Docker isn't Magic

A journey through 4 open-source Docker setups, and why it’s not magic, but still worth implementing.

Docker sounded like a silver bullet. It sounded magical. One docker compose up and you’ve got a working dev environment, in minutes. I’ve worked with lots of open-source docker setups, and now I’ve learned that it’s not that easy. I’ll explain exactly why it’s not magic, each of the hurdles I’ve experienced, and why it’s worth it to dockerize anyway.

I like to wander from repo to repo, so I’ve worked with lots of open-source Docker setups, particularly Rails ones. One lesson stands out above the rest: Docker isn’t Magic, and setting that expectation or requirement will inevitably lead to lots of issues and disappointment.