# Docker vs Fly.io: Which Can You Vibe Code?

**Verdict: Fly.io is the easier vibe code** — 12/100 (Don't bother) vs 4/100.

| | Docker | Fly.io |
|---|---|---|
| Vibecodeability | 4/100 | 12/100 |
| Tier | Impossible | Don't bother |
| Estimated effort | Years of systems programming work | Years of full-time systems engineering |
| SaaS bill replaced | — | Usage-based (~$5-20/mo typical) |
| Category | Developer Tools | Cloud Computing & Infrastructure |

## The case on Docker

You cannot build a personal clone of Docker because its core value requires cross-platform hypervisor engineering and kernel-level container orchestration.

Hardest parts:

- Cross-platform kernel virtualization translating Hypervisor.framework (macOS) and WSL 2 / Hyper-V (Windows) networking, volumes, and file locking
- Hardware-level microVM isolation (SEV-SNP, TEE) for executing untrusted AI agent workloads without host OS compromise
- Operating a massive distributed OCI-compliant registry with petabytes of storage, cryptographic signing (Cosign), and CDN bandwidth
- Real-time continuous vulnerability analysis pipelines matching binary layers against rapidly updating CVE databases

Full report: https://vibeityourself.com/app/docker (markdown: /app/docker.md)

## The case on Fly.io

Building a functional clone of Fly.io's global cloud platform is impossible for a solo developer because it requires owning bare-metal hardware and writing custom hypervisor orchestration layers.

Hardest parts:

- Custom Linux kernel tuning and Firecracker micro-VM isolation on bare metal
- Global Anycast networking, low-latency edge routing, and distributed state
- Secure WireGuard tunnel mesh across multi-tenant production clusters
- Persistent block device checkpointing and fast VM state resumption

Full report: https://vibeityourself.com/app/fly (markdown: /app/fly.md)