Container platform for building, sharing and running applications with Docker Engine, Docker Desktop, Docker Hub and Docker Scout.
Pricing: 0 USD · Updated 2026-09-03
cloudYes. Docker Personal is free for individual developers with Docker Desktop, Engine, Kubernetes, Docker Hub and Docker Scout included (price checked 2026-09-03). Paid Pro, Team and Business plans start at $9/user/month billed annually.
Docker runs on Windows, macOS and Linux with Docker Desktop, and Docker Engine and Kubernetes can be orchestrated on any host or cloud via Docker Hub images.
Docker explained: what containers are, how Docker Engine uses Linux namespaces and cgroups, how images, Dockerfiles, and Docker Compose fit together, and how Docker compares with virtual machines.
Kubernetes explained: what K8s is, how the control plane and worker nodes work, what pods, services, and deployments are, and how Kubernetes orchestrates containers at scale.
Containerize a Node.js app with Docker: write a Dockerfile, use base images and multi-stage builds, expose ports, manage dependencies and environment variables, and run your container locally — open-license sources.
Learn Docker Compose to run multi-container apps from one YAML file: services, networks, volumes, health checks, Compose Watch, env vars, docker compose up and common commands — with a real Node.js example.
Build a complete Node.js + Prometheus + Grafana monitoring stack: instrument Express with prom-client, scrape metrics, run Prometheus in Docker, build Grafana dashboards with PromQL, and configure alerts. Includes a working docker-compose example.
Docker and Kubernetes solve different problems: Docker packages and runs one application in a container, while Kubernetes orchestrates many containers across a cluster of machines. Compare what each does, when you need orchestration, and how to choose.
An API gateway is a single front door for all client requests to your back-end services. This guide explains what an API gateway does, the problems it solves, common patterns, and how to choose one.
A reverse proxy sits in front of your web servers and forwards client requests to them. This guide shows you exactly how to set one up with Nginx — proxy_pass, headers, load balancing, TLS and common pitfalls.
Monoliths and microservices are the two main ways to structure an application. A monolith ships as one deployable unit with a single codebase, while microservices split an app into small independent services that each own their data and scale alone. Compare the trade-offs and learn how to choose.
Environment variables are the standard way to configure a Node.js app without hardcoding values. Node reads them through process.env, you can load them from .env files with the built-in --env-file flag or the dotenv package, and secrets should stay out of your code and version control. This guide walks through each approach and when to use it.
Load balancing is the process of distributing incoming traffic across multiple servers so that no single server is overloaded. A load balancer sits in front of a pool of servers and decides where to send each request, trading total capacity for reliability and speed. This guide explains how load balancers work, the difference between Layer 4 and Layer 7, the main routing algorithms, and how to choose one.
A message queue is a software component that lets services exchange data asynchronously. Learn how queues, topics, publishers and consumers work, and when they are worth the complexity.
YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) is a human-readable data serialization format used for configuration files, CI/CD pipelines, and cross-language data exchange. This guide explains YAML syntax, key features, common tools, and security pitfalls.
Open source licenses decide how others can use, modify, and distribute your code. This guide explains permissive licenses (MIT, Apache 2.0), copyleft licenses (GPL, AGPL), and how to choose the right one for your project.
A canary deployment rolls out a new version to a small subset of users first, then gradually expands if metrics stay healthy. Compare canary vs rolling update vs blue-green, learn the metrics to watch, and see when this progressive-delivery pattern fits your team.
Bash is the default Unix shell on most Linux distributions and on macOS. Learn how Bash scripts work: variables, parameter expansion, conditionals, loops, functions, exit codes, and best practices for reliable, safe scripts.
Containers and virtual machines both isolate workloads, but they do it in fundamentally different ways. Compare architecture, performance, isolation, security, and use cases to pick the right one for your application.
Event-driven architecture (EDA) is a software design pattern where components communicate by producing and detecting events. Learn how EDA works, its topologies, event sourcing, CQRS, and when to use it.
What is a cron job? Learn how cron and crontab work, the five-field schedule syntax with examples, common use cases, and modern alternatives like systemd timers and managed schedulers.
