flyctl VS Dokku

Fly.io is a platform that enables developers to deploy and run their applications close to their users. It leverages a global network of servers to provide low-latency, high-performance hosting solutions. It simplifies the deployment process by offering a powerful CLI and automated workflows, making it easy to deploy applications with minimal hassle. Additionally, Fly.io supports various programming languages and frameworks, including Next.js, making it a versatile choice for modern web development.

With the Wasp CLI, you can deploy the React frontend, Node.js backend (server), and PostgreSQL database generated by the Wasp compiler to Fly.io with a single command.

This is a MVP for Serverless Postgres.

1/ It uses Fly.io[0], which can automatically pause your database after all connections are released (and start it again when new connections join).

2/ It uses Oriole[1], a Postgres extension with experimental support for S3 / Decoupled Storage[2].

3/ It uses Tigris[3], Globally Distributed S3-Compatible Object Storage. Oriole will automatically backup the data to Tigris using background workers.

I wouldn't recommend using this in production, but I think it's in a good spot to provoke some discussion and ideas. You can get it running on your own machine with the steps provided - connecting to a remote Tigris bucket (can also be an AWS S3 bucket).

[0] https://fly.io

[1] https://www.orioledb.com/

[2] Oriole Experiemental s3: https://www.orioledb.com/docs/usage/decoupled-storage

[3] Tigris: https://www.tigrisdata.com/

Fly.io - Very similar to Heroku too, easy to use and support for multiple stacks/languages.

Fly.io is a cloud platform that allows developers to easily deploy scalable applications. In this article, we will introduce how to manage databases effectively in an application using Remix, Prisma, and LiteFS on Fly.io.

Deploying applications can be a complex and time-consuming process. App deployment tools, such as Fly.io, aim to simplify this process by providing a platform for easily deploying and managing applications.

To begin with, you could go with a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) provider like Heroku, or Fly for a more seamless experience. You can also do a bit of DevOps: set up a Docker installation on a VPS and deploy your app there.

To begin visit fly.io to create an account. Next install flyctl a command line tool for creating and deploying fly apps. macOS

For frontend deployment, I used Netlify (for the generous free package) and the recommended fly.io for server + database (also cheap package).

Create an account on Fly.io.

Would be great to see a comparison to some better known alternatives like

- Dokku [0]

- CapRover [1]

[0] https://dokku.com/

[1] https://caprover.com/

If you want to dig into it anyways, Dokku is an interesting mention. They provide an Open Source PaaS that you can install on your server to simplify self hosting containers.

When I came across Coolify, I thought of giving it a try. I am aware of Dokku, but I never really tried it because it doesn't have a UI. I work primarily as a UI developer, so having a nice UI to work with is a plus for me.

I run all my projects on Dokku. It’s a sweet spot for me between a barebones VPS with Docker Compose and something a lot more complicated like k8s. Dokku comes with a bunch of solid plugins for databases that handle backups and such. Zero downtime deploys, TLS cert management, reverse proxies, all out of the box. It’s simple enough to understand in a weekend and has been quietly maintained for many years. The only downside is it’s meant mostly for single server deployments, but I’ve never needed another server so far.

https://dokku.com/

Yeah there are a bunch of selfhostable things:

Caprover (https://caprover.com/)

Dokku (https://github.com/dokku/dokku)

But people still choose Netlify and Vercel for ease of use I think.

Maybe we need something that's just Netlify. The closest I've seen to the "right" UX is Ness:

https://ness.sh

The modern iteration of these tools has taken the developer experience learnings from the Platform as a Service (PaaS) category, and will bring them to your own VM, giving you your own personal PaaS. Example of this include Dokku, Coolify, Caprover, Cloud66 and many more!

Based on the fact that your ideal is to have a similar experience to heroku than managing your own server setting up reverse proxies take a look at these options:

1) https://dokku.com - lets you turn your light sail instance basically into heroku

2) https://render.com

3) https://fly.io

4) If you have aws credits this is their heroku equivalent: https://aws.amazon.com/elasticbeanstalk

above is not what I do but would be the options I would pursue if I understand your preference and requirement correctly.

All in all, I really recommend trying out Dokku if you are a developer interested in hosting your own projects. It makes it super easy to get everything you need to get up and running without having to worry about the specifics. And the price is impossible to beat!