What has Docker become?

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Developer Experience & Desktop Issues

  • Many describe Docker Desktop—especially on Windows—as unstable, opaque, and often “fixed” by full resets/reinstalls.
  • WSL2 backend dramatically improves reliability and speed; several argue Windows itself is the main problem, others blame Docker Desktop’s quality.
  • VS Code devcontainers are reported as laggy for some (especially over remote filesystems / Plan9 mounts); others on macOS/Linux report no noticeable slowdown.
  • Some users are actively de‑dockerizing for production (favoring VMs for GPU/complex setups) but still use Docker for local testing.

Alternatives & Ecosystem

  • Podman is widely cited as the main alternative: rootless, daemonless, strong systemd integration (quadlets), pod abstraction, kube YAML support, and buildah. Docs and UX for compose/quadlets are seen as weaker and confusing.
  • Other alternatives: Rancher Desktop, Colima, apple/container, containerd-based setups, k3s, process-compose, Nix-based dev envs.
  • OrbStack gets strong praise on macOS (faster startups, dynamic memory, native UI).
  • Docker Hub remains Docker’s biggest moat: it’s the default registry for most tools, including many Podman users.

Monetization, Licensing & OSS Economics

  • Thread debates “open infrastructure is hard to monetize”: Docker made the standard, others (clouds) captured much of the revenue.
  • Several criticize Docker’s later Desktop licensing changes and enforcement emails as aggressive “gotcha” tactics that pushed companies to switch.
  • Others argue developers expect core tools to be free, making developer tooling a tough business; some say Docker should have charged early for Desktop and private registries.
  • There’s broader debate over open core, “fair source” licenses, and hyperscalers monetizing OSS without upstream reciprocity.

Technical Role & Security

  • Some dismiss Docker as “just chroot”; others push back, stressing namespaces, cgroups, seccomp, image layering, distribution, and Hub as real innovation.
  • Root vs rootless is a big theme: Docker now has rootless mode, but Podman’s rootless-first design and per‑user storage are seen as cleaner.
  • A few commenters highlight deeper OCI/runtime security issues (e.g., LSM defaults, vsock, openat2), affecting Docker, Podman, and Kubernetes alike.

Swarm, Kubernetes & Orchestration

  • Swarm is remembered fondly as “k8s but easier” and still used by some; many regret Docker effectively abandoning it.
  • Others note Swarm mode was positioned to compete with Kubernetes but was under-resourced and late against a multi-vendor k8s wave.

Business Trajectory & Founder’s Perspective

  • Some frame Docker as a huge success for the commons (containers, OCI, containerd, runc) but a poor financial outcome for investors.
  • Others blame missteps: antagonizing Red Hat/Google, rejecting certain enterprise-driven changes, and over-hiring while revenue was unclear.
  • The founder (via AMA) emphasizes Docker’s original design work (application packaging vs just virtualization), says Red Hat pursued platform lock‑in and engineered a negative “Docker is insecure” narrative, and reflects that Docker should focus on users, avoid misaligned partnerships, and hire carefully.