Ask HN: What's the best way to deploy container-based apps for a small project?

1•pxheller•1y ago

Hi HN,

For the last couple of months I've been working on a side project I'd now finally like to publish.

I developed and packaged everything into a few small docker containers (2 python apps, 1 postgres db, and 1 db cleanup script in another container. I'll likely also add some reverse proxy like Nginx or Caddy) and run it locally using docker-compose, with all secrets in a .env file (although I could use docker secrets)

I thought about either using a managed Kubernetes service from a provider like DigitalOcean, or setting up a vServer from scratch with the help of some online guides and ChatGPT/Claude (as I don't have a lot of infrastructure experience).

What is your guys go-to-stack? Any recommendations that are relatively simple (or well-documented) to setup while still being cost-efficient and easy to scale? What are your experiences with services like dokku or dokploy?

Re scaling: I also considered using an external Postgres provider, allowing me to scale the "worker" services horizontally when needed.

Asked here because I'm sure it might be relevant for others, too. Thanks in advance!

Comments

austin-cheney•1y ago

I wrote a Nodejs application to do this for me. It’s a personal project that serves as a dashboard for spawning web servers and docker compose instances. I am the only user of it so it’s probably not stable. The UI displays in a browser.

https://github.com/prettydiff/webserver

huksley•1y ago

My experience:

- Dokku - too much shell scripting and you forget all the commands you typed after 1 year.

- Dokploy - you need to install it on your host. So it makes it difficult to switch to a bigger host.

So now I am actively developing a new platform which solves all this - DollarDeploy.

It makes it easy to deploy app from GitHub repo to the server of your choice, and automatically generate HTTPs cert, manage hosts, backups etc for $1/app/month.

Would be nice if you give it a try and provide feedback!

byrnedo•1y ago

If you want, give skate a try ( https://github.com/skateco/skate ). I built it out of the frustration of having to learn the custom deploy syntax of all these other alternatives, instead it uses kubernetes manifests and is multi host.

I'm Begging You: Never Write with A.I

Fireworks.ai Update on October 2026 security incident

Electromagnetic Field

The EU Digital Networks Act is throwing away net neutrality

SoftBank posts $7B Q2 net loss as tech selloff hits results

Show HN: Track known vulnerabilities in the firmware your devices run

If a MacBook Pro runs hot or shows high kernel CPU, try charging it on the right

I Access Auditor – see and revoke what your AI coding agents can access

Show HN: Patchlag – Kernel CVE fix delay: Debian 13 median 12 days, Ubuntu 109

MemoryDojo: Benchmarking Poisoning Through LLM Agent Memory

Chris van Eijk: JSON vs. jsonb in PostgreSQL: size and speed, measured

LAN Party game caching made easy

Beyond the compiler: Making IBM i run modified native code

Why product management will never give you instant gratification

Return of the Living Dead Cast Horrified by AI-Made Sequel They Were Set to Star

Gary Fisketjon Has Died. He Edited Ellis, Tartt, McInerney and McCarthy

Huawei says it's made a 100 percent Chinese PC

My Partner's Dependence on Chatbots Is Becoming a Problem. How Do I Tell Him?

Prometheus: For nerds like me who loves maps and history combined

Digestion-resistant proteins support the healthy metabolite profiles

WQ Files is a file browser, app data manager and cache cleaner for iOS 26 and 27

Does until it doesn't and doesn't until it does

Building Super (LLM) Soldiers

Show HN: NanoLaunch - Submit Your Tool

The coin-flipping that counts the Internet – how the HyperLogLog algorithm works

Antelog – stops AI coding agents from running dangerous commands

When Will We Stop Reading Code?

Hims and Hers to offer unapproved peptides after US eases curbs

Show HN: Clingon – Markdown cheatsheets that run in your real shell

Montray – Don't let a broken systemd service go unnoticed