dockerode is a Node.js library that provides a comprehensive client for the Docker Engine API. It is architected around entity objects (Container, Image, Volume, Network, Service, Secret, Config, Plugin, Node, Task, Exec) that encapsulate the corresponding Docker API endpoints. The library relies on docker-modem for HTTP transport and supports both Unix sockets and TCP connections with TLS. It offers dual callback and Promise-based interfaces for all operations, allowing flexible integration patterns. A standout feature is its sophisticated stream handling. The library passes raw HTTP streams directly to the user, enabling advanced patterns like stream demultiplexing and piping. It supports HTTP connection hijacking for interactive exec and attach sessions, providing true bidirectional stdin/stdout/stderr communication. For modern Docker builds, it includes a BuildKit integration layer (lib/buildkit.js, lib/session.js) that transparently decodes protobuf status messages and handles gRPC session upgrades, demonstrating high craftsmanship in protocol handling. The codebase is actively maintained, with CI testing against Node.js 16 through 22. It has a comprehensive test suite covering containers, images, networks, volumes, services, and swarm operations. While it retains some legacy patterns (extensive use of var, dual callback/Promise APIs), the core architecture is clean, the reusable components are genuinely extractable, and the overall quality is strong. It is a mature, feature-rich SDK that faithfully implements the Docker Remote API.