Docker Captain based in the sunniest German city, Freiburg. He is the author of the book “ Docker and Kubernetes Security ,” a Best DevOps Book of the Year finalist in 2025. He is also a software engineer, public speaker, and community builder, organizing Docker meetups in Freiburg since 2022. Mohammad-Ali is originally from Iran and has a BSc in Mathematics and an MSc in Computer Science. Caption: Docker Captains Summit in Istanbul, I’m the one with a red hat Can you share how you first got involved with Docker? In 2015, I was working at Cafe Bazaar, a tech company in Iran, as a backend engineer. Our backend was running on Django, so for a whole week, I listened to Django Reinhardt while trying to spin up the project. I was failing because of the dependency hell. A colleague casually mentioned, “You can perhaps try using Docker; we’re using it in the CI.” Docker was 2 years old at the time, and I had never heard of it before. So, I disappeared for one week, learning Docker, and next thing you know, I was creating CI pipelines for other projects. Caption: Cafe Bazaar in Iran, I’m the one in the red T-shirt (middle) What inspired you to become a Docker Captain? Between 2018 and 2019, I was working in Amsterdam. We had tech meetups quite often there, and I loved it about Amsterdam. We moved back to Freiburg in 2019, and I started working at a smaller company, where I introduced git, CI/CD pipelines, and Docker. People would come to me with their git and Docker questions. So, I decided to write them down on a Medium blog for my own later reference. But I learned the content is useful for the community, so I kept on writing. At some point, I was writing a blog post on git every week. When the pandemic hit, I got depressed, so I decided to start a meetup group in Freiburg, because otherwise, there was none. I attended an online Docker Community All Hands and an online KubeCon, and in the meantime, I was looking for venues to host my first meetup. I will bring my coffee! In 2022, I got a LinkedIn message from a CEO trying to hire me. I told him, “I just got a new contract, but we can talk about other collaborations.” We set up a meeting, and I wrote, “I will bring my coffee!” It was because their office was in the same building as where I live. I went down there, having a Docker-branded mug filled with coffee (caffè crema with a stain of milk), saying, “Hello, neighbors!” They agreed on hosting an in-person Docker meetup. Our first meetup was in November 2022, and we had only one attendee, who came all the way from Strasbourg, France. In the end, it was him, my wife, me, one of the founders and her boyfriend, and an engineer from the company. Our second meetup was a watching party, watching Docker Community All Hands. By that time, I had two blog posts published on Docker’s blog, I had a talk at that particular event, and I won the title of best Docker Community Leader. When I applied to become a Captain in early 2023, many already knew me at Docker. What are some of your personal goals for the next year? I want to double down on education and storytelling. I recently published Black Forest Shadow , a fantasy story set in 1865 Freiburg that teaches container security through narrative. It’s part of a bigger idea I’m exploring: making complex DevOps concepts memorable through story, visuals, and characters. One other project I’m working on is the workshop series Docker Commandos , with which I introduce different Docker commands. On the technical side, I’m working on the second edition of Docker and Kubernetes Security, especially covering Docker Hardened Images . Caption: Docker Commandos Pack And on the community side, I want to grow the Freiburg meetup into something more consistent and connected to the broader ecosystem. It’s already a CNCF chapter as well, but I have been playing with the idea of starting a Java User Group (JUG) to attract a wider audience. If you weren’t working in tech, what would you be doing instead? I would probably have become a mathematics professor researching logic. I did an unfinished master’s in Iran researching Categorial Grammar, which models natural languages using mathematical logic. My master’s thesis in Computer Science was also basically mathematical logic. Or I would have become a researcher in ancient languages. I can read Old Persian cuneiform and Book Pahlavi, which is currently not fully deciphered, to be added to the Unicode. If I weren’t doing tech, I would dedicate my time to answering the remaining questions . Can you share a memorable story from collaborating with the Docker community? Publishing the book Docker and Kubernetes Security would not have been possible without the Docker community. So, the story goes like this: Shortly after I became a Docker Captain, Packt, the tech publisher, reached out to me and suggested that I write a book with them. I declined at first, as I didn’t feel I was knowledgeable enough to write a book. But they were very persuasive. Two years later, I finished my manuscript and threw it over the fence. As I was waiting for them to do their magic, they went through a reorganization, and they finally said they can’t prioritize my title. They wrote to me, “You can find a new publisher.” I found a new publisher, and that was me. Caption: Docker booth at WeAreDevelopers conference I started asking Docker Captains to review the work. I gave beta versions to our little Freiburg community. And when it came out, many Docker Captains, Docker employees, and